Even after the final buzzer has sounded and confetti has rained down on the winner of the NCAA Tournament, it doesn't truly feel official until "One Shining Moment" begins to play.
The song has taken on a life of its own as the annual soundtrack for the best March Madness moments. It has concluded the televised coverage of the tournament for 35 consecutive years, dating all the way back to 1987. Legendary former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called it "the best song for any sport in the world."
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Every college basketball fan knows the song, but many may not know the origins of the famous tune. With a new champion set to be crowned on Monday night, here's a look back at who created "One Shining Moment" and who sang the version you'll hear this year:
Who created 'One Shining Moment?'
There are multiple versions of the song that have been used on TV through the years. In fact, five different artists have provided lead vocals since it made its debut more than three decades ago.
The creator of the song was Emmy Award-winning singer-songwriter David Barrett. He composed the song one morning at his home in the small town of Haslett, Mich., just a 10-minute drive from the campus of Michigan State University.
"I sat down at my rickety piano and put my hands on the keys," Barrett wrote on NCAA.com. "But once I put them there, the song just arrived. It was so effortless and complete. I just followed where I was led. It’s a very different sort of concentration, where you are just listening more than thinking. In less than an hour . . . there she was."
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He took the song to Armen Keteyian, a friend of his who was working for Sports Illustrated at the time. Keteyian then passed it along to the producers at CBS Sports, who loved it so much they planned to use it to close out their broadcast of Super Bowl 21. However, they ran over time at the Super Bowl and had to scrap the idea. It led them to repurposing it for the next major sporting event on the calendar: the NCAA Tournament.
Moments after the final buzzer sounded at the end of Indiana vs. Syracuse in the 1987 national championship game, "One Shining Moment" rang out on CBS's broadcast accompanied by highlights from the tournament.
Who sings the current version of 'One Shining Moment'?
After seven years of using Barrett's original version, CBS switched to a version with soul and R&B singer Teddy Pendergrass as the lead singer from 1994-99. They switched back to Barrett's version for three years from 2000-02 before finally settling on a version with vocals by Luther Vandross. They've stuck with that one ever since, apart from one-off versions by Jennifer Hudson and Ne-Yo in the 2010s.
MORE: See every 'One Shining Moment' since 1987
Here's the modern version of "One Shining Moment" that you'll hear this year, as performed by Luther Vandross:
'One Shining Moment' lyrics
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
In One Shining Moment, they're frozen in time
But time is short
And the road is long
In the blinking of an eye
That moment's gone
And when it's done
Win or lose
You always did your best
Cause inside you knew...
That in 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
Cause inside you knew...
In One Shining Moment, you reached for the sky
In One Shining Moment, you knew…
In One Shining Moment, you were willing to try
In One Shining Moment, you knew
One Shining Moment
