Then the ball is, indeed, tipped the vocals begin. ( In 1990, the Connecticut Husky dove headfirst into the foul lane). How? During the instrumental intro, we see a flurry of activity - flipping cheerleaders, dancing players, mascots running, jumping, waving their costumed arms. “One Shining Moment” perfectly captures the emotions of March Madness: the giddy underdogs, the enraged coach, the crying senior who last his final game. A CBS executive, however, told a disconsolate Barrett that since he wrote the song for basketball, it belonged with the Final Four. “The song was chosen by CBS Sports over many familiar tunes and original recordings by popular artists because it so aptly identified an athlete’s moment of glory,” the network wrote.īut the broadcast ran long, and “One Shining Moment” got cut. Barrett recorded “One Shining Moment” and sent it in in a January 1987 press release, CBS announced it would air the song after the upcoming New York Giants-Denver Broncos Super Bowl. Keteyian informed Barrett that CBS - where Keteyian now works as a correspondent for 60 Minutes Sports and 60 Minutes - was looking for sports theme. Barrett told his pal, then-Sports Illustrated writer Armen Keteyian, that he had written a pretty good song. Later that year, he was crashing at a friend’s apartment New York City during the NBA finals - Bird’s Celtics vs the Houston Rockets. “It was as pure of a writing moment as I’ve ever had,” Barrett says. He went home and wrote the music in 20 minutes. The next day, while waiting for a friend who was running late to brunch, Barrett scribbled the lyrics on another napkin. Barrett wrote a song title - “One Shining Moment” - on cocktail napkin.

Not all that impressed, the waitress left. In an attempt to chit-chat with the waitress, Barrett expounded on Bird’s greatness. Larry Bird highlights were playing on the barroom TV. “She was more beautiful than Helen of Troy,” Barrett says. He couldn’t help but notice the waitress next to him.

In 1986, after finishing a gig at the Varsity Inn in East Lansing, Michigan, David Barrett - who a few months later would be described in a CBS press release as a “modestly successful club singer” - took a seat at the bar. Like for so many endeavors, its inspiration came in a bar.

One shining moment 2002