David Barrett, the writer of ‘One Shining Moment,’ on the song’s origins, Luther Vandross and more

David Barrett on the return of his song to the CBS airwaves after no men’s tournament in 2020.

After a year with no men’s NCAA tournament that would have ended with David Barrett’s One Shining Moment being sung by Luther Vandross and played over a montage of highlights from March Madness, it’s all back on Monday.

And as Barrett told For The Win before the tournament, he’s as excited as everyone else is.

In a Q&A we did with Barrett, we spoke about the song he wrote at a Michigan bar in 1986 while watching Larry Bird play, one that’s become a beloved tradition for sports fans everywhere after the final buzzer sounds.

Here’s our chat, which has been edited and condensed:

How is it feel to see the song back where it belongs after the year we’ve had?

We love what this tournament is. I do. I always have, long before One Shining Moment. It represents, what I call, Christmas in March, where perfectly professional people put their hats on backwards and shout things at the TV. It’s a wonderful ritual for all of us. Particularly this year, it represents a step toward regaining some of the things that delight us. This one has a particular charm, and having One Shining Moment be the cherry on top is particularly gratifying.

What was your reaction to seeing college teams, fans and others making their own One Shining Moment montages in 2020?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiImkaOSoxo&feature=emb_title

In this case, it was loving parody, which I interpreted as a form of flattery. I’ve been doing this a while, and whenever I’m interviewed, I’m thinking, this is a generational thing now and I’m grateful for it. I thought it was a gentle parody with good spirit and: may I write another song that people parody. There was nothing mean-spirited about it.

Every time I’ve played this song, which I do from time to time, it feels as fresh as the day I wrote it. You have to realize, I wrote this song long before I met CBS. It wasn’t work for hire, it was written for my own reasons. I was living in Michigan and I wrote it. It was as simple with that.

You were at a bar watching Larry Bird and wrote it on a napkin?

I was trying explain to a waitress – you’ve probably heard the story – who sat down next to me. I panicked and I had to say something, so I started talking about Larry Bird and explain the poetry of basketball. She left quickly, but I thought, well I know something about this.

I wrote down the title, went home, slept on it, woke up. I wrote all the lyrics on another napkin and then drove home to the piano and there it was. It was the skies opening up. Whatever people say or don’t say, I still have the moment of sitting down and writing it, which I treasure.

Where did that phrase “one shining moment” come from?

I wish I knew. I used to play a lot of basketball. There were times when you’re on the court when everything slows down and you see more than usual, and I was watching Larry Bird at the height of his talent. He’s walking around in the moment on the court in ways no one else is. So you start mulling the word “moment” and think “slow down,” you engage time differently than the rat-a-tat-tat of daily life.

You’ve had so many legendary vocalists sing it: Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross, Ne-Yo, Jennifer Hudson. I’m curious: How did you end up with Vandross on there?

CBS Sports has been wonderful to me. This man named Doug Towey, he called me up and I had no idea he had the tape [editor’s note: it was Armen Keteyian who passed the tape of the song along to Towey] and I thought it was one of my knucklehead friends. I didn’t believe him. We became dear friends over time. He’d call me up and we’d talk about life. He called me up one night and said, “We’ve lined up Luther Vandross. Do you mind if he sings over your track?”

Luther came in and sang in New York. I was not at that session. Doug flew into Ann Arbor and he played the track. It was a shining moment, hearing that voice on this song, having one of the great singers of the 20th century on it, knowing full well I scratched it off on a napkin. Doug and I mixed it and I’ve been grateful ever since. It never fails because he’s a transcendent singer.

I flew out to Los Angeles when Jennifer Hudson cut the song. She is as kind and professional, equal to that voice of hers. She can pretty much sing anything she wants. I stayed out of sight and she approached me at the end of the night and she couldn’t have been more effusive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN4MhAwvJ6s

What’s next for the song?

I was with a publisher the other day and talking about the song. Her father-in-law co-wrote Unchained Melody. We were talking about how some songs take on a life of their own. I said, I’ve learned to trust the song. It has its own fate and direction. I’ve been approached to have it in movies … but right now, it’s tournament time, so I put my head down, my hat on backwards and shout at the TV. I would say something will happen, but I don’t always know what and when it will. If you had told me before Luther came along, I would not have said one of the great singers in America is going to sing my song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z0b9U9tTvw

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