Duncan Sheik has died. The New Jersey-born singer-songwriter, best known for the pop-rock hit “Barely Breathing” and the musical Spring Awakening, passed away last night in a hospital in Manhattan. His mother, Suzanne Sheik, told the New York Times the cause of death was cardiac arrest. "Duncan was a father, husband, son, brother, and friend," reads a statement shared on his social media. "He will be remembered for his sensitivity, wit, inteligence, and depth of spirit he brought to those who knew and loved him." Sheik was 56.
The full statement from Sheik's family:
It is with profound sadness that we confirm the passing of Duncan Sheik.
The world has a lost a singular talent, and deeply influential voice in music and theater. From his Grammy-nominated hit “Barely Breathing” to his groundbreaking, Tony and Grammy Award-winning work on Spring Awakening, Duncan’s artistry touched many and leaves an indelible mark on the cultural landscape.
Duncan was a father, husband, son, brother, and friend. He will be remembered for his sensitivity, wit, inteligence, 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.
Duncan passed away last night surrounded by love.
Sheik was born in 1969 and grew up splitting time between his father's home in Montclair, New Jersey and his mother's home in Hilton Head, South Carolina. He began learning piano from his Juilliard-trained grandmother at age 6. He later learned guitar and formed a teenage cover band, playing pop-metal songs by Def Leppard and Van Halen. After high school, he enrolled at Brown, where he played in a band with fellow future hit-maker Lisa Loeb.
Living in Los Angeles after college, Sheik attempted to break through as a singer-songwriter, part of a wave of artists reacting against grunge by taking alternative rock in a softer, poppier direction. He broke through with a single from his 1996 self-titled debut album "Barely Breathing," a #14 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 that remained on the chart for 55 weeks — at the time, the fourth-longest Hot 100 run of any song. "Barely Breathing" also earned Sheik a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
Sheik's subsequent albums, 1998's Humming and 2001's Phantom Moon, drew favorable comparisons to Nick Drake and Elliott Smith. But sales were slow, and around the release of 2002's Daylight, which spawned the dance hit "On A High," Sheik grew weary of competing with flashy pop stars during the TRL era. Through the playwright Steven Sater, a fellow Buddhist with whom he worked on Phantom Moon, Sheik got the opportunity to work on a Broadway adaptation of Spring Awakening, Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play about a group of teenagers' emerging sexuality.
Sheik approached the music for Spring Awakening with an alt-rock sensibility, encouraging the cast to imagine themselves like rock stars such as David Bowie, Fiona Apple, and Thom Yorke. The result: rave reviews and a pair of 2006 Tony Awards for Best Orchestrations and Best Original Score. After opening Off Broadway, the show moved to Broadway in 2007, running for two years. It was revived on Broadway in 2015 and will open Off Broadway again in November.
Sheik continued to write music for Broadway musicals, including Alice By Heart, an Alice's Adventures In Wonderland adaptation set in London during World War II, and an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho. His latest, the Japanese manga adaptation Memoirs Of Amorous Gentlemen, premieres Off Broadway this fall. During his Broadway years, Sheik continued to record, including the covers album Covers 80s. His most recent album was 2022's Claptrap.
Sheik is survived by his parents, Jack and Suzanne Sheik; his wife, Nora Ariffin; their daughter, Ines Sheik; and his half siblings, Peter and Kacie. Below, revisit some of his music.
