John Tesh was born in 1952 in Garden City, New York on Long Island. At the age of six, John began to play the piano and trumpet, later joining the New York State Symphonic Orchestra in high school. He also played the organ for a rock band during that time. Although John had a clear interest in music early in his life, he chose to study physics and chemistry at North Carolina State University. At NC State, he took a TV and radio course which ultimately opened a path to his early career choice.

His roommate Bill Leslie was the anchor for WRAL-TV and helped get John into the radio and TV field, resulting in his taking jobs as a news anchor in Raleigh, Orlando, Nashville, and New York post-college. John later landed jobs at CBS and NBC as a sportscaster covering the Tour de France, US Open, and the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.

In 1986, John’s career took off after landing a co-host position for the television show Entertainment Tonight. A year later, John was able to find time from his TV anchoring work to tour with Yanni in promotion of Yanni’s album Out of Silence. He played as a keyboardist until being replaced by Bradley Joseph.

In the 1990s, John was credited for the theme music to Bobby’s World and the NBA on NBC theme “Roundball Rock,” which he had originally recorded to himself through his answering machine. By 1996, John left his ten-year job as co-host for Entertainment Tonight to start a career as a contemporary keyboardist.

In 2003, he started The John Tesh Radio Show, a nationally syndicated radio show which also reaches listeners in Canada and the UK. It was originally syndicated through Westwood One, airing on 280 radio stations, and is now distributed through a partnership with Compass Media Networks

John currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his wife, actress Connie Sellecca, and spends time writing and performing Christian music