Some people are successful in such different areas that as a “normal” person, it's astounding. One of these people was Wayman Tisdale. He had a successfull basketball career in the NBA, winning Olympic Gold with the US team in 1984. (Since I don't know much about basketball, I cannot sufficiently acknowledge his successes.)
Despite his success, music was always his “first love”. Even while he was still playing basketball, he published his debut album Power Forward on Motown, as well as seven follow-up albums. As a basketball player, Tisdale was so well-loved that the sports press reported about his musical career even after Tisdale stopped playing basketball. As a musician, he succeeded in finding his own voice as a bassist and songwriter. Apart from his own successes (e.g. #1 in the Billboard Jazz charts with Face to Face, he also was a sessionist for other albums.
When he was diagnosed with cancer in 2007, he fought this sickness with the same determination and spirit he applied to sort and music. Since the therapy didn't succeed, he had to have a part of his right leg amputated in 2008. Still, he found the energy to found the Wayman Tisdale Foundation to help people with cancer or amputations. At the same time, he shared his process with others in interviews and videos and tried to inspire people to fight against cancer.
Wayman Tisdale died on May 15th, aged 44, leaving behind his wife and four children.
Promotional video forhis album “Way Up”
An inspiring report about Wayman Tisdale and how he deals with cancer
“You got the leg, but you can't get my smile. You can't get my smile, you can't get my spirit”
Leave a comment