This is an IHeart podcast.

And we continue with our American stories.

And up next, a true story of David Klein,

an eccentric candy inventor from L.A.,

who's the creator and founder of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans,

my personal favorite candy.

Here's David Klein to share the story

of how he lost his beans, but kept his soul.

I was born in Syracuse, New York. We left there when I was three and a half, and I remember

nothing about it. We came to California. My dad was the best furniture salesman in the world.

And he knew more about furniture than anybody alive.

And when I was growing up, I worked in a liquor store that my aunt and grandmother owned.

It was in Van Nuys right next to a Union 76 station

that was owned by Joe Punicello and at Punicello's father.

And in those days, if your family owned the liquor store

you could work in there and from the age of about seven to 13 I worked in the

liquor store all during the summer and after school.

And I got quite an experience dealing with the public.

I learned how to count money at the age of seven, make change,

and all the things that I learned there. I wanted to put into a book one day. And the title of

the book would be everything I knew in life I learned working in a liquor store. And what happened

was we had a candy section there and I would go with my aunt once a week

...