C&L's Late Night Music Club with Wayman Tisdale, 1964-2009
Former Oklahoma Sooner and Indiana Pacer Wayman Tisdale, one of the very small number of professional athletes to boast musical careers that stand up in their own right, passed away this morning at 44. He had been battling bone cancer since 2007.
Tisdale played bass in bands throughout his college and NBA career before retiring in 1997 to focus exclusively on his music. He spent the past dozen years playing alongside other smooth jazz/funk notables as Dave Koz and George Duke, and in 2008 recorded a version of Barry White's "Never Gonna Give You Up" with Toby Keith guesting on vocals. His albums charted consistently on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Top 10.
Former Pacer Reggie Miller, one of many to pay tribute today, said of his former teammate, "He was the nicest man in the world with the biggest heart and an even bigger smile. I thank him for befriending me and showing me there is more to life than just basketball...my condolences go out to Regina and the Tisdale family."
Enjoy this clip from 2006's Way Up.
Question for anyone with fact-checking chops: has anyone other than Tisdale won both an an Olympic Gold Medal and a Grammy?
Rest in peace, brother. He was really a great guy.
44 was too young.
That left handed bass is so cool!
Why do the good die young?
If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.
Wayman was one talented man.
Bone cancer is such a painful way to die and he was so very young. Tragic.
Sleep well, Wayman.
The world is a better place because of your talents and humanity.
RIP Wayman.
The punishment which the wise suffer who refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse men.
Plato
He was a great basketball player and learned how to be an excellent musician.I gave him a challenging track to play on and he showed me he had the talent and the feel.He was genuine and truly had the love for his family.Way to young to leave this world.
Doode played for the hapless Sac Kings, and lived here, and was a shining moment and a glory to all he touched. Sadly missed, he will be, from Sacto . . . . he was a hoss.
Too young. But WTF is an asshole like Toby Kieth doing in this post?
Yeah I battled internally over that...
I understand your sentiments about the rightwinger, Toby Keith. I've seen many diverse people come together over music.
Loved Tisdale as an athlete and never even knew he was a great musician. His cover of Barry White is smooth. Thanks for the link.
Why is Toby Keith such an asshole? He's the kind of roamer that keeps discussions of politics vital and interesting.
"In a January 2007 interview with Newsday, Keith was asked whether he supported the Iraq War. He responded with "Never did." He favors setting a time limit on the campaign. He also said, "I don't apologize for being patriotic... If there is something socially incorrect about being patriotic and supporting your troops, then they can kiss my ass on that, because I'm not going to budge on that at all. And that has nothing to do with politics. Politics is what's killing America."
Sounds about right to me.
Anyway, RIP Wayman.
Other than I'm not happy he's dead, I have no opinion on Tisdale because I've never heard of him. (Basketball is irrelevant and his style of music are not of interest to me.) What I stopped in to say was this:
Winning a Grimy Award does not lend one credibility; it's a popularity and payola contest. The music of anyone that has worth will stand on its own merits, it doesn't need "awards". If his stands up, great. And as for other high-profile athletes who also played music at a professional level, there was a baseball player who recorded several jazz records in the 1950s (though for the life of me I can't remember his name).
In a way, Tisdale's life somewhat mirrors Bison Dele's, albeit without the violence. Both walked away early from the NBA rather than hanging on past their best to do other things, and both ended up dying early. I hope we won't be adding other names to that list, because there are a few such players...
I would be pretty surprised to learn that any record label ever spent a dime to promote a Jazz artist for a Grammy. Pop, rock and Hip Hop? Sure. That's where the effort might show some return on investment, but Beyonce probably gives away more CDs than Wayman ever sold.
In the 40+ years I've been a musician, I haven't met too many guys that viewed achieving "credibility" as some kind of goal. Most of them played music because they loved it, and most have played their entire lives in complete obscurity, enjoying every minute.
I just think it's a lovely tribute to Wayman Tisdale's life that his contributions to this world were appreciated and recognized by his peers and the public. The world was a better place with him in it. Blessings to his friends and family.
TYoby Keith keeps politics "vital and interesting" just like Dick Cheney does. He's a fringe-dwelling faux patriot, and a bully. But then, I guess some people think that's "interesting."
A big, rugged man (6' 9" 250lbs) who have easily gotten away with being a total asshole, yet was one of the kindest, most gentlemanly players to ever play pro basketball. Win or lose I always remember that big, child-like happy smile on the guy's face.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I was only peripherally aware of this man's talents, which -- now that I've heard some of his work this morning -- I will really miss. If music is a core sample of a man's true being, then Mr. Tisdale was a genuinely happy and generous soul. (Speaking of which -- the Barry White cover was delicious and made me long for the days of early-mid '70s, when we could hear authentic, pre-disco soul on AM radio. Ah, memories....)
As to the apparently unique accomplishment of winning both a Gold medal and a Grammy -- heck, if he'd managed to patent something this guy would have been Buckaroo Banzai!
What a great guy. Sorry I never got to know him, even on a non-personal level as a celeb.
me-oww!
I've follow the NBA for over 50 years, and he was of the few that was never spoken ill of. He garnered respect from coast-to-coast. God bless, what a loss.
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