John Tesh: Red Rocks Reveries

“Nearly ten years ago, in a driving rain storm, with my wife and 2-month-old daughter in the audience, my life changed forever at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre,” says John Tesh. The Public Television program filmed that evening went on to become one of PBS’s most successful fundraising specials ever. And it helped John make a giant leap out of television and into the world of music, which he calls his “first love.”

Since the first Red Rocks special, John has become increasingly outspoken about his Christian faith, so it was a natural fit for him to return to the legendary venue for Worship at Red Rocks, a CD and DVD that he conceptualized, produced, and funded himself.

A Multi-Talented Artist

John has long been an advocate for the power and encouragement found in worship music, so it’s no surprise that one of his regular gigs is music director in his church in Sherman Oaks, Calif. “When you have a 9-year-old little girl in your house, you realize that you need to pick a vocation that the kid can actually share with the rest of the fourth grade class,” John says.

So far, picking a vocation and sticking with it has not been one of John’s strong points. With three gold albums and a career that has included six Emmys, two Grammy nominations, and an AP Press Award for investigative journalism, it’s obvious that John has a passion for versatility. “I guess you’d have to say I have been ‘absent fear’ when it comes to professional choices, but music has always been the one true constant. As bizarre as it sounds, I always considered TV my ‘waiting tables’ gig. Making records, especially worship records, is why I am here,” John says.

In a career that spans 25 years, John is known worldwide as a leading and respected figure in the entertainment and broadcasting industries. Music has always been his main passion. In 1996, after 10 years as co-host of Entertainment Tonight, he surprised many by leaving the highly visible position to pursue his career as a lifetime musician.

Pursing a Life-Long Dream

Growing up in a house of musicians, John’s love of music was a given. At age 10 he was playing trumpet and piano, and singing. His dad was a Minister of Sunday School and John had two talented older sisters. As his musicianship advanced, he studied piano with a teacher from Julliard, even playing with the New York State Symphonic Orchestra. Throughout this time, he was a high school varsity athlete and played in a rock band. After college he worked in local TV in Orlando, Nashville, and then at WCBS in New York as an anchor/reporter where he won several journalism awards.

Also while in New York, he frequented Studio 54 – not that he was a party animal, but he says, “I definitely was a networker in that whole music thing.” He played in a local venue just about every weekend. His love for music remained his passion, John says, and he spent years “using television to pay for music.” In 1987 he joined CBS Network Sports as a commentator, and while working on the Tour de France bicycle race, John offered to write theme music, which generated thousands of calls from viewers wanting to know where they could get the music. Retaining the rights, John sold 30,000 tapes from his garage.

In 1986, John joined Entertainment Tonight as co-host with Mary Hart and was there for 10 years. He surprised the industry – “people thought I was nuts” – when he chose to leave his seven-figure income and such a popular show to pursue a music career. Though John says the show was good to him, he came to think “that nothing else matters other than my family and what I believe in.”

He did some soul-searching. “I went to my pastor, I went to people who really knew me, and they said, ‘Just follow your heart already,’” John says. In making this great change, John had a great example in his late father, John Sr. John's father had moved his family from North Carolina to Long Island and was a VP at Hanes in New York. He quit his high-pressured job at age 50 to be a great carpenter and painter and make furniture.

John lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Connie Sellecca, his 9-year old daughter, Prima, and his 22-year-old son, Gib, a senior in college.