John Tesh | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Frank Tesh Jr. |
| Born | (1952-07-09)July 9, 1952 (age 72) Garden City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop,contemporary worship,20th-century classical music |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, musician, radio host, news anchor, sportscaster |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, keyboards |
| Website | tesh |
John Frank Tesh Jr.[1] (born July 9, 1952) is an American musician and radio and television presenter. He wrote theNBA on NBC basketball theme "Roundball Rock", and hosts theIntelligence for Your Life radio show. In addition, since 2014, he has hostedIntelligence for Your Life TV with his wife,Connie Sellecca.[2]
Tesh has won sixEmmys and has four gold albums, two Grammy nominations, and anAssociated Press award for investigative journalism. Tesh has sold over eight million records. His live concerts have raised more than $7 million forPBS. He has co-hosted the television programEntertainment Tonight. He has previously worked as a sports commentator and host for theOlympic Games,Wimbledon, theUS Open, theTour de France,Ironman Triathlon, and as anews anchor and reporter. In 2018, Tesh was inducted into theNorth Carolina Music Hall of Fame.
Tesh was born inGarden City, New York, onLong Island, the son of Mildred (Bunny), a nurse, and John Frank Tesh Sr., a textile chemist, both fromNorth Carolina.[1][3][4][5] He graduated fromGarden City High School in 1970. Playing piano and trumpet from the age of six, he was named to the New York State Symphonic Orchestra in high school, while also playingthe organ in a rock band.[6] Tesh studiedcommunications and music atNorth Carolina State University. He was also a "walk on" with the varsity lacrosse and soccer teams.[7]
While at North Carolina State, studying physics and chemistry, he took a TV and radio course. Tesh worked part-time reading the news forRick Dees atWKIX (AM) Raleigh in 1974. His roommate,Bill Leslie, anchor atWRAL-TV, helped him get into the radio and TV field.[2] While in the area, Tesh worked as a news anchor in Raleigh, Orlando, Nashville, and New York'sWCBS-TV; this portion of his career spanned 12 years.[2]
His television career included a stint as a news anchor and reporter at WSM-TV (nowWSMV-TV) inNashville, Tennessee, in the 1970s, where he often covered the same stories asOprah Winfrey, who worked ata competing Nashville station. From Nashville, Tesh shuffled toWTVD inDurham, North Carolina, then down toWFTV inOrlando, and finally up to New York'sWCBS-TV, where, at age 22, he was their youngest reporter.[6] In the fall of 1978, Tesh was a roving reporter for CBS during the1978 New York City Marathon, which he ran and completed in 3:51:56.[8] However, he became more well known when he co-hosted the television showEntertainment Tonight from 1986 to 1996.
Tesh also served as a sportscaster forCBS and laterNBC, anchoring events such as theTour de France bicycle race from 1983 through 1986 (Tesh has the distinction of being the anchor for the first American broadcast of this event), theUS Open, and gymnastics at the1992 and1996 Summer Olympics.
Tesh hosted the short-livedOne on One with John Tesh talk show in 1991–92 on NBC daytime, and co-hosted the showJohn & Leeza from Hollywood with fellowEntertainment Tonight personalityLeeza Gibbons from 1993 to 1994, also on NBC daytime. In 2014, Tesh returned to syndicated television in the seriesIntelligence for Your Life TV, based on his radio show.[9]
Tesh appeared in "The Icarus Factor", an episode ofStar Trek: The Next Generation, playing aKlingon warrior.[10] He also appeared as himself in a 1987 episode of the daytime serialSanta Barbara.[11]
In 1987,Yanni was assembling his first touring band to promote his albumOut of Silence, as well as selections fromKeys to Imagination. Being good friends, Tesh asked Yanni if he could join the band as keyboardist along withJoyce Imbesi and drummerCharlie Adams, as he had never been onstage for a live performance, and he needed the experience. Despite already having a full-time job withEntertainment Tonight, and the long hours of rehearsal for the band, he performed exceptionally well, although he participated in only one tour with Yanni, playing in approximately twelve shows, including the "1988 Concert Series", before being replaced byBradley Joseph. Later, Yanni assisted Tesh in signing his first recording contract withPrivate Music.[12]
In the 1990s, Tesh was credited with the theme music toBobby's World, hosted by Howie Mandel, and theNBA on NBC theme, known as "Roundball Rock". Tesh composed theNBA on NBC theme after an idea hit him while traveling. In order to recall his idea at a later juncture, Tesh recorded the initial beat vocally on his answering machine, by ringing his home phone and leaving a message for himself.[13] The theme was used for theNBA on NBC before the network stopped carrying NBA games following the2001–02 season (as well as anelectric guitar-driven spinoff that was used on NBC'sWNBA telecasts from1997 to2002), though NBC would revive the theme for its basketball coverage during the2008 Summer Olympics. Tesh would later license the song toFox Sports for itscollege basketball coverage.[14]
In August 1994, John performed at theRed Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, for his firstLive at Red Rocks concert. Tesh performed with conductorJohn Bisharat and the 70-piece Colorado Symphony Orchestra. The concert featured Tesh playing grand piano,Charlie Bisharat playing electric violin, andEverette Harp playing alto saxophone. Also featured were Olympic gold medal-gymnastsNadia Comaneci (1976) andBart Conner (1984) performing gymnastic routines specially-choreographed to Tesh's music.
