John Frank Tesh (born July 9, 1952) is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. He hosts the ''Intelligence for Your Life'' radio show. In addition, since 2014, he has hosted ''Intelligence for Your Life TV'' with his wife

Connie Sellecca Connie Sellecca (born Concetta Sellecchia; May 25, 1955) is an American actress, producer, and former model, best known for her roles on the television series '' Flying High'', ''The Greatest American Hero'', and ''Hotel'', for which she was nomi ...

. Tesh has won six

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, has four gold albums, two Grammy nominations, and an

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

award for investigative journalism. Tesh has sold over eight million records. His live concerts have raised more than $7 million for PBS. He wrote the '' NBA on NBC'' basketball theme "

Roundball Rock "Roundball Rock" is a musical score composed by John Tesh and used for '' The NBA on NBC'' from 1990 until 2002. NBC played the theme 12,000 times during their run. Tesh came up with the melody while at a hotel and called his answering machine ...

". He has co-hosted the television program ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Paramount Streaming. ET also airs in Aus ...

''. He has previously worked as a sportscaster and host for the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

, Wimbledon, the US Open, the

Tour De France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely considere ...

, and as a

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

and reporter. In 2018, Tesh was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.

Early life

Tesh was born in

Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located on Long Island in Nassau County New York. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within ...

, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

, the son of Mildred (Bunny), a nurse, and John F. Tesh, a textile chemist. He graduated from Garden 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 playing the organ in a rock band.Bio at Crossmap.com
Tesh studied

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and music at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univers ...

. He was also a "walk on" with the varsity lacrosse and soccer teams. While at North Carolina State, studying physics and chemistry, he took a TV and radio course. Tesh worked part-time reading later the news for Rick Dees at WKIX (AM) Raleigh in 1974. His roommate, Bill Leslie, anchor at

WRAL-TV WRAL-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Research Triangle area. It is the flagship station of the locally based Capitol Broadcasting Company, which h ...

, helped him get into the radio and TV field. While in the area, Tesh worked as a news anchor in Raleigh, Orlando, Nashville, then moving to

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station W ...

in New York; this portion of his career spanned 12 years.

Career

''Entertainment Tonight'' and television career

His television career included a stint as a news anchor and reporter at WSM-TV (now

WSMV-TV WSMV-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WTNX-LD (channel 15). The two stations share studios on Knob Road ...

) in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, in the 1970s, where he often covered the same stories as

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...

, who worked at a competing Nashville station. From Nashville, Tesh shuffled to

WTVD WTVD (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Durham, North Carolina, United States, broadcasting the ABC network to the Research Triangle area. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, it maintains ...

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th- ...

, then down to

WFTV WFTV (channel 9) is a television station in Orlando, Florida, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Cox Media Group alongside independent station WRDQ (channel 27). Both stations share studios on East South Street ( SR 15) in dow ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, and finally up to New York's

, where, at age 22, he was their youngest reporter. In the fall of 1978, Tesh was a roving reporter for CBS during the

1978 New York City Marathon The 1978 New York City Marathon was the 9th edition of the New York City Marathon and took place in New York City on 22 October. Results Men Women References External links * {{1978 in athletics New York City Marathon, 1978 Mar ...

, which he ran and completed in 3:51:56. However, he became more well known when he co-hosted the television show ''

'' from 1986 to 1996. Tesh also served as a sportscaster for CBS and later NBC, anchoring events such as the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

bicycle race from 1983 through 1986 (Tesh has the distinction of being the anchor for the first American broadcast of this event), the US Open, and gymnastics at the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

and

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. Tesh hosted the short-lived ''One on One with John Tesh'' talk show in 1991–92 on NBC daytime, and co-hosted the show '' John & Leeza From Hollywood'' with fellow ''Entertainment Tonight'' personality Leeza Gibbons from 1993 to 1994, also on NBC daytime. In 2014, Tesh returned to syndicated television in the series ''Intelligence for Your Life TV'', based on his radio show. Tesh appeared in " The Icarus Factor", an episode of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', playing a

Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...

warrior. He also appeared as himself in a 1987 episode of the daytime serial '' Santa Barbara''.

Musical career

In 1987, Yanni was putting together his first touring band to promote his album '' Out of Silence'', as well as selections from '' Keys to Imagination''. Being good friends, Tesh asked Yanni if he could join the band as keyboardist along with Joyce Imbesi and drummer Charlie Adams, as he'd never been onstage for a live performance, and he needed the experience. Despite already having a full-time job with ''

'', and the long hours of rehearsal for the band, he did very well, although he did only one tour with Yanni, playing in about 12 shows, including the " 1988 Concert Series", before being replaced by Bradley Joseph. Later, Yanni helped Tesh get his first recording contract with

Private Music Private Music was an American independent record label founded in 1984 by musician Peter Baumann as a "home for instrumental music". Baumann signed Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and his former ba ...

