Bio:One of the most prolific and successful composers of the 90s, Tesh is a fixture on the Top 10 new age bestsellers list, where his easy listening blend of classical, pop and jazz has endeared him to thousands of devoted fans. Tesh was raised in the Garden City suburb of New York. Thanks to a classical music education he learnt to play piano and trumpet before he was 10 years old, although he later played in local rock bands during his teenage years. He attended North Carolina State University, graduating in 1975 with a degree in communications. Tesh’s early career was spent working as an investigative reporter on local television in places as diverse as Nashville, Raleigh and Orlando, before he landed a job at the WCBS station in New York. He joined CBS Sports as a commentator in 1981. Employed to cover the following year’s Tour De France, Tesh jumped at the opportunity to compose music to go with the coverage. A healthy viewer response resulted in Tesh selling several thousand homemade tapes out of his garage, which in turn led to further commissions. He won his first Emmy in 1983, collecting the award for Best Musical Composition for his Pan-American Games theme.
His big break came as a presenter, however, when in 1986 he was offered the co-host slot on the nightly Entertainment Tonight show. Tesh continued to compose music for sporting events, and in 1987 won a second Emmy for his Tour De France theme. His albums, including his debut Tour De France and the following year’s Garden City, also proved to be strong sellers on the new age lists. Tesh won another Emmy in 1991 for the Best Opening Music for NBC Sports’ World Track And Field Championships. The following year Tesh set up his own GTS label, releasing his soundtrack work for the Barcelona Olympic Games and the gold-selling A Romantic Christmas. His breakthrough as a musician came with the hugely successful fund-raising concert, Live At Red Rocks, which was broadcast on PBS in 1995. The attendant album went gold, the video reached double platinum sales, and Tesh was being fêted as one of the leading stars of adult contemporary music. He left the security of Entertainment Tonight in 1996 to concentrate on writing and recording music. He has subsequently released albums as a solo artist and with the John Tesh Project, an informal gathering of musicians offering smooth interpretations of modern songs, with Tesh acting as executive producer and contributing musician. His second PBS special, 1997’s The Avalon Concert, was another major success. The following year’s Grand Passion was nominated for a Grammy. Tesh’s most ambitious project to date, the One World special broadcast on PBS in March 1999, featured footage of the composer recording with local musicians in several countries. The project included the Adult Contemporary radio hit ‘Forever More (I’ll Be The One)’, featuring soul singer James Ingram.
John Tesh "Carol Of The Bells"
Learn more about this artist's Christmas hits by clicking on the song titles below.
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