Honkytonk University

Honkytonk University
Honkytonk University
Studio album by Toby Keith
Released	May 17, 2005
Genre	Country
Length	41:22
Label	DreamWorks Records
Producer	Toby Keith; James Stroud
Toby Keith chronology
Singles from Honkytonk University
	"Honkytonk U"; Released: February 8, 2005; "As Good as I Once Was"; Released: May 9, 2005; "Big Blue Note"; Released: September 5, 2005;

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(68/100) ^[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	^[2]
Allmusic	^[3]
Blender	^[1]
Robert Christgau	^[4]
E! Online	B− ^[1]
Entertainment Weekly	A− ^[5]
Los Angeles Times	^[6]
Rolling Stone	^[7]
Slant Magazine	^[8]
Stylus Magazine	C ^[9]

Honkytonk University is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released on May 17, 2005 by DreamWorks Records. The album has been certified 1× Platinum for sales of in excess of 1 million units. "Honkytonk U" was the first single to be released from the album, breaking the country top 10. "As Good as I Once Was" was the album's biggest hit, topping the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts for six weeks. It was Keith's last studio album for DreamWorks before the label's bankruptcy in 2006.

Track listing

All songs written by Toby Keith and Scotty Emerick except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Honkytonk U"	Toby Keith	3:35
2.	"As Good as I Once Was"		3:49
3.	"She Ain't Hooked on Me No More" (duet with Merle Haggard)		3:36
4.	"Big Blue Note"		2:58
5.	"Just the Guy to Do It"		2:59
6.	"She Left Me"	Keith	3:21
7.	"Knock Yourself Out"	Keith, Emerick, Dean Dillon	3:05
8.	"You Ain't Leavin' (Thank God Are Ya)"	Keith, Emerick, Dillon	3:13
9.	"I Got It Bad"	Keith, Chuck Cannon	3:51
10.	"Your Smile"		3:24
11.	"Where You Gonna Go"		4:04
12.	"You Caught Me at a Bad Time"		3:27

Personnel

Eddie Bayers – drums on "Honkytonk U"
Mark Casstevens – acoustic guitar on "Honkytonk U"
Dan Dugmore – steel guitar on "Honkytonk U"
Scotty Emerick – acoustic guitar
Shannon Forrest – drums on all tracks except "Honkytonk U"
Paul Franklin – steel guitar, dobro
Merle Haggard – duet vocals on "She Ain't Hooked on Me No More"
Tony Harrell – piano, keyboards on "Honkytonk U"
Wes Hightower – background vocals
Johnny Hiland – electric guitar on "She Left Me"
David Hungate – bass guitar on "Honkytonk U"
Clayton Ivey – piano, keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ
Toby Keith – lead vocals
Julian King – background vocals
B. James Lowry – acoustic guitar on "Honkytonk U"
Brent Mason – electric guitar
Gordon Mote – piano, keyboards on "Honkytonk U"
Steve Nathan – piano, keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ
Jerry McPherson – electric guitar
Mickey Raphael – harmonica
Brent Rowan – electric guitar on "Honkytonk U"
John Wesley Ryles – background vocals
Biff Watson – acoustic guitar
Glenn Worf – bass guitar on all tracks except "Honkytonk U"

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[10]	2
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[11]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)	Position
US Billboard 200^[12]	37
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[13]	8
Chart (2006)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[14]	42

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[15]	Gold	50,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[16]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Critic reviews at Metacritic
^ "About.com review". Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
^ Allmusic review
^ Christgau, Robert. "Honkytonk University". Robert Christgau.
^ Entertainment Weekly review
^ Los Angeles Times review
^ "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ Slant Magazine review
^ Stylus Magazine review
^ "Toby Keith Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
^ "Toby Keith Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Toby Keith – Honkytonk University". Music Canada. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
^ "American album certifications – Toby Keith – Honkytonk University". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 30, 2025.

External links

Honkytonk University at Metacritic

[metacritic-1] Critic reviews at Metacritic

[2] "About.com review". Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved March 31, 2013.

[3] Allmusic review

[Christgau-4] Christgau, Robert. "Honkytonk University". Robert Christgau.

[5] Entertainment Weekly review

[6] Los Angeles Times review

[7] "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[8] Slant Magazine review

[9] Stylus Magazine review

[ac_Billboard200_Toby_Keith-10] "Toby Keith Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.

[ac_BillboardCountry_Toby_Keith-11] "Toby Keith Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.

[12] "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.

[13] "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.

[14] "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2020.

[CanadaToby_KeithHonkytonk_UniversityalbumCertRef-15] "Canadian album certifications – Toby Keith – Honkytonk University". Music Canada. Retrieved April 30, 2025.

[United_StatesToby_KeithHonkytonk_UniversityalbumCertRef-16] "American album certifications – Toby Keith – Honkytonk University". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 30, 2025.

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