Zach Sobiech

Singer and songwriter Zach Sobiech's greatest accomplishment may well be the inspirational way he chose to live his short life. Born May 3, 1995, in Stillwater, Minnesota, Sobiech was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare kind of bone cancer, in 2009 when he was only 14 years old. He refused to let the cancer define his life, however, and turned to music to express himself, forming a band, A Firm Handshake, with friends Sammy Brown and Reed Redmond. One of Sobiech's songs, "Clouds," a powerful, poignant, sad but ultimately positive and hopeful pop meditation, became an Internet sensation when it was posted to YouTube, and a follow-up, "Fix Me Up," written with Brown, had a similar impact. Sobiech died on May 20, 2013, just three months after A Firm Handshake's debut EP, Fix Me Up, was released. ~ Steve Leggett