Celebrity Jobber Podcast with Jeff Zito

Episode: John Tesh
Release Date: October 10, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features John Tesh, a multi-talented composer, broadcaster, and media personality, renowned for the iconic NBA theme "Round Ball Rock" and his long-standing career as a newsman, musician, and radio show host. Host Jeff Zito talks with Tesh about his early life, formative jobs, journey into broadcasting and music, facing failure, resilience through cancer, and what keeps him inspired today.
The conversation is candid, funny, and deeply insightful — a journey from “jobber” beginnings (including making cheddar balls at a cheese shop) to national stardom and profound personal transformation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Legacy of "Round Ball Rock" & Music’s Role in Tesh’s Life

• [04:06] Zito expresses amazement at Tesh’s composition “Round Ball Rock,” now synonymous with NBA nostalgia.

  • Tesh reflects on the song’s accidental legacy:

    "I wake up every morning and go, how did that... That's the same question." – John Tesh [04:51]

    • The song became iconic in the halcyon days of the NBA (Jordan, Magic, Pippen) and is now revived as a nostalgia play for NBC [05:45].

• Tesh describes a childhood immersed in music, enforced piano practice, and a family not at all in showbiz, but music-focused by his mother's encouragement [06:20].

2. Early Life & Family Background

• [06:20] Tesh’s father was a VP in Hanes (the “underwear king”), mother a surgical nurse; both wanted practical careers for their kids.
• John did not originally aspire to show business. He started in textile chemistry at NC State, his father’s field [06:20–07:45].
• His pivot came after a radio/TV class and failed statistics, leading him to seek out communications [08:00].

3. Adversity, Forgery, and a Seminal Turning Point

• [09:52] Tesh was suspended from college for forging his professor’s signature to drop a course.
  • Quote:

    "I was being suspended, and... then my dad kicked me out of the house." – John Tesh [09:53]

• This led to homelessness in Raleigh, NC, where Tesh took odd jobs, including at a construction site, as a waiter, and sweeping floors at Rick Dees' radio station WKIX [09:54–10:38].
• Tesh identifies this moment as his true turning point:

  "If the statistics professor hadn't turned me in for forging his signature, I'd probably be making underwear now. ...That was a seminal moment — being in a tent in a park in Raleigh." – John Tesh [17:12]

4. First Job Stories & Cheese Shop Memories

• [14:24] Tesh’s first-ever job was painting sale signs at a furniture store, followed by managing the Garden City Cheese Shop during high school.
  • Humorous anecdotes:

    "The guy who ran the cheese shop was named Harold Varnhagen from Germany, of course... he would blindfold us... you had to learn the smell of German tilsitre, Danish fontina, and cheddar." – John Tesh [14:24]
    "I smelled like Clearasil and feta cheese, which explains why I never had a date in high school." – John Tesh [15:07]

5. Entering Broadcasting: Sweeping Floors to CBS News

• [11:00–13:46] Tesh’s progression from sweeping floors at Rick Dees’ radio station to becoming a newsman was gradual, but marked by lucky breaks and determination.
• Tesh discusses landing jobs in Orlando, Nashville (where Pat Sajak did weather, Oprah Winfrey was a reporter), and then to CBS in New York (John Stossel, Brian Williams, Meredith Vieira as colleagues).
• His accidental entry into sports music composition, creating themes for events like Tour de France and Ironman at CBS Sports, originated from his home studio synth experiments:

  "I started knocking out these themes and just saying, hey, what about this?... I was doing them in my basement." – John Tesh [13:37]

6. The Life-Changing “Fake Broadcast”

• [17:12–22:56] Tesh’s breakthrough into radio came when, homeless and desperate, he recorded a creative, comedic fake newscast demo at WKNC radio, complete with piano music and made-up correspondents.
  • He shared that tape at WKIX, landing his first news job after the news director was “laughing our asses off.”

  "If you would go to this far to try and get a job, I'll give you a job." – Scott White, WKIX News Director, to John Tesh [22:26]

7. Reinvention and Resilience: Battling Cancer

• [23:41] Tesh reveals his diagnosis with a rare form of prostate cancer in 2015, initially given 18 months to live.

  “I walked into a doctor's office here in Los Angeles and walked out with 18 months to live... my wife just said, 'No, this is not us. We're not doing this.'” – John Tesh [23:41]

• He credits faith, visualization, and modern medicine for his continued survival over a decade later [23:41–25:48].
• This experience motivated Tesh to stay active — producing new music, performing, and maintaining fitness as means of well-being and counteracting depression.

8. Creativity, Fitness, and Current Projects

• [25:48–28:31] Tesh’s most recent project is an album inspired by sports anthems and workout music (“All Sports”), written and recorded with full orchestra and live musicians.
• He emphasizes daily movement and exercise as critical to creativity and health, especially post-cancer:

  "All throughout the day, whether I'm doing the radio show or whatever, it's just designed to stay in shape." – John Tesh [28:13]

9. Inspirational Advice: On Faith and Visualization

• [29:05] Tesh shares an inspirational message for Zito’s mother, Carol, recovering from a broken hip:

  "Carol, I just believe that God wants you well... be able to see yourself on the medal stand... your medal stand is walking every day with no pain when you get on the other side of this." – John Tesh [29:05]

• He shares personal thanks and prayers, noting the importance of visualization and support:

  "We'll be praying for you, Connie and I'll be praying for you, because now we know who you are. And I just see — I see victory for you." – John Tesh [29:53]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On His Unexpected Fame Through "Round Ball Rock":

  "It's a big nostalgia play now for NBC for sure." – John Tesh [05:45]

• On Failing Out and Starting Over:

  "I was homeless for about four or five months. I had a pup tent from Boy Scouts... I'd probably be making underwear now. Not that there's anything wrong with that." – John Tesh [17:12]

• On Making Cheese Balls and Dating Woes:

  "I smelled like Clearasil and feta cheese, which explains why I never had a date in high school." – John Tesh [15:07]

• On His Breakthrough Demo Tape:

  "If you would go to this far to try and get a job, I'll give you a job. ...I was erasing tapes... as it happens in the Cinderella story, a guy came in drunk on the weekend and they fired him, and I ended up reading the news on Sunday night." – John Tesh [22:26–22:56]

• Facing Mortality and Reinvention:

  "My wife just said, 'No, this is not us.' ...We combined the word of God and what the Bible said about health and healing with some smart people in the medical field and with visualization..." – John Tesh [24:13]

• On the Power of Visualization:

  "Your medal stand is walking every day with no pain when you get on the other side of this." – John Tesh [29:33]

Timestamps & Segment Highlights

• [04:03] – Warm opening, NBA theme discussion
• [06:20] – Early life, family jobs, enforced piano study
• [09:52] – College trouble, suspension, homelessness
• [14:24] – First job: painting sale signs, Garden City Cheese Shop
• [17:12] – Life-changing moment: from the tent to radio demo
• [23:41] – Cancer diagnosis, faith, and visualization
• [25:48] – Current projects: new sports music album, importance of fitness
• [29:05] – Words of encouragement for Zito’s mother, power of visualization

Tone & Style

John Tesh’s tone is humble, humorous, and honest, blending vulnerability with persistence and gratitude. Zito keeps the conversation light, with curiosity and warmth—making for an accessible, inspiring listen.

Summary Takeaway

John Tesh’s path from a nearly “jobber” fate—making cheese balls and painting signs—to being a household name in both broadcasting and music, is marked by resilience, reinvention, and relentless pursuit of creative joy. His story is a testament to making the most out of unexpected failures, harnessing creativity, and approaching life—and adversity—with both faith and action.