Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's song ) - wikipedia Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's song ) `` Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's Song ) '' Single by Toby Keith from the album American Ride Released October 26, 2009 Format Music download Genre Country Length 4 : 46 ( album version ) Label Show Dog Nashville Songwriter ( s ) Toby Keith Producer ( s ) Toby Keith Toby Keith singles chronology `` American Ride '' ( 2009 ) `` Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's Song ) '' ( 2009 ) `` Every Dog Has Its Day '' ( 2010 ) `` American Ride '' ( 2009 ) `` Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's Song ) '' ( 2009 ) `` Every Dog Has Its Day '' ( 2010 ) `` Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's Song ) '' is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released in October 2009 as the single single from his 2009 album American Ride. The song peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Contents 1 Content 2 Critical reception 3 Music video 4 Chart performance 4.1 Year - end charts 5 References Content The song is a mid-tempo country ballad, mostly accompanied by acoustic guitar and saxophone. It was written as a tribute to basketball player and jazz musician Wayman Tisdale, who died on May 15, 2009. In it, the narrator is crying, but states he is not crying for Tisdale 's death, rather crying for himself. Keith had intended to perform the song at Tisdale 's funeral, but was too emotional to complete it at the time ; instead, he performed Willie Nelson 's `` Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground. '' Critical reception The song has been generally met with positive reception. Ken Tucker of Billboard magazine said that `` Dave Koz 's saxophone is a perfect accompaniment to the tender and touching ' Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's Song ) ', '' and Entertainment Weekly writer Whitney Pastorek called it a `` sweet tribute to a friend who passed away. '' Bobby Peacock of Roughstock called it `` one of the best single releases of Toby 's career '' and compared its theme to Alan Jackson 's `` Sissy 's Song, '' `` but with a few more personal touches. '' Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine gave a mixed review of the song, saying that it was an example of `` his genuinely empathic performances '' but criticized the production by saying that the `` chintzy '' production had a negative effect on the song 's sincerity. Sam Gazdziak of Engine 145 gave the song a thumbs - down rating, highlighting some of the specifics of Tisdale 's life that were highlighted in the song, but saying, `` Maybe if the song were more about those personal touches and less about Keith crying for himself, it would n't seem as dreary. '' Music video The music video, directed by Michael Salomon, premiered on CMT on November 2, 2009. Chart performance `` Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's Song ) '' debuted at number 58 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs on the week of October 17, 2009. During that week, Keith 's `` American Ride '' was at Number One, and two other cuts from the album debuted as well : `` Every Dog Has His Day '' at number 56 and `` If I Had One '' at number 59. Chart ( 2009 -- 10 ) Peak position US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) 6 US Billboard Hot 100 73 Year - end charts Chart ( 2010 ) Position US Country Songs ( Billboard ) 57 References Jump up ^ Graff, Gary ( 2009 - 06 - 13 ). `` Toby Keith 's American Ride in High Gear ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ Chancellor, Jennifer ( 2009 - 11 - 02 ). `` See it : Toby Keith 's tribute to sport and music legend Wayman Tisdale ''. Tulsa World. Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 02. Jump up ^ Tucker, Ken ( 2009 - 10 - 03 ). `` American Ride review ''. Billboard. Retrieved 2009 - 10 - 04. Jump up ^ Pastorek, Whitney ( 2009 - 09 - 30 ). `` American Ride review ''. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009 - 10 - 04. Jump up ^ Peacock, Bobby ( 2009 - 11 - 02 ). `` Toby Keith -- `` Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's Song ) '' ``. Roughstock. Archived from the original on 2009 - 11 - 05. Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 02. Jump up ^ Keefe, Jonathan. `` Toby Keith : American Ride ''. Slant Magazine. Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 14, 2009. Jump up ^ Gazdziak, Sam ( 2009 - 10 - 28 ). `` Toby Keith -- `` Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's Song ) '' ``. Engine 145. Archived from the original on 2014 - 12 - 18. Jump up ^ `` '' Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's Song ) '' video ``. CMT. Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 03. Jump up ^ Morris, Edward ( 2009 - 10 - 10 ). `` Miranda Lambert 's Revolution Seizes the Album Summit ''. CMT. Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Toby Keith Chart History ( Hot Country Songs ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` Toby Keith Chart History ( Hot 100 ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` Best of 2010 : Country Songs ''. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010. Toby Keith Studio albums Toby Keith Boomtown Blue Moon Dream Walkin ' How Do You Like Me Now ? ! Pull My Chain Unleashed Shock'n Y'all Honkytonk University White Trash with Money Big Dog Daddy That Do n't Make Me a Bad Guy American Ride Bullets in the Gun Clancy 's Tavern Hope on the Rocks Drinks After Work 35 MPH Town Compilation albums Greatest Hits Volume One 20th Century Masters -- The Millennium Collection : The Best of Toby Keith Greatest Hits 2 35 Biggest Hits The Bus Songs Christmas albums Christmas to Christmas A Classic Christmas Singles `` Should 've Been a Cowboy '' `` He Ai n't Worth Missing '' `` A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action '' `` Wish I Did n't Know Now '' `` Who 's That Man '' `` Upstairs Downtown '' `` You Ai n't Much Fun '' `` Big Ol ' Truck '' `` Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You '' `` A Woman 's Touch '' `` Me Too '' `` We Were in Love '' `` I 'm So Happy I Ca n't Stop Crying '' ( with Sting ) `` Dream Walkin ' '' `` Double Wide Paradise '' `` Getcha Some '' `` How Do You Like Me Now ? ! '' `` Country Comes to Town '' `` You Should n't Kiss Me Like This '' `` I 'm Just Talkin ' About Tonight '' `` I Wanna Talk About Me '' `` My List '' `` Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue ( The Angry American ) '' `` Who 's Your Daddy ? '' `` Rock You Baby '' `` Beer for My Horses '' `` I Love This Bar '' `` American Soldier '' `` Whiskey Girl '' `` Stays in Mexico '' `` Mockingbird '' `` Honkytonk U '' `` As Good as I Once Was '' `` Big Blue Note '' `` Get Drunk and Be Somebody '' `` A Little Too Late '' `` Crash Here Tonight '' `` High Maintenance Woman '' `` Love Me If You Can '' `` Get My Drink On '' `` She 's a Hottie '' `` She Never Cried in Front of Me '' `` God Love Her '' `` Lost You Anyway '' `` American Ride '' `` Cryin ' for Me ( Wayman 's Song ) '' `` Every Dog Has Its Day '' `` Trailerhood '' `` Bullets in the Gun '' `` Somewhere Else '' `` Made in America '' `` Red Solo Cup '' `` Beers Ago '' `` I Like Girls That Drink Beer '' `` Hope on the Rocks '' `` Drinks After Work '' `` Drunk Americans '' `` 35 MPH Town '' Related articles Discography Show Dog - Universal Music Krystal Keith Scotty Emerick Toby Keith 's I Love This Bar & Grill Broken Bridges ( soundtrack ) `` Slave to the Habit '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cryin%27_for_Me_(Wayman%27s_Song)&oldid=847449575 '' Categories : 2009 singles 2009 songs Toby Keith songs Songs written by Toby Keith Music videos directed by Michael Salomon Songs in memory of deceased persons Show Dog - Universal Music singles Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Billboardcountrysongs Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for Billboardhot100 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 25 June 2018, at 12 : 56 ( UTC ). 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Question: who is wayman that toby keith sings about
Answer: basketball player and jazz musician Wayman Tisdale