Which version over the years surprises you the most?

I think that I have any career at all in music just because I grew up a band geek.

I was...

I'm 6'6", now I weigh 230.

In junior high, I was this height and I weighed 155.

So I wanted to play football in high school, 'cause that was the only way to get girls, and they wouldn't insure me.

[laughs] I wasn't insurable 'cause I was too light.

Yeah.

That sounds like an intense title, but I think it is a very entrepreneurial title as well.

I mean, yes, it is definitely intense.

The rest of the story, the rest of the title is unleashing a life.

It's even worse.

Unleashing a life of persistence, grit and faith.

I mean, the short story is.

I wanted to be a musician my whole life, and my father wanted me to follow in his footsteps, which was to, my dad made underwear for Hanes.

When you write a story of your life like that, do you already have a bunch of the chapters mapped out, and then as you're going through such and such chapter, that prompts another memory or story from back in the day? How did you go about writing it?

You know, you should run something.

Dude, uh, you don't, you probably don't remember this, but years ago when I first came on this show, on Fox & Friends, uh, we were on the show and we were having a good time and the producer comes to me afterwards and says, "Hey, would you substitute for one of the guys when they're on vacation? You know, you were a newscaster." And I, and I said, I said, "No, I, because I, I really have no idea ...

I'm gonna go on the show and something really bad's gonna happen in Yemen and I have no idea where it is."

Wow.

We got it in the car, and I'm not just saying that.

But what's fascinating, I'm not gonna name any names.

It's fascinating when there's, there's somebody who's in an ad lib, so where they come on as a, as an expert, right? Then all of a sudden they get their own show.

You can see, and maybe it's just me, because I've, I've been doing that for so many years, you can see when they're learning how to, how to use the prompter.

You've talked about that Round Ball Rock helped put your two kids through school, but what are you making off of this Round Ball Rock?

In, in, in 1990 when I heard this story, when I, when I heard that NBC had, had gotten the, the rights to the NBA back, uh, I wa- I'm in that sports ecosystem, right, because I'm working for, for the network, uh, doing, like, other stuff.

And, uh, and I thought, "Well, what would a sports theme s- uh, what would an NBA theme sound like?" And as the story goes, I woke up in the middle of the night in Megève, France as I was covering the Tour de France and had a melody in my head.

And it was (singing).

And I knew that, I knew that if I, if I didn't, if I went back to sleep, and I'm sure you've had this feeling, you have a great idea and you go back to sleep and it's gone.

I didn't have a ans- I didn't have a, a tape recorder or anything to put it down, sheet music, and so I called my answering machine in the middle of the night at 2:00 AM and, and recorded that.

And when I got home, the two sections, you know, (singing) were on my, were on my answering machine.

What is it about sports that brings about a theme or, you know, it becomes anthemic to you in your mind?

You've talked about that Roundball Rock helped put your two kids through school, but what are you making off of this Roundball Rock?

It, in- in 1990, when I heard the story, when I, when I heard that NBC had- had gotten the- the rights to the NBA back, uh, I would- I'm in that sports ecosystem, right? Because I'm working for- for the network, doing, like, other stuff and, uh, and I thought, "Well, what would a sports theme, uh, what would an NBA theme sound like?" And as the story goes, I woke up in the middle of the night in Megève, France as I was covering the Tour de France, and had a melody in my head, and it was ♪ Keh keh keh keh keh keh keh keh ♪ and I knew that, (clears throat) I knew that if I, if I didn't, if I went back to sleep, and I'm sure you've had this feeling, you have a great idea and you go back to sleep and it's gone.

I didn't have a ans- I didn't have a- a tape recorder or anything to put it down, sheet music, and so I called my answering machine in the middle of the night at 2:00 AM and- and recorded that, and when I got home, the two sections, you know, ♪ Keh keh keh keh keh keh keh keh ♪ and ♪ Keh keh keh keh keh keh keh ♪ were on my, were on my answering machine.

(laughs)

... sports that brings about a theme, or, you know, it becomes anthemic to you in your mind?

Yeah.

I mean, first of all, I do, I, I, here in, in my studio, I, I always have video playing.

I have, I have a couple of, you know, great loops, uh, highlights of, of, ma- many different sports.

What is it about sports that brings about a theme, or, uh, you know, it becomes anthemic to you in your mind?

Yeah, I mean, first of all, I do, I, uh, here in, in my studio, I, I always have video playing.

I ha- I have a couple of, you know, great loops, uh, highlights of, of, uh, many different sports.

And so I love that.

I love that movement.

And it just, it just, the, the experience of being there, of being at the Ironman, the experience of me ...

I, I ran five New York Marathons poorly.

But did you ever think about lyrics for Round Ball Rock?

Right.

... and also as a composer, I was writing music for it.

And I heard through the sports grapevine that they were looking for a theme, because NBC had just gotten the rights, uh, away from CBS.

And I'm thinking, "What would a..." Nobody knew me as a composer.

I'm thinking, "What, what, what would a theme sound like?" Right? So, I woke up in the middle of the night, got this idea.

The idea was (singing).

And I called it into my answering machine back in the States and then the mid, then the, the middle section (singing).

Are you ever?

Why is it that you decided after 20 years, uh, to do sports as your re-entry point on musical inspiration?

It really was, uh, I mean, you guys were, were, were a part of it with me when, when, uh, when NBC decided to bring the, the, the theme back.

Uh, and my son, Gib, who's, uh, he's a great, great musician and, and an actor.

And, and he just said, I, I'm a grandpa, so he calls me Pop-pop.

He said, "Pop-pop, you know, I've ne- I never see you happier than when you're in that studio or when you're on stage." And we took a 20-year break.

I took a 20-year break from writing music, because we were touring all the time.

And then, you know, when all the excitement happened with Roundball Rock, I just said, "You know, that's what I, that's what I love most to write, is sports music." And so I got back in the studio, worked with, uh, with, uh, wrote a bunch of songs, worked with my friend, Timothy Heins, who's a, another great, uh, composer.

(laughs)