The American Music Awards has thrived since 1973, awarding the year's top music entertainers. With its regular January start, it has become the first major music awards event of the season.

An impossible amount of work went into the show you'll see on January 9th, and it's safely said that from the ushers to the superstars, the AMAs are a successful awards night because of its production.

AMA producer Larry Klein grew up in Wisconsin to become the man behind the American Music Awards. When TeenHollywood.com interviewed Larry in late November the awards season was drawing near and Larry was busy. But the man took time out of his day and volunteered information and stories about AMAs' past. Of particular interest is Larry's recollection of his career defining moment, applying for a job as a runner at Dick Clark Productions nearly 30 years ago.

Read on and see what it takes to be the producer of The American Music Awards.

Larry, how long have you been working towards the 2002 AMA awards?

Larry: I start thinking about it in June. In all honesty I think about it all year long. You keep track of what's going on in the charts and what's popular, so when you see what's happening with a particular artist you might say, "Hey, I'd better keep my eye on this person," so you do that naturally all year long. But June is when I really start looking at things and August is when I really start working on the show.