Remembering Duncan Sheik and the Music He Left Us

Duncan Sheik, the singer-songwriter who gave us "Barely Breathing" and went on to win two Tony Awards for Spring Awakening, died on September 17 at the age of 56. His passing is a tremendous loss for music, and for those of us who have been listening to him since the '90s, it's also the loss of an artist whose songs have been part of our lives for decades.

I was fortunate enough to see Duncan in concert once, opening for Aimee Mann. It was just him and a bassist onstage, and I remember being absolutely mesmerized by the performance. There wasn't much to look at, and there didn't need to be. His voice, the music, and the way the two of them played together were more than enough to hold my attention.

Throughout the show, people kept shouting requests for the T-shirt song aka On Her Mind from his album Daylight. Duncan explained that he'd promised his girlfriend he wouldn't perform it when she wasn't there, and he had no intention of breaking that promise. So we all lost out on that one. I wasn't too disappointed, but I also had to respect a guy who was willing to stand in front of an audience that wanted to hear a particular song and stick to his word. I just wish his girlfriend had come to the show.

Barely Breathing Was Just the Beginning

Duncan released his self-titled debut album in 1996, and "Barely Breathing" became one of the defining songs of that period. That opening acoustic guitar is instantly recognizable, and his voice has a quality that makes the song sound just as good today as it did thirty years ago. The single spent 55 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

"She Runs Away," "Reasons for Living," and "In the Absence of Sun" were all worth spending time with as well. Duncan had a wonderful way of writing songs that could be intimate and beautifully arranged without becoming overproduced. I enjoyed the entire album, and it gave me every reason to look forward to whatever he did next.

He followed it with Humming in 1998, Phantom Moon in 2001, and Daylight in 2002. Each album had its own character, and I appreciated that he continued exploring different musical ideas rather than trying to recreate the success of his debut.

Daylight is an album I still enjoy revisiting. "On a High" is an excellent song, and it's one I think deserved considerably more attention than it received. The album also brings me right back to that amazing concert.

A Second Career on Broadway

Duncan's work with playwright and lyricist Steven Sater on Spring Awakening introduced his music to an entirely different audience. The musical opened on Broadway in 2006 and went on to win eight Tony Awards in 2007, including Best Musical. Duncan received two of those awards, winning Best Original Score alongside Sater and Best Orchestrations. He also won a Grammy for the cast album, adding to an impressive collection of accomplishments that went far beyond his success on alternative radio.

I love that the same musician who gave us such masterful albums went on to achieve that kind of recognition on Broadway. He continued writing music for the stage, including American Psycho, Alice by Heart, and The Secret Life of Bees, while maintaining the songwriting style that had drawn me to his music in the first place. His work on Spring Awakening remains a significant part of his legacy, and there are people who discovered Duncan through musical theater who may never have heard his earlier albums. I hope some of them take the opportunity to explore that music, because there's so much there to enjoy.

Duncan was a practicing Buddhist and in Nichiren Buddhism, death is viewed as a period of rest before life begins again, much like waking from a peaceful sleep. I find comfort in that belief, especially when remembering someone whose music has meant so much to the world. Wherever your journey takes you next, Duncan, I hope it's a peaceful one. Thank you for the music.