Luke Combs says appearing in video for Toby Keith's last recording session is 'hard to put into words'

The last known studio recording of Toby Keith's three-decade-long mainstream career has been released as a music video.

Five months after the release of HARDY's latest installment of his HIXTAPE project, "DIFFTAPE" — a 17-song collaboration honoring the life and works of Okalhoma-born country legend Joe Diffie, in conjunction with the Diffie estate — an incredible moment related to the project is seeing the light of day.

A video of another Oklahoman — late country giant Toby Keith — has been released. In it, Keith pairs with Grammy-winning country superstar Luke Combs for an in-studio recording session of the "DIFFTAPE" version of Diffie's 1992 hit "Ships That Don't Come In."

The moment doubles as Keith's last recording session before passing in Feb. 2024. Released in March 2024, the song also features previously unheard vocals from Diffie captured in 2006.

"To be on a song with Toby was a no-brainer when it got presented to me. That was something I had always hoped to do but never knew if it would happen or not," Combs offers via a press statement. "It being one of Joe's songs, especially this one, made it even better; he was there the night I got inducted into the Opry and actually gave me my Opry member award. I grew up listening to both of those guys' music, so to be a part of this version of the song and it now be Toby's last recording is kind of hard to put into words. Country music misses them greatly, but I hope we're doing justice to continue what they started."

The video of Combs and Keith's collaboration is released following NBC's premiere of Toby Keith: American Icon, a two-hour concert special honoring the life and music of the forthcoming inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The tribute included performances and special appearances by HARDY and fellow HIXTAPE collaborators Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Lainey Wilson, and Trace Adkins.

Diffie, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, native had over a dozen No. 1 and top-10 country hits between 1990-2001, including the back-to-back 1994 smashes "Third Rock from the Sun" and "Pickup Man." Diffie died in 2020 due to complications related to COVID-19.

Joey Moi produced the 17-track "DIFFTAPE" album, which features Diffie's vocals paired with artists including Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire, Combs, Keith, Post Malone, Morgan Wallen, and Lainey Wilson.

"My dad was good at those cheeky and quirky mid-tempo songs with funny little sayings, but when he would sing a ballad, he could portray emotions that could melt your heart," Joe's son, Parker Diffie, told The Tennessean.

"As someone who had the profound privilege of performing alongside my father, it fills my heart with immense joy to witness his enduring legacy continued with the same passion and fervor that he embodied," Parker Diffie added via a press statement. "This album is an opportunity to not only celebrate the past but also to embrace the future with reverence and enthusiasm."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Toby Keith's last recording session was Luke Combs' Joe Diffie cover