David Barrett finds inspiration in everything around him. Something might come to mind while the singer-songwriter sits at home. Maybe while he’s at a wedding or celebrating a special occasion.
Or maybe when he’s talking to a waitress in a near-empty tavern.
In 1986, Barrett was at the Varsity Inn in East Lansing, Mich., having a beer and watching Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics on television. As he sat, he chatted with Jan Shoemaker, a waitress he found attractive. Because he was somewhat nervous, the conversation turned to basketball and the beauty he found in the sport. Barrett once was a self-professed “ball hog” who was recruited to play at Albion College before he found success in soccer.
He didn’t get Shoemaker’s phone number, but that conversation still led to something special. That night, Barrett took time out to scribble words on a napkin. Those words became the title of a song he wrote.
The song: “One Shining Moment.”
“I call it my little miracle because it’s miraculous the way it fell,” Barrett said.
The ball is tipped. And there you are. You’re running for your life. You’re a shooting star.
For Barrett, basketball isn’t just a game, it’s something to behold. That night, he watched Bird shine. At the same time, he tried explaining “the poetry of basketball” to Shoemaker.
Instead, Shoemaker left.
“When she got up to leave,” Barrett said, “I leaned to my right, got a napkin and wrote down the title for the song — because I thought that’s exactly where Mr. Bird is right now. I played a lot of basketball growing up, so every once in a while, you know what it is when you get in the zone. So I thought there’s a song, and that’s how it got started.”
David Barrett wrote “One Shining Moment” nearly 40 years ago in East Lansing, Mich. (Courtesy of David Barrett)
Barrett’s “little miracle” is now synonymous with March Madness. It traditionally signals the end of the men’s college basketball season. Expect to hear it at the conclusion of the NCAA men’s basketball championship game Monday night.
And all the years. No one knows. Just how hard you worked. But now it shows …
The song is one that some college basketball players and coaches dream to hear. It first was played as part of the video montage after Indiana’s national championship in 1987. The song was so good that there have been recorded versions by several musical icons, including Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross.
“I was writing a lot of music,” Barrett said. “I was getting paid to perform, but the music … most of it was stuck in my sock drawer.
“After ‘One Shining Moment,’ I was able to pull a lot of those compositions out of the sock drawer. And then all of a sudden, I had talent.”
One shining moment, it’s all on the line. One shining moment, there frozen in time.
Barrett said it all started with the title of the song while sitting at the Varsity Inn. He wrote the rest of the lyrics the following morning while waiting to have breakfast with a friend. He knew he had something special after writing it. He just didn’t know what to do with it. He’d been writing and playing music since his teens, but he hadn’t quite turned music into a lucrative career.
Having connections such as with longtime journalist Armen Keteyian paid off for Barrett. The two both are from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and knew of each other but weren’t considered friends in high school. The two would become closer by way of a mutual friend shortly after their college days. Barrett was in New York for a music gig in 1986, and he stayed with Keteyian — then a writer for Sports Illustrated — and his wife, Dede.
“Honest to God, you talk about fortuitous, kismet, whatever it was,” Keteyian said. “Dave comes in to play one of his gigs in New York, and he’s got this cassette tape. He says to me, ‘Hey, I just wrote this song. I think it’s really pretty good. It’s about basketball. Would you mind taking a listen?’”
When Keteyian heard “One Shining Moment,” he was blown away with how the lyrics summarized the competitiveness and spirit of the sport.
But time is short. And the road is long. In the blinking of an eye. Ah, that moment’s gone.
And when it’s done. Win or lose. You always did your best. Cuz inside you knew …
Before he starred with the New York Knicks, Jalen Brunson stood with his Villanova teammates watching “One Shining Moment” on the video board after winning an NCAA championship in 2018. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Keteyian had been speaking with CBS executive Bob Tassie about a job when Tassie told him the network was looking for a sports anthem, and if he knew of one to let him know. Keteyian passed that song to Tassie, and it made its way to CBS creative director Dave Towey.
Barrett was unaware this had happened. He didn’t know when his song was played in a CBS office that employees walking by were compelled to stop and listen.
Barrett learned CBS liked the song when Towey called him about using it after Super Bowl XXI in January 1987. The postgame broadcast, however, ran long, and the song didn’t play then, but Towey saved it for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
“I’m sure as Dave has said, that was the gift that really changed Dave’s life other than whatever I did,” Keteyian said. “You know, it was kind of like a lightning bolt that hit.”
