That Guy on TV - John Graham's Blog, Resume, and Hootenanny
That Guy on TV - John Graham's Blog, Resume, and Hootenanny

Never Turn Down a Gig

 

Bruce Hornsby won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1987 after hitting the Top 40 with “The Way It Is” and “Mandolin Rain” and “Every Little Kiss” and, eventually, “The Valley Road.” So why did I put a picture of Sheena Easton up there? In 1984, Bruce was in Easton’s touring band and pretended to play keyboards in the music video for her Top 10 hit, “Strut.” (As near as I can tell, he’s not actually playing on the recording.) You get the best look at Bruce around 2:27.

1980s, Music
February 24, 2026 | 1:18 pm

Down the Rabbit Hole (Again)

If you you’re reading this because I mentioned my blog on The Daily Flash, “hi” and welcome! Here’s another round of Down the Rabbit Hole, where I start with a bit of pop culture and see where it takes me.

I recently had the song below pop up on a streamer and was surprised how many of the lyrics I knew – even though I have heard it for a good thirty years. If you think “Country Boy (You’ve Got Your Feet in LA)” sounds a lot like Glen Campbell’s hit right before this one, the super smash “Rhinestone Cowboy,” you’re right.

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1970s, 1980s, Down the Rabbit Hole, Music
February 22, 2026 | 10:03 pm

My 2025 Christmas Playlist

Hey – I was just on A Corporate Time with Tom and Dan on 104.1 FM Real Radio WTKS – and we talked about some of my favorite underplayed Christmas songs – along with a few for Hanukkah. Thanks to the guys for letting me share some good music you rarely hear on the radio! Here’s my full list, including a bunch that we didn’t get to play. I’d also suggest going over to the search bar here and typing in “Christmas” for a bunch of songs that I’ve written about in the past.

Merry merry!

1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Music
December 23, 2025 | 3:59 pm

A Black Betty Quickie

Here’s a great example of what an editor can do. Do you know the ’70s classic rock standard “Black Betty” by Ram Jam? A producer took a rambling jam of a 4:25 single, credited to Starstruck, and pared it down, looped some bits, and came up with a 2:33 classic.

1970s, Music
October 15, 2025 | 10:52 am

Here I Go Again … Again

Sometimes, you turn on the radio and hear a familiar song but it doesn’t quite sound right. Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” is one of those records – because, over the years, it’s been released to radio and streaming services in so many versions.

Best known is the take that you saw on MTV and heard on most radio stations in 1987. It’s the version with the picture up top, where they didn’t bother to take the price tag off Tawny Kitaen’s new shoes. Today, it exists on YouTube as a blurry “official” clip from Rhino Records.

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1980s, Down the Rabbit Hole, Music
May 17, 2025 | 11:20 am
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John’s Work

  • John’s Resume
  • John’s Video and Print Samples

About John

John Graham is That Guy on TV – an Emmy-winning producer/writer/host and owner of Mosquito County Productions, based in Orlando, FL.

Over the years, John has produced YouTube videos with millions of views, worked with Muppets and Princesses, won two regional Emmys for travel reporting, interviewed celebs from Ariana Grande to Hillbilly Jim, and done thousands of live news broadcasts. (You know it’s me writing this, right?)

Get ahold of me at John@thatguyontv.com

Favorite Sites

  • Edible Orlando
  • News from ME
  • Brand Eating
  • Fark
  • Boing Boing
  • Yacht or Nyacht
  • Gods & Monsters
  • Dana Gould
  • Crap from the Past
  • Captain Disillusion
  • Penn & Teller

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