“As a nationwide release of my single and music video “Warrior Cowboy” is currently succeeding, you might be inclined to ask- how did he do it?” These are the words of Shane Michael Taylor. And the answer to the question he often gets is anything from straight-forward.
Shane was born with cerebral palsy (CP) and has difficulty communicating verbally. He fell in love with country music at a young age, and as an adult, his love for music transformed into a passion to create something bigger.
Shane wrote his debut single “Warrior Cowboy”with the help of two friends in 2010, and just a few weeks later it was recorded for his album titled I Will Stand. But Shane would have to wait for several years to see his single and album released to the public. It was during those years that Shane experienced some of the toughest times of his life.
Shane’s producer, Lorna Flowers, who had been his “mentor and guiding light for 14 years,” passed away suddenly leaving Shane broken hearted and feeling alone on his music career path.
“It was Lorna’s idea to do the album and she was the one who enabled me to realize I could have a future as an artist, even though I cannot sing. She was essentially the brain behind the album and my entire career in the music industry and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.”
In addition to the loss of his producer, Shane was also facing stress in his personal life which negatively affected his health. “Family members became ill and laws changed where I had to become the manager of my own care and safety in order to get up in the morning and continue to live a productive life,” he shares.
Despite all these difficulties, Shane knew he couldn’t give up. “I knew I hadn’t made the impact in the world that I was meant to make,” he writes. “I wasn’t going to die with an unreleased album in my grave. I sacrificed too much to let the music go unheard.” So a week before he underwent several medical procedures, he released his debut album.
“The lesson I learned is that despite the battles we face on a daily basis — no matter how daunting and haunting they may be — we must never give up on ourselves. We may lose many battles throughout life, but we must never lose sight of our drive, passion, and dreams.”