| Many college basketball fans associate âOne Shining Momentâ with Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross or even Jennifer Hudson, but it is an individual named David Barrett who is the mastermind behind the iconic tune that plays once a national champion is crowned … we take a look inside tonight’s Gonzaga-Baylor matchup and if it will live up to the hype … and Steph Curry sports a pair of custom sneakers in an effort to show solidarity with the Asian community. When David Barrett talks, there is a poetic sense to it. He likens the most significant moment of his career to a âdove being let out of a cage.â He talks about the âserendipity of life.â He describes his family as âmy warmth.â And, when asked recently about âOne Shining Momentâ â the song he created 35 years ago and which changed his life forever, he sat at his Ann Arbor home â a guitar conveniently placed on his lap â and paused a second before answering. âThe door opened,â Barrett told me. âAnd I walked through it.â On Monday night, the NCAA Menâs Tournament will come to a close once more, this time with either Gonzaga having capped off a majestic undefeated season or Baylor having produced a final twist to snatch glory.  The trophy presentation will take place on the hardwood at Lucas Oil Stadium, but for millions watching around the nation, the true coronation of each seasonâs champion is when Barrettâs iconic tune, written in 1986, is played across the airwaves. It is hard to imagine March Madness without “One Shining Moment” and few songs have had such an iconic connection with the sport they pay tribute to. Just like you hope a celebrated basketball player has a sense of passion for what he does, youâd wish for the songwriter of a familiar tune to live and breathe their music, too. Barrett does, and as an added bonus, he is also deeply, eternally, in love with basketball. âWhat happened with the song has become something I could never have dreamed of,â Barrett says. âMusic has been my life and basketball is also my great love. To have them joined together like this is perfect â but it could so easily have happened differently.â  The first time “One Shining Moment” was used on CBS was for the 1987 tournament, providing the audio emotive for a montage of March Madnessâ most telling drama. It has been a staple ever since, with Barrett initially used on vocals, before versions by Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross, Jennifer Hudson and Ne-Yo were produced in later years. The Vandross track has emerged as the staple and will be used again this year. Back in the mid-80s, Barrett was a musician and songwriter trying to make his way in the recording industry. One night in 1986, after performing a set at the Varsity Inn, a club in East Lansing, Michigan, he attempted to strike up a conversation with an attractive waitress while nursing a cold beer at the bar. With highlights of Larry Bird in his Boston Celtics pomp playing on the television, Barrett thought he might make an impression by expressing the poetic beauty of basketball. Not so much. By the time Barrett had finished waxing lyrical about Birdâs skills and the glory of hoops, his companion had walked away. He did, however, have a melody in his mind and three words â âone shining momentâ â written down on a napkin. Napkins play a continuing part in this story. Due to meet a friend for breakfast the next morning, Barrett could not stop thinking about the basketball theme. When his friend turned up late, he scribbled down the lyrics on the back of a ⌠yep, you guessed it. After breakfast he went home and composed the score, in no more than 30 minutes. âIt was quite thrilling,â he says. âUntil then I had been writing songs for the sake of writing them and sticking them in my sock drawer. I knew I had something here, but I didnât know how to get it in the right hands.â  Barrettâs only contact in the sports world was journalist Armen Keteyian, then at Sports Illustrated. The pair had played high school basketball against each other â Barrett was good enough to earn a scholarship to Albion College but injured his ankle in an early practice and never played â and Keteyian took a cassette tape of “One Shining Moment” across the street to CBS. With CBS executive Doug Towey showing an immediate interest, the track was initially due to be deployed over a highlights package for the 1987 Super Bowl, but when postgame interviews went long the segment was never used. Instead, it was repurposed for that yearâs NCAA Tournament, and first played minutes after Keith Smartâs game-clinching jumper helped Indiana beat Syracuse. âEven now, it is so special to hear it whenever it is played,â Barrett said. âThey have turned it into visual poetry. It brings back these fond memories of when I wrote it, this time in my life when everything came together and set up all this opportunity. It is emotional and I couldnât be more gratified â the song still sounds like it did with a piano and me in my apartment.â  Barrett parlayed his association with the tune into a long and successful career writing music for television, with credits on work that has been used on coverage of the Olympics, golf majors, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, plus numerous documentaries. Yet “One Shining Moment” will remain by far his most famous piece, a reality he happily embraced long ago, making this his favorite time of year. Normally, CBS takes him and his family to the Final Four. This time, naturally, it has not been possible. And so, on Monday night, Barrett will have a smile on his face. Heâll gather at home with his wife Tracy, his daughters Esther and Claire and son-in-law Tom Wloch. Together, theyâll watch the game â and to wait for what comes after it.  Hereâs what others have said … Kyle Deckelbaum, KATV: âReplays of that Jalen Suggs game-winner and that Suggs block/bounce pass at the end of regulation could be all 3:00 of âOne Shining Moment.ââ Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers menâs basketball player: âI think every basketball player envisions themselves in that video. ‘One Shining Moment’ is a tradition. I remember after every single March Madness, just stalking YouTube for it.â Corey Kispert, Gonzaga menâs basketball player: âI remember exactly where I was when Kris Jenkins hit his shot to beat North Carolina, watching the âOne Shining Momentâ video after that. The dream kind of took off from there.â |
