© 2024 Interlochen
CLASSICAL IPR | 88.7 FM Interlochen | 94.7 FM Traverse City | 88.5 FM Mackinaw City IPR NEWS | 91.5 FM Traverse City | 90.1 FM Harbor Springs/Petoskey | 89.7 FM Manistee/Ludington
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

“One Shining Moment” anthem has closed March Madness since 1987. Meet the Michigander who wrote it.

No matter who wins at the night's end, David Barrett's song, "One Shining Moment," will close out March Madness.
Flickr user Bruce Tang
/
http://j.mp/1SPGCl0
No matter who wins at the night's end, David Barrett's song, "One Shining Moment," will close out March Madness.

Stateside's conversation with David Barrett, composer of "One Shining Moment."

It’s the cherry on top of the March Madness sundae.

When either Gonzaga or North Carolina emerges victorious tonight, "One Shining Moment" will play to close March Madness.

The Wall Street Journal calls it "the most famous song in sports." It's closed March Madness since 1987.

Michigander David Barrett wrote the song at his piano in Haslett, Michigan. Barrett is a singer, songwriter, and Emmy-winning composer.

In 1986, Barrett sat in a bar watching Larry Bird play basketball. As he tried to explain the poetry of being “in the zone” to a waitress, he wrote down the phrase, “one shining moment” on a napkin.

The next day, as he waited for a friend at breakfast, he wrote down all the lyrics on another napkin. When he got back home to his piano, Barrett wrote the whole song in twenty minutes.

He told his friend, a writer at Sports Illustrated, about his basketball song and sent him a recording. Unknown to Barrett, his friend took it to CBS.

“To see how much this means to all these players, from Utah to Brooklyn, to Florida to New Mexico, who dream of getting to that moment... I would say it's very, very gratifying,” Barrett said.

Listen to the full interview above.(Subscribe to the Stateside podcast oniTunes,Google Play, or with thisRSS link)

Copyright 2021 Michigan Radio. To see more, visit Michigan Radio.

Read more about the Stateside.