Alex Trebek on Music Hop

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Things got started with a bang as Greg Kihn emerged for a three-song, seventeen-minute set starting with hit, ‘Jeopardy’ (known as much, or more for Weird Al’s parody version of the song).
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Alex Trebek, the long-running game show host of Jeopardy!, has passed away on November 8th, 2020, at the age of 80. Before Jeopardy, his very first hosting job was on a Canadian music program called Music Hop in 1963. After that, he hosted for CBC, talking about classical music programs, etc… so Trebek was a music lover.

When news of his death came out, music icon Don McLean (famous for “American Pie”), shared his story about Alex Trebek.

Setlist

photo courtesy of Don McLean

It was Trebek’s longtime dream to have McLean perform at his Christmas party for the Jeopardy staff at Vitellos restaurant in 2019. He expressed his concern that he might not have the budget to include McLean for this show, but “didn’t want to not give it a try.”

Of course, McLean agreed to perform… and when the musician arrived at the restaurant, Trebek whipped out a sheet of paper and wrote the songs he wanted McLean to play, from his memory, down to the extract length of time. The man was as sharp as ever, given the fact that he was on heavy medication, around this time.

We’ll miss you, Alex Trebek.