Let’s take a little trip back to 1996. Sometimes a song becomes a time capsule.
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Today’s Clock Radio Classic hits a little differently.
We’re going back to 1996 with Duncan Sheik and “Barely Breathing” — a song that somehow managed to be simultaneously mellow, mysterious, catchy and just the tiniest bit emotionally complicated. Basically, the musical equivalent of staring out a rainy window while pretending you’re in a very expensive music video.
And this morning, we’re remembering Duncan Sheik, who died Thursday, September 17, at the age of 56. His family confirmed his passing, with his mother telling The New York Times that he died after heart failure led to cardiac arrest. His family said he died surrounded by love.
“Barely Breathing” came from Sheik’s self-titled debut album and became an absolutely massive radio hit.
The song peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and — get this — spent 55 weeks on the chart. That’s more than a year of America collectively going, “Hey… who is this guy and why is he so sad?”
It also earned Sheik a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
And if you were anywhere near a radio in the late ’90s, you KNOW this song.
Sheik eventually found an entirely different audience on Broadway.
He teamed up with Steven Sater to create “Spring Awakening,” a rock musical based on Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play. It became a major Broadway success, winning eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, while Sheik won Tonys for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations.
Not exactly the career path you’d expect from the guy who gave us a song that practically lived on adult-alternative radio.
“Spring Awakening” also helped launch the careers of performers including Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher Jr.
So while the radio may have remembered Duncan Sheik for “Barely Breathing,” his career eventually stretched far beyond that one song.
And maybe that’s what makes today’s Clock Radio Classic especially meaningful.
Sometimes a song becomes a time capsule.
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