Being a star out on the pitch, court – whatever the field, is already a rewarding and awesome experience. But when athletes turn their physical strength into something else, it’s kind of special. That’s why we scooped up 14 athletes turned musicians – trust us, some of these athletes are incredible.
Lionel Rose – Boxing
Rose is the world bantamweight title holder from the ‘60s and early ‘70s but moreover, he was a talented singer. What’s impressive about Rose is that his first single I Thank You got him a gold record. It doesn’t take a math tutor to know that’s pretty impressive.
Lionel Rose
Wayman Tisdale – Basketball
Most sports fanatics know Wayman Tisdale as a solid power forward in the NBA but what most people don’t know, he’s actually an accomplished jazz bassist. As soon as Tisdale retired from the NBA, he focused on his music and produced 8 albums. His ‘Face to Face’ album in 2001 topped the Billboard contemporary jazz chart. Tisdale also was awarded the Legacy Tribute Award by the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 2002. Tragically, Tisdale passed away from cancer in 2009.
Wayman Tisdale
John Daly – Golf
John Daly may be a great golfer but he’s actually had a decent run in the music business. Daly actually provided the back-up vocals for Kid Rock’s song, “Half Your Age”. In 2010, he went on to release his second album, ‘I Only Know One Way’, and he actually wrote and co-wrote eight tracks on the album. Daly went on to say, “The album itself is really my life. All of the songs have a meaning. Most of the record is happening or has happened in my life. I hope people can relate to some of the troubles I have had along the way. Everyone around the world has problems, and I want to connect with those people.”
John Daly
Bernie Williams – Baseball
The former Yankee is a shining example of trying out a genuine career in music, more power to you, friend. Williams is a classically trained guitarist and renoun jazz guitarist whereas, I can’t even whistle.
Bernie Williams
Trevor Pryce – NFL
While with the Broncos, Pryce won two Super Bowls, which is of course an incredible achievement. In his spare time, Pryce taught himself to play bass and piano, perhaps he referred to online piano lessons. Either way, the man is now a screenwriter and has pitched a few TV shows. He even wrote the track, Private Dancer, with Che Smith for the film, Big Momma’s House 2.
Trevor Pryce
Mike Reid – NFL
Former defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals, Reid went on to have a very serious and wonderful music career. Reid wrote numerous country hits and won a Grammy Award in 1984. Back in 2005, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. That’s quite the track record!
Mike Reid
John McEnroe – Tennis
John McEnroe is an absolute legend on the tennis court but he’s also a band member. McEnroe is in a band called ‘The Johnny Smyth Band’ and they play gigs while he was playing on the senior tour actually. ‘The Johnny Smyth Band’ often would play gigs for charities – now that’s impressive.
John Mcenroe
Henrik Lundqvist – Ice Hockey
Henrik Lundqvist is one of the best ice hockey goalies out there but he’s also heavily involved in charities. In fact, he founded The Henrik Lundqvist Foundation which actually hosted its inaugural fundraising event in 2014 AND had an acoustic performance by Henrik Lundqvist and his band-mate, John McEnroe. How great is that! Lundqvist also used to play guitar in a Swedish rock band called, Box Play.
Henrik Lundqvist
Alexi Lalas – Soccer
Lalas was a great defender in his soccer career and had a noted affinity for rock music. Lalas played in band, The Gypsies, which opened European concerts for Hootie & The Blowfish in 1998. That is just a tremendous honor! Moreover, The Gypsies were featured in self-produced, self-distributed album ‘Woodland’, which was released by Lalas during the 1994 World Cup. Apart from the band, he has also released three solo albums: Ginger (1998), Far from Close (2008) and Infinity Spaces (2014).
Alexi Lalas
Bob and Matt Bryan – Tennis
Bob and Matt are identical twins who dominated the tennis court, what with their winning 13 Grand Slam doubles titles. The two brothers would go on to form a band, The Bryan Bros, where they released a couple albums and hit songs.
Bob And Matt Bryan
Chris Kluwe – NFL
While Kluwe is a punter in the NFL, he is also the bassist for the local Minneapolis alternative/progressive metal band, Tripping Icarus. The band released a few albums – The Sideshow Sessions (2009) and Perfect Citizen (2011). I wonder if Kluwe would consider taking online piano lessons, hmm.
Chris Kluwe
Russell Robertson – AFL
Robertson was a great and talented forward for the Melbourne’s Aussie Rules team. However, outside of his professional career, Robertson is a talented music as he sings quite well and plays the guitar. He even went on to release an album in 2008, titled, Higher. That same year, Robertson also went on to appear on the Australian television show It Takes Two with partner Kate Ceberano and they were runners-up!
Russell Robertson
Kyle Turley – NFL
Kyle Turley is a former NFL lineman whp started learning to play guitar at the young age of 14 and hasn’t stopped since. When he retired from the NFL, he moved to Nashville and founded a record label. He released his own album titled, Anger Management, which he described at “power country” – an odd blend of heavy metal, rock and country.
Kyle Turley
Bronson Arroyo – Baseball
Bronson Arroyo is a free agent in the baseball world but he also moonlights as a musician. In 2005, Arroyo released his debut album, Covering the Bases, which included covers from bands such as Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters and Incubus. That’s pretty impressive. What’s more, he also taught Kevin Millar how to play the guitar and performed vocals for the song “Tessie” as covered by the Dropkick Murphys. Wow!
Bronson Arroyo
