Clouds by Zach Sobiech

Zach Sobiech † (May 3, 1995 – May 20, 2013 [aged 18]) was an American singer-songwriter and musician from Lakeland, Minnesota, who was a member of the band A Firm Handshake. The single "Clouds" gained extensive media attention on YouTube, prior to Sobiech's death from cancer in May 2013. It charted on the Billboard Hot 100, eventually becoming a hit also in the UK, Canada and France. "Clouds" hit #1 on iTunes in 2013.
==Life & Career==
In his early years, Zach attended St. Croix Catholic School in Stillwater, MN (Class of 2009). He later attended Stillwater Area High School (Class of 2013). At age 14, Sobiech was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer which mostly strikes children. CBS reported that during his treatment he underwent 10 surgeries and 20 rounds of chemotherapy. 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 14 million views and counting.
===A Firm Handshake===
Prior to his death, Zach Sobiech 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, was released digitally in early 2013, charting in USA, 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, at his home in Lakeland, an eastern suburb of Saint Paul, Minnesota, 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. Kitty0706, an animator, passed away from cancer of some sort on January 25, 2015 while listening to Zach's songs.
Category:YouTubers
Category:Deceased YouTubers
Category:Music YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2009
Category:American YouTubers