The composer of this iconic NBA theme song is celebrating his 74th birthday.
John Tesh is an American TV host, songwriter, producer and musician, best known as the songwriter behind the theme song "Roundball Rock," which has been used by the NBA and NBC for over 12 years. In addition, he hosts the Intelligence for Your Life radio show with his wife, Connie Sellecca.
Tesh was born and raised on Long Island and went to college at North Carolina State University, where he studied communications and music. After taking a radio/film course in college, Tesh worked part-time reading the news for Rick Dees at WKIX (AM), and his college roommate helped Tesh break into the radio and journalism industry.
John Tesh attends the 16th annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards at The Wiltern on February 28, 2026, in Los Angeles, California.Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
John Tesh's Career Outside Music Composition
Since the start of his career, Tesh has won six Emmys and has four gold albums, two Grammy nominations and an Associated Press award for investigative journalism. In addition, he has also worked with Entertainment Tonight, as well as a sports commentator and host for the Olympic Games, Wimbledon, the US Open, the Tour de France and the Ironman Triathlon.
Tesh's first TV career stint was as an anchor at a local news station in Nashville. He moved throughout various stations around the country, working in Atlanta, Orlando, Durham and New York City. He later moved to CBS and NBC, where he served as a sportscaster.
Tesh didn't start his music career until the late 1980s. His good friend Yanni asked him if he could join his band as a keyboardist. Though he had never performed on stage and had a full-time job with demanding hours at Entertainment Tonight, he agreed and participated in one tour with the group. Later on, Yanni assisted Tesh in signing his first recording contract with Private Music.
After writing many jingles and theme songs for various programs, including the theme music to Bobby's World, Tesh was assigned to write a theme song for NBA on NBC. He ended up writing one of the most iconic sports songs in history.
John Tesh performs during the 75th NBA All-Star Game as part of the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend on February 15, 2026 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
"Roundball Rock" was developed by Tesh in 1989, while he was in his hotel room in France covering the Tour de France for CBS. At the time, NBC recently acquired the broadcasting rights to the NBA, and Tash was asked to create a theme song. He came up with the melody while asleep, and immediately recorded it on his answering machine so he wouldn't forget what he came up with. After the Tour de France was over, he flew back to Los Angeles and recorded the theme song in a studio.
"Roundball Rock" made its NBC broadcast debut on November 3, 1990, during the opening season matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. Other variants and remixes were made throughout the years for different organizations, such as the WNBA, in 1997. After NBC lost NBA and WNBA rights to ABC and ESPN in 2002, Tesh offered the incoming networks the rights to use his theme, but they declined and decided to compose their own theme music instead.
The theme song made its comeback on NBC during basketball games for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and was picked up again during the 2025 NBA season under a new contract. "Roundball Rock" has also been used in multple occasions by Fox College Hoops and All Elite Wrestling, as well as parodied and sampled by many artists.
From 1990 to 2002, the tune was played over 12,000 times, making it one of the most iconic tunes in sports history.
"It's supernatural for me because the first time it was on the air, I was sitting in a bar watching it," Tesh explained on the Dan Patrick Show last October. "I had written hundreds of themes for CBS in particular, [from] you know, everything from football to tennis. And so this was just another theme."
What is John Tesh Doing Now?
Even if it's been more than 30 years since Tesh composed "Roundabout Rock," he is still very active in the TV and entertainment industry. He continues to host his nationally syndicated radio show, Intelligence for Your Life, and actively creates music. He released an album of sports-themed music titled Sports in August, and remains in stable condition while successfully fighting a 10-year battle with metastatic prostate cancer.
When Tesh was diagnosed in 2015, he was told by doctors that he had 18 months to live, but after surgery and care at UT MD Anderson, he is still staying busy years later.
"The team at UT MD Anderson was by our side throughout my journey," he wrote in his 2020 memoir, Relentless: Unleashing a Life of Purpose, Grit, and Faith. "We are grateful for the care I received that is truly only possible here."
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