. In the 1990s, John Tesh was credited with the theme music to ''

Bobby's World ''Bobby's World'' (originally known as ''The World According to Bobby'') is an American animated comedy children's television series, which ran from September 8, 1990, to February 23, 1998, on the Fox Kids network. The show was created by Canad ...

'', hosted by Howie Mandel, and the '' NBA on NBC'' theme, known as "

". Tesh composed the ''NBA 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. The theme was used for the ''NBA on NBC'' before the network stopped carrying NBA games following the 2001–02 season (as well as an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

-driven spinoff that was used on NBC's WNBA telecasts from

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

), though NBC would revive the theme for its basketball coverage during the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. Tesh would later license the song to

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

for its college basketball coverage. In August 1994, John performed at the

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheatre built into a rock structure in the western United States, near Morrison, Colorado, west of Denver. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind ...

in Morrison, Colorado, for his first ''Live at Red Rocks'' concert. Tesh performed with conductor John Bisharat and the 70-piece Colorado Symphony Orchestra. The concert featured Tesh playing grand piano,

Charlie Bisharat Charlie Bisharat is an American violinist known as a member of Shadowfax and for his work in film and with other New Age Jazz artists. He was born in Inglewood, CA in 1963 to parents who immigrated to the United States from Palestine in the 1950 ...

playing electric violin, and

Everette Harp Everette Harp (born August 17, 1961, in Houston, Texas) is an American jazz saxophonist who has recorded for Blue Note, Capitol and Shanachie Records. His album ''Jazz Funk Soul'', a collaboration with Chuck Loeb and Jeff Lorber, received his f ...

playing alto saxophone. Also featured were Olympic gold medal-gymnasts

Nadia Comaneci Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: Uk ...

(1976) and

Bart Conner Bart Wayne Conner (born March 28, 1958) is a retired American Olympic gymnast. As a member of the US men's gymnastics team at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, Conner won two gold medals. He owns and operates the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in No ...

(1984) performing gymnastic routines specially-choreographed to Tesh's music. After Tesh left his ten-year job as co-host for ''Entertainment Tonight'' in 1996, he turned to his career as a contemporary keyboardist. This led to him starting ''The John Tesh Radio Show'' in 2003.

''John Tesh Radio Show'' and spin-offs

Tesh currently has a nationally syndicated radio show called the ''John Tesh Radio Show'', which typically airs on

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 198 ...

, Christian and

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

radio formats. The music is interspersed with various factoids and other information Tesh considers useful to listeners, often with topics such as health and well-being. These factoids are called "Intelligence for Your Life", played on radio stations across the United States and Canada, and the Armed Forces Network. Select pieces of "Intelligence for Your Life" are broken up and distributed in vignette form to other radio stations (including

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

formats) and for use on morning shows. There is also a three-hour weekend show, "Intelligence for Your Health", launched in 2010, hosted by

. Across all of its versions, Tesh's radio programs reach listeners across the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom, placing it on the list of most-listened-to radio programs. Tesh's main rival is ''

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label= Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved ...

'', 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 by

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...

under the name ''On 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. 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. As of 2022, the programs are distributed through a partnership with

Compass Media Networks Compass Media Networks is an American radio network. The company launched in January 2009. It is owned by former Westwood One CEO and former COO of Connoisseur Media, Peter Kosann. The company focuses on radio and offers representation and m ...

. 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". Tesh also authored a book, ''Intelligence for Your Life: Powerful Lessons for Personal Growth'', in 2008, reprinted in 2012 (, publisher Thomas Nelson).

Personal life

Tesh has been married to actress

since 1992. They have one daughter together named Prima. His wife also has a son named Gib, with actor Gil Gerard, who now appears on some of Tesh's radio and TV programs. Tesh and Sellecca reside in Los Angeles. In the 1970s, he also briefly dated

. Tesh is a Christian. He was raised a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

and was involved in the church during his youth. 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 his future wife introduced him to pastor Louis Lapides. Since then, he has written and performed Christian music.

Awards

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 by ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' magazine for his radio show. Other finalists included

, Blair Garner, Steve Harvey,

Kidd Kraddick David Peter Cradick (August 22, 1959 – July 27, 2013) was an American radio host and television personality, known as Kidd Kraddick. His nationally syndicated morning radio show, '' The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show'', is based in Irving ...

, and '' The Lia Show''. Tesh was nominated in 2003 for the Grammy for "Best Pop Instrumental Album" for ''Power of Love''. John has also earned three gold albums, six Emmys for his sports themes, and a Keyboard Magazine Award.

