He’s managed to become a public radio star — without saying a word.
If you’re a regular KCUR listener, you’ve heard his name countless times.
BJ Leiderman is the composer of the theme music heard on Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Car Talk and Marketplace, to name a few.
“I’m the luckiest composer in the land,” Leiderman told Steve Kraske on KCUR’s Up To Date.
But behind the cheerful, fun-loving demeanor is a man who has lived a life filled with obstacles and who continues to deal with physical and mental health issues.
The lone survivor of triplets, Leiderman has survived lightning strikes — both literally and metaphorically — and continues to struggle with depression and the dementia-like mental effects of Lyme Disease.
As Leiderman nears completion of his debut album — a project 30 years in the making, we speak with him about his journey and his hopes for the future.
Here are some highlights from the interview:
On how it felt to land the gig with a then-young NPR
“I didn't think of myself as a star or anything. I thought ‘Wow, I’d finally, you know besides jingles and stuff, I'd finally landed something that had some panache to it' … Put it this way, I had no idea that I would be sitting here 40 some whatever years later, all this music having worked its charm behind my back kind of, until the internet comes and people are e-mailing me how I'm like, I'm the soundtrack of their lives.”
On putting his parents through hell
"I put them through hell and then I put them through heaven. I think I was a tough kid. I think back then, if they had the ADHD diagnosis, I would have been diagnosed with that. I was hit by lightning when I was eight years old, who knows what kind of mishegoss that put in my head, you know?
But later on, I know that they were proud whenever they heard my name on this show and that show and the other. My mother told me once she was playing bridge with a bunch of ladies and one lady was going off about her son the doctor who had just done this wonderful operation, and another lady said, 'Well you know my lawyer son just merged with this other law firm and now they're the biggest firm,' and my mother puts down her winning hand and says, 'Yeah? my son's BJ Leiderman.'"
On struggling with depression and the mental effects of Lyme disease
“It's tough being me. It is. I'm about to put out this album, my very first album. It's tough to be at this point and know that what comes after this is touring around the country, and my memory is going faster than it should for a man of my age. And nobody is buying music anymore. It's difficult. Who knows what the lightning strike did for me.
The other things that happen when you suffer from cognitive side of Lyme Disease ... it's just tough when you don't recognize people that you should recognize. It gets embarrassing. Luckily, I can still count to four and play these crazy songs, which is all I really need to do for the rest of my life."
On feeling lucky to have crossed paths with NPR when he did
“Here I am a kid from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who out-underachieved Bart Simpson, cause I just wasn't interested in much. Played with a rock band, you know I toured across the country with a rock band for a while playing nothing but covers...Had a good time. Went to couple of colleges, they didn't quite want me to stay, but landed this wonderful connection with one of the most serious and wonderful news organizations on this planet.”
Lisa Rodriguez is the associate producer for KCUR's Up To Date. Connect with her on Twitter @larodrig.
