Zachary David Sobiech (May 3, 1995 – May 20, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and musician from
Lakeland, Minnesota
Lakeland is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,796 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
History
Lakeland was platted in 1849. The 1849 Captain John Oliver House, 18 ...
, who was a member of the band A Firm Handshake. The single "
Clouds
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may com ...
" gained extensive media attention on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, prior to Sobiech's death from
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in May 2013.
It charted on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, eventually becoming a hit also in the UK, Canada and France. His philosophy was that in his last days of life due to his cancer, he needed to make people happy.
Life and career
In his early years, Sobiech attended St. Croix Catholic School in Stillwater, Minnesota (Class of 2009). He later attended
Stillwater Area High School
Stillwater Area High School (SAHS) is a public school located in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, United States. It serves as the primary high school for the Stillwater Area Public School District (834), the oldest public school district in Minnesota ...
(Class of 2013). At age 14, Sobiech was diagnosed with
osteosarcoma
An osteosarcoma (OS) or osteogenic sarcoma (OGS) (or simply bone cancer) is a cancerous tumor in a bone. Specifically, it is an aggressive malignant neoplasm that arises from primitive transformed cells of mesenchymal origin (and thus a sarcoma) a ...
, a bone cancer that mostly affects children.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
reported that during his treatment he underwent 10 surgeries and 24 rounds of
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
. He started writing music after his diagnosis.
[
In May 2012 his doctors informed him that he had up to a year to live. Sobiech recorded the song "Clouds" about his battle with cancer,] and released it as a YouTube video in December 2012. It went viral, surpassing 3 million views at the time of his death. It currently has more than 21.6 million views as of September 2022.
A Firm Handshake
Prior to Sobiech's death, he formed the band A Firm Handshake with friends Samantha "Sammy" Brown and Reed Redmond.[ A Firm Handshake's first EP and only release, '']Fix Me Up
''Fix Me Up'' is the debut EP and only release by the American band A Firm Handshake. It was released on February 15, 2013, on the independent label Rock the Cause.
Singles
"Clouds" taken from the EP and credited to Zach Sobiech was an internati ...
'', was released digitally in early 2013, charting in the US, the UK and Canada. The debut single by A Firm Handshake is "How to Go to Confession" featuring Sammy Brown.
Death
Sobiech died on May 20, 2013, of complications from osteosarcoma
An osteosarcoma (OS) or osteogenic sarcoma (OGS) (or simply bone cancer) is a cancerous tumor in a bone. Specifically, it is an aggressive malignant neoplasm that arises from primitive transformed cells of mesenchymal origin (and thus a sarcoma) a ...
, at his home in Lakeland, an eastern suburb of Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...
, seventeen days after his 18th birthday. His funeral was held at the Catholic Church of St. Michael and he was later buried in St. Michael's Cemetery.
Tributes
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Emm ...
's YouTube channel SoulPancake released a documentary about Sobiech, directed by director-actor Justin Baldoni
Justin Louis Baldoni (born January 24, 1984) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for portraying Rafael Solano on The CW satirical romantic dramedy ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014–2019) as well as directing the films ''Five Feet Ap ...
, a part of its online reality series, ''My Last Days''. The 22-minute episode of ''My Last Days: Meet Zach Sobiech'' has been watched more than 15.6 million times on the main SoulPancake YouTube channel. A further episode entitled ''My Last Days: Zach Sobiech, One Year Later'' was created to follow up with Sobiech's family and friends after his death.
Artists have released many tributes, including many cover versions of "Clouds"—with a prominent version of "Clouds" released on SoulPancake, featuring director Rainn Wilson
Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Emm ...
himself, along with Bryan Cranston
Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2 ...
, Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles in television and theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatr ...
, Jason Mraz
Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...
, Sara Bareilles
Sara Beth Bareilles (, ; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. She has earned various awards and nominations including nin ...
,[ ]Colbie Caillat
Colbie Marie Caillat (; born May 28, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame through social networking website Myspace. At that time, she was the number one unsigned artist of her genre.
After signing with Universal Republic R ...
, Phillip Phillips
Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) Note: An inaccurate birthdate (Sept. 29, 1990) and birthplace (Leesburg, Georgia) appear in is an American singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of ''Americ ...
, Passenger
A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...
, The Lumineers
The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing toge ...
and many others. The music video on SoulPancake presented in collaboration with Wayfarer Entertainment was directed by Justin Baldoni, produced by Baldoni and Ahmed Kolacek, with Fouad Elgohari as associate producer and Nick Pezzillo as editor. The video has been viewed over 5 million times on the SoulPancake YouTube channel.
On December 5, 2013, a choir of an estimated 5,000 sang Sobiech's hit song "Clouds" at the Mall of America
Mall of America (MOA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway ...
. The event was organized by the KS95 Kids Radiothon in collaboration with the Children's Cancer Research Fund and Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare
Gillette Children's is a non-profit hospital located in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. Through its hospital, clinics and greater Minnesota locations, Gillette treats patients with brain, bone and movement conditions needing specialized expertise.
His ...
.
Legacy
Sobiech's family established the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund at Children's Cancer Research Fund. In September 2015, the fund reached $2 million.
Zach's mother Laura Sobiech wrote a memoir about his life, ''Fly a Little Higher: How God Answered a Mom's Small Prayer in a Big Way''.
In early 2016, it was announced that Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
was developing a film based on Laura Sobiech's book. The film ''Clouds
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may com ...
'' was released on Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
on October 16, 2020. Production started on October 19, 2019, in Montreal, and was directed by Justin Baldoni. The film stars Fin Argus
Steffan Fin Argus (born September 1, 1998) is an American actor, musician, and model.
Early life and education
Argus is from Des Plaines, Illinois. They have an older sister, Sadie, and a younger sister, Lacey. They were a self-described "theatre ...
as Zach and Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter (born May 11, 1999) is an American singer and actress. Carpenter made her acting debut with an appearance in the television crime show ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and had a recurring role on Fox Broadcasting ...
as Sammy.
Discography
Extended plays
Singles
References
External links
*
The Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund
at Children's Cancer Research Fund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sobiech, Zach
1995 births
2013 deaths
21st-century American male singers
21st-century American singers
American folk rock musicians
American Internet celebrities
Catholics from Minnesota
Deaths from bone cancer
Deaths from cancer in Minnesota
Indie folk musicians
Musicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota
People from Stillwater, Minnesota
People from Washington County, Minnesota
Singer-songwriters from Minnesota