Discography

Studio albums

* 1987: ''Music from the Tour de France, Vol. I'' (Tesh Music BMI) * 1988: ''Tour de France'' (

) * 1989: '' Garden City'' (Cypress) * 1992: '' A Romantic Christmas'' (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

) * 1992: ''Ironman Triathlon'' (GTSP) * 1992: ''Music in the Key of Love'' (GTSP) * 1992: ''The Games'' (GTSP) * 1993: ''Monterey Nights'' (GTSP) * 1993: '' Winter Song'' (GTSP) 1994: (Decca) * 1994: ''A Family Christmas'' (Decca) * 1994: ''Sax by the Fire'' (Decca) * 1995: ''Sax on the Beach'' (Decca) * 1996: ''Discovery'' (Decca) * 1996: ''Choirs of Christmas'' (GTSP) * 1997: ''Avalon'' (Decca) * 1997: ''Sax All Night'' (Decca) * 1998: ''Grand Passion'' (GTSP) * 1998: ''Guitar by the Fire'' (Decca) * 1998: ''Songs from the Road'' (BMG) * 1998: ''Pure Movies'' (GTSP) * 1999: ''One World'' (GTSP) * 1999: ''John Tesh & Friends'' (Columbia River) * 2000: ''Pure Hymns'' (Faith MD) * 2000: ''Pure Movies, Vol. 2'' (Garden City) * 2001: ''Pure Orchestra'' (Garden City) * 2001: ''Pure Gospel'' (Faith MD) * 2001: ''Classical Music for an Intimate Mood'' (Garden City) * 2001: ''Classical Music for a Stress-Free World'' (Garden City) * 2001: ''Classical Music for Babies (and Their Moms)'' Vol. 1 & 2 (Garden City) * 2001: ''Classical Music for a Prayerful Mood'' (Garden City & Faith MD) * 2002: ''Awesome God'' (Garden City) * 2002: ''The Power of Love'' (Garden City) * 2002: ''Christmas Worship'' (

Word A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no conse ...

) * 2002: ''A Deeper Faith'' (Garden City) * 2002: ''God of Wonders'' (Garden City) * 2002: ''Worship God'' (Garden City) * 2003: ''A Deeper Faith, Vol. 2'' (Garden City) * 2007: ''A Passionate Life'' (Garden City) * 2008: ''Grand Piano Christmas'' (Garden City) * 2009: ''Grand Piano Worship'' (Garden City) * 2010: ''Grand Piano Romance'' (Garden City) * 2011: ''Big Band Christmas'' (Garden City) * 2012: ''Big Band'' (Garden City)

Live albums

* 1995: '' Live at Red Rocks'' (Decca) * 2004: '' Worship at Red Rocks'' (live) (Garden City) * 2005: ''Red Rocks Platinum'' (live) (Garden City) * 2008: ''Alive: Music & Dance'' (Garden City) * 2020: ''Songs and Stories from the Grand Piano'' (Garden City)

Compilations and collections

* 1990: ''Tour de France – The Early Years'' (Private Music) * 1993: ''Monterey Nights'' (Decca) * 1995: ''Anthology'' * 1997: ''Victory – the sports collection'' (GTSP) * 1999: ''Heart of the Sunrise - The Millennium Collection'' (John Tesh) * 1999: ''One Day'' (Unison) * 2000: ''Pure Hymns'' (Faith MD) * 2000: ''Forever More: The Greatest Hits of John Tesh'' (Decca) * 2003: ''Worship Collection: Awesome God'' (Garden City) * 2009: ''The Best of Christmas'' * 2009: ''John Tesh – Greatest Hits – Live in Concert Vol. 1 CD/DVD'' (Garden City)

Singles

* 1988: ''A Thousand Summers'' (single) * 1989: ''You Break It'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

) (single)

Other albums

* 1995: ''Backstage with John Tesh'' (Digital Entertainment) (an interactive CD-rom) * 2005: ''Drive Time Intelligence'' (26 tracks of Intelligence For Your Life on the go, plus 3 bonus music tracks)
* 2010: ''God of Wonders'' (Word)

Videography

* 1993: ''A Romantic Christmas'' * 1995: ''Live in Monterey'' * 1995: ''Live at Red Rocks'' * 1997: ''The Avalon Concert'' * 2000: ''One World'' * 2002: ''Christmas Worship'' * 2004: ''Worship at Red Rocks'' * 2008: ''Alive: Music & Dance'' * 2009: ''Greatest Hits: Live in Concert, Vol. 1'' * 2012: ''Big Band Live'' * 2020: ''Songs and Stories from the Grand Piano''

References

External links

*
Official music website
*
John Tesh
at

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tesh, John 20th-century American pianists North Carolina State University alumni NC State Wolfpack men's lacrosse players People from Garden City, New York Living people 1952 births American Christians American male composers 20th-century American composers Composers for piano American radio personalities New-age pianists Olympic Games broadcasters Promise Keepers American television sports announcers American performers of Christian music American YouTubers American male YouTubers Video bloggers American podcasters Cycling announcers Gymnastics broadcasters Private Music artists American male pianists 21st-century American pianists Male bloggers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Garden City High School (New York) alumni