She sat next to him on a barstool in East Lansing MI. The rest is history.
Next Monday night, soon after the NCAA crowns its new Division 1 college basketball champ, CBS will do what it has done almost every April since 1987. That year (and all but one year since) the network showed a montage of tournament highlights as a song played in the background—a song that has become indelibly linked with the tournament.
That song, of course, is One Shining Moment.
And if Michigan State wins the title, the song will have special meaning—not just because they will be champs—but because the song originated in East Lansing, MI, MSU’s hometown.
Songwriter Dave Barrett scratched out the words while sitting at the bar at East Lansing’s old Varsity Inn.
The idea wasn’t inspired by sports, though. It was inspired by a young woman. Barrett thought she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. A stranger, she sat down next to him. Barrett worked on a strategy to start a conversation. But when it turned to talk…she was gone.
Barrett didn’t see her leave. He didn’t know her name. Poof! She was in and out of his life in a flash.
Flummoxed by a situation that went awry, Barrett began scratching thoughts on a bar napkin. At breakfast the next morning, he told a friend what had happened. Because that friend arrived late, Barrett had time to share the full story. That’s because Barrett had finished the lyrics. From start to finish, it took him about twenty minutes to write “One Shining Moment.”
A melody followed. The song was ready.
A contact in New York helped Barrett make a connection with CBS Sports. Executives liked the song and bought it—for use at the next Super Bowl was the plan. But the Super Bowl came and went, and the song never aired—CBS went over its timeslot.
Then came the break—the championship game of the 1987 NCAA Division 1 tournament. It was a perfect set-up, too. Indiana had just won the championship via Keith Smart’s buzzer-beating corner shot. It was a shining moment for Smart and IU.
TV viewers saw flashbacks of the 1987 tournament and championship game with Barrett’s prized song playing.
But, of course, basketball hadn’t stimulated Barrett to write it.
Years later–after loads of trying—Barrett located the woman who had started it all. She was married and had kids. They met. He told the woman about the role she had played in his life. They talked. They laughed. And that was that.
It’s a great story, isn’t it? Well, yes. But there’s a downside if you’re a Michigan State fan.
Yes, David Barrett wrote the song in East Lansing. But, by gosh, the man lives in Ann Arbor. The University of Michigan, it seems, is never out of MSU’s hair.
ONE SHINING MOMENT
The ball is tipped
and there you are
you’re running for your life
you’re a shooting star
And all the years
no one knows
just how hard you worked
but now it shows…
(in) One Shining Moment, it’s all on the line
One Shining Moment, there frozen in time
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…
(that) One Shining Moment, you reached deep inside
One Shining Moment, you knew you were alive
Feel the beat of your heart
feel the wind in your face
it’s more than a contest
it’s more than a race…
And when it’s done
win or lose
you always did your best
cuz inside you knew…
(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, you knew
One Shining Moment…
___________
Songwriters: BARRETT DAVID GOODLOE, One Shining Moment lyrics © Universal Music-Mgb Songs, Kma Tunes, Hodges Song Supply, Universal Music Mgb Songs