(That) one shining moment, you reached deep inside. One shining moment, you knew you were alive.
Every word seemed to resonate with sports fans, and “One Shining Moment” quickly became a hit. It also struck a nerve with players and coaches. Mateen Cleaves cried in 2000 when Michigan State won the title because he dreamed of hearing the song played since his childhood.
Duke’s former coach, Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, called it “the best song for any sport in the world.” Keteyian, who covered seven Final Fours for CBS, said he couldn’t think of another sports song aside from Queen’s “We Are the Champions” that was as widely known across the country.
“My wife (Tracy) pointed it out to me: She said, ‘Dave, you’ve written a generational song’.” Barrett said. “With the number of generations now, it’s, like, out in the jet stream in a way that is unique.”
Mike Krzyzewski (right) and the Duke Blue Devils watched the “One Shining Moment” after winning the NCAA championship in 2015. (David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
Barrett sang the first version of the song, which was used in TV montages for seven years, from 1987 to 1993. Then CBS had an idea: What if a legendary soul singer like Pendergrass gave it a shot? Pendergrass’ version first was aired in 1994 and was a mainstay until 1999.
Barrett sang the lyrics between 2000 and 2002, but Vandross first sung the lyrics in 2003. Vandross died in 2005, but CBS kept his version in rotation until 2009.
When asked if he felt jealousy or envy that his version of the song was replaced for one by two of the greatest voices to produce soul and R&B music, Barrett responded with four words.
“Are you kidding me?” he said. “Luther Vandross was the transcendent vocalist of the second half of the 20th century. I like my version. I love their versions.
“These are great singers singing the song I wrote in a tavern in East Lansing.”
There have been other versions. Jennifer Hudson had a version that was used in 2010, but networks went back to Vandross the following year. Ne-Yo put his on twist on the song with team-specific versions in 2016. Vandross’ version was still used on the main telecast on TBS, while Ne-Yo’s versions were on TNT and TruTV.
Feel the beat of your heart. Feel the wind in your face. It’s more than a contest. It’s more than a race …
Barrett’s musical career has flourished since that night 38 years ago in East Lansing. If he’s approached about an idea, there’s a good chance he has something already written and recorded that works. If not, there’s no problem with creating something new.
Barrett won an Emmy for the opening of “Beyond the Gridiron: The Life and Times of Woody Hayes.” He’s composed music for sporting events such as the Olympics and other television programs. He’s toured with artists such as Art Garfunkel.
He also teaches music and encourages musicians to find their own voice to express themselves. It’s one thing to pursue commercial success, but do so while being yourself.
It worked for Barrett.
“Sometimes it takes away your own voice because you’re just chasing their ideas,” Barrett said. “When I advise young people, I say just make sure you keep what’s unique about what you do and then get good at it. You can write whatever they want, but you still have what you do, if that makes sense.”
And when it’s done. Win or lose. You always did your best. Cuz inside you knew …
Barrett appreciates his place in college basketball, which makes this time of year special. “One Shining Moment” is forever connected with the end of the NCAA Tournament, and Barrett loves the sport and all of the excitement leading up to the championship game. That he’s been able to see players, coaches and fans sing his song after one of their greatest accomplishments has been satisfying.
“Most of the players will play in the NBA, and that’s their glory moment. The way CBS handles it with great respect and the sense that they’re freezing (college players) in time, in a poetic way … it’s great, honestly,” Barrett said. “Vanity aside, I loved the tournament before, and now, knowing that people identify with my song and that event is very gratifying.”
Barrett has his own sports accomplishments. Though he was recruited to play basketball at Albion, he is in the school’s Hall of Fame for being a standout soccer player. But it’s his music that will get all the attention. Most musicians long for one big hit, a song that transcends generations.
His hit helps to coronate a national champion.
(That) one shining moment, you reached for the sky. One shining moment, you knew. One shining moment, you were willing to try.
One shining moment …
“Most music on TV is perishable,” Barrett said. “They decided, happily so, that this was not perishable but meaningful. … They decided this is something we want to keep. And as a consequence, going on 40 years later, there it is.”
(Top photo: Jamie Schwaberow / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
