Singer-songwriter Duncan Sheik, whose 1990s hit “Barely Breathing” spent 55 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 before he turned much of his attention to Broadway, died Thursday at age 56.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
NEW YORK — Duncan Sheik, the singer-songwriter whose breakthrough single “Barely Breathing” became one of the enduring pop-rock hits of the 1990s before his career expanded into Broadway, died Thursday in Manhattan. He was 56.
Sheik died of cardiac arrest at a hospital, his mother, Suzanne Sheik, confirmed to the New York Times.
His death ended a career that began with uncertainty about performing in front of audiences and ultimately took him from the pop charts to musical theater.
Sheik arrived in Los Angeles in 1992 carrying a demo tape and struggling with stage fright. He had previously played in a band with Lisa Loeb, who would later establish her own successful recording career.
Looking back on those early years during a 2011 interview with PopDose, Sheik recalled how uncomfortable he initially was performing.
He “could barely sing in public to save my life at that point,” Sheik said.
Within several years, however, he had released his self-titled debut album and found national success with “Barely Breathing.”
The song became Sheik’s signature recording, reaching No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remaining on the chart for 55 weeks.
At the time, that 55-week run was the fourth-longest in the Hot 100’s history.
“Barely Breathing” also earned Sheik a Grammy nomination and transformed the initially reluctant performer into a nationally recognized singer-songwriter.
Rather than remain focused exclusively on the pop career that brought him widespread attention, Sheik increasingly shifted his work toward the stage and established a second phase of his career in Broadway musical theater.
The transition allowed him to continue writing music while working in a different format from the singer-songwriter career that had first made him famous.
Sheik’s death Thursday came three decades after “Barely Breathing” first introduced him to a mass audience, leaving a career that crossed both popular music and the Broadway stage.
Original article
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