Toby Keith Remembers Pal Tisdale At Memorial Service

Country singer Toby Keith led the tributes to basketball great and jazz musician Wayman Tisdale on Thursday (21May09) as thousands of mourners turned out to honour the late star after his death from cancer.

The Olympic gold medallist, who turned to jazz in 1995, was just 44 when he lost his battle with bone cancer last week (ends15May09).

Tisdale was laid to rest in a public memorial service in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Thursday, and Keith took to the stage to honour his late pal with a rendition of Willie Nelson's song Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground.

He told the crowd, "We had so many big plans. Every time I tried to say goodbye to him, he never let me."

Keith, who duetted with his fellow Oklahoman Tisdale on a cover of Barry White's Never Gonna Give You Up, also revealed he had written a tune about Tisdale, but refused to perform the track because it was too emotional.

Tisdale was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2007 and lost his right leg to the disease last summer (08).