After Tesh left his ten-year job as co-host forEntertainment Tonight in 1996, he turned to his career as a contemporary keyboardist. This led to him startingThe John Tesh Radio Show in 2003.
Tesh currently has a nationallysyndicated radio show called theJohn Tesh Radio Show, which typically airs onadult contemporary,classic hits, Christian andsoft rock radio formats. The music is interspersed with variousfactoids and other information Tesh considers useful to listeners, often with topics such as health and well-being.[2]
These factoids are called "Intelligence for Your Life", played on radio stations across the United States and Canada, and theArmed Forces Network. Select pieces of "Intelligence for Your Life" are broken up and distributed in vignette form to other radio stations (includingtalk radio formats) and for use on morning shows. There is also a three-hour weekend show, "Intelligence for Your Health", launched in 2010, hosted byConnie Sellecca.[15]
Across all of its versions, Tesh's radio programs reach listeners across the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom, placing it on thelist of most-listened-to radio programs. Tesh's main rival isDelilah, and these two shows are sometimes aired in the same market on competing stations, or occasionally on the same stations in differing time slots.
The show started as a weekend show in 2000 on Clear Channel's KKDJ-FM/Bakersfield and then a few other stations, expanding to a daily version in 2003. The program was originally syndicated byWestwood One under the nameOn the Air with John Tesh, albeit with a slightly different format. It is produced by Tesh with a staff of 35 and still distributed by syndicator Westwood One.[15] In September 2016, the partnership with Westwood One was renewed in a new multi-year agreement. At the time, Westwood One indicated that it was airing on 280 radio stations.[16] As of 2022, the programs are distributed through a partnership withCompass Media Networks.[17]
In late 2014, a television version of these factoids,Intelligence for Your Life TV, debuted in syndication to local stations. In April 2016, the TV program was seen on 174 stations. The series also features health segments hosted by his wife, Connie Sellecca, based on her own radio program, "Intelligence for Your Health".[9]
Tesh also authored a book,Intelligence for Your Life: Powerful Lessons for Personal Growth, in 2008, reprinted in 2012 (ISBN 0849964636, publisher Thomas Nelson).[18]
Tesh has been married to actressConnie Sellecca since 1992. They have one daughter together named Prima. His wife also has a son with actorGil Gerard, named Gib, who now appears on some of Tesh's radio and TV programs. Tesh and Sellecca reside in Los Angeles.[19]In the 1970s, he also briefly datedOprah Winfrey.[20]
Tesh is a Christian. He was raised aBaptist and was involved in the church during his youth.[citation needed] He played organ, sang in the choir, and went to church camp. He became inactive in the church during his adult life, but became involved again after Sellecca introduced him to pastor Louis Lapides. Since then, he has written and performed Christian music.[7]
During his early career as a television journalist in the 1970s, Tesh received an Associated Press award for investigative journalism.[21] In 2018 John Tesh was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. In 2019 he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. In 2007, Tesh won the Syndicated Personality/Show of the Year award byRadio & Records magazine for his radio show.[22] Tesh was nominated in 2003 for the Grammy for "Best Pop Instrumental Album" forPower of Love. John has also earned three gold albums, six Emmys for his sports themes, and aKeyboard Magazine Award.[23]
Westwood One and Intelligence For Your Life with John Tesh, Connie Sellecca and Gib Gerard has renewed their partnership in a new multi-year agreement that will bring the Intelligence for your Life radio programs ... Westwood One has exclusively represented the programs for 15 years.
| Preceded by | Co-host ofEntertainment Tonight 1986–1996 | Succeeded by |
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