Duncan Sheik, the singer-songwriter best known for his shimmering Grammy-nominated 1996 debut single, “Barely Breathing,” has died at age 56. The news came a day after the singer’s family announced that he was in “critical but stable” condition in a hospital due to an undisclosed ailment.
On Friday (Sept. 18), the family announced “with profound sadness” that the singer had died. “Duncan passed away last night surrounded by love,” they wrote on Instagram. According to The New York Times, Sheik’s death at a hospital in Manhattan was confirmed by his mother, Suzanne Sheik, who said the cause was organ failure.
Sheik’s death came after he had seemingly spent at least a month in a hospital, posting several updates from his room, including one on Sept. 6 in which he lamented that he was “still bored in hospital,” as well as another from Aug. 20 in which he appeared in a medical gown, writing, “I would prefer to be home making music. But a bit of reflection is not too bad … boring hospital stays have their benefits (outside the obvious.)”
The Instagram post announcing Sheik’s death praised the singer’s award-winning work and gentle spirit. “The world has a lost a singular talent, and deeply influential voice in music and theater,” it read, citing his Grammy nomination for “Barely Breathing” and his Tony- and Grammy Award-winning work on the 2006 coming-of-age rock musical Spring Awakening, for which he wrote the music.
“Duncan’s artistry touched many and leaves an indelible mark on the cultural landscape,” the family’s note continued. “Duncan was a father, husband, son, brother, and friend. He will be remembered for his sensitivity, wit, intelligence, and depth of spirit he brought to those who knew and loved him. We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love from his fans, friends, collaborators, and the artistic community. His musical legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.”
The Brown University graduate and former college bandmate of singer Lisa Loeb moved to Los Angeles in 1992 to seek his future in music and scored a hit out of the box with the Billboard Hot 100 No. 16 relationship-on-the-rocks lament “Barely Breathing,” a jangly ballad on which he crooned, “‘Cause I am barely breathing/ And I can’t find the air/ Don’t know who I’m kidding/ Imaging you care/ And I could stand here waiting/ A fool another day,” over strummy guitars.
The song, which spent 55 weeks on the Hot 100, earned him a best male pop vocal Grammy nomination. “Barely Breathing” ranks in the top 40 of both of Billboard‘s Greatest of All Time Adult Alternative Songs and Greatest of All Time Adult Pop Songs recaps. It hit No. 1 on the weekly Adult Alternative Airplay chart and No. 2 on Adult Pop Airplay, as well as the top 10 on the weekly all-format Radio Songs chart and Pop Airplay.
Sheik was born in Montclair, N.J. on Nov. 18, 1969 and studied semiotics at Brown University, where he played in a band with Loeb. After scoring a hit with “Barely Breathing” from his self-titled debut, he released a follow-up, Humming, in 1998. His melancholy, meditative musical style, boyishly handsome looks and quiet, shy demeanor made Sheik an unlikely and, in his telling, sometimes unwilling heartthrob to his Gen X fans, a tag he sometimes bristled again.
A line for a 1998 Times review of one of his shows by critic Ann Powers encapsulated that sometimes awkward push-and-pull between Sheik’s background in classical composition and intertwined Nichiren Buddhist philosophy snaking through the singer’s music and his pin-up appeal. “Don’t hate Duncan Sheik because he’s beautiful,” Powers wrote. “He is trying very hard to distance himself from that fact.”
He followed up Humming with 2001’s Phantom Moon, a Nick Drake-like collaboration with poet and playwright Steven Sater, followed by six more studio albums. His most recent, Claptrap, was released in 2022.
While he never again reached the same chart heights, Sheik eventually pivoted to writing scores for Broadway and off-Broadway shows, earning a Tony Award for best original score and best orchestration for the 2006 coming-of-age rock musical Spring Awakening — with a book and lyrics by Sater — whose initial cast included future stars Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher, Jr. He went on to write the music for the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland-inspired musical Alice By Heart, as well as the 2013 musical adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis horror novel American Psycho and the 2013 musical adaptation of Because of Winn-Dixie.
Listen to “Barely Breathing” below.
