Professor of Rock

Coming up… separate interviews with 2 legends behind one of the most truthful and compelling songs of the rock era: The Heart of the Matter by Don Henley written for his solo album The End of the Innocence. It's a song that’s changed so many people’s lives including mine with a message that’s so life-affirming and real it should be required listening… It’s just universal. And one of me most important parts of the song was written improv when its legendary singer was recording it… They needed a verse and he sang what came into his head on the spot and it tied the song together. You have to hear this story and interview coming up with 2 of the 3 co-writers of this song, JD Souther who wrote 3 #1 hits for the Eagles including Best of My Love and Heartache Tonight, and Mike Campbell the former guitarist, producer and co-writer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 1977 legend Jeff Lynne of ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) was trying to write songs for a new record but the weather was so dark around him he went into a funk.. Down and depressed he battled writer’s block and couldn’t write for weeks… He drowned his sorrows at the pub but one morning the sun came out and it shook him from his gloom and inspired him to write 13 songs in a little over a week including a classic hit Mr. Blue Sky. The song was about a make-believe superhero, inspired by a silly TV show he loved as a child. It was recorded with percussion played on a fire extinguisher and was so powerful and singable, later astronauts would use it as an alarm in space and it would be voted the happiest song ever! Get the story next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s a song that is guaranteed to REARRANGE your mind. Just ask the legendary artist who wrote it. Freddie Mercury of Queen. Before this track, neither he nor his band QUEEN had much to show for their efforts. Two albums in, and almost no one knew who they were outside the UK. Actually, they tried touring across America to get their name out there. But their guitarist, Brian May had to be hospitalized… twice. Completely pulling the rug out from under them. They needed a hit so their Freddie popped one off quickly which would start a habit of writing at the spur of the moment from scribbling down lyrics, with nothing to do on a Saturday night to writing a complete song in the bathtub. It would alter the sound of the band and make them legends… Killer Queen from their album Sheer Heart Attack made them rock legends... Find out how this band found their signature sound and conquered America next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s one of the most essential tracks of the 80s, a song that perfectly captures the neon decade in all its glory and infamy. Everybody want to rule the world by Tears for Fears. The thing is... it almost never happened. Written by a band that was virtually unknown in the US at the time, this track changed everything… it went to #1 and is still arguably the definitive track of the 80s… But the truth is, the singer-songwriter who wrote it didn’t even like it. And didn’t want it on the album. He called it lightweight and said it didn’t fit with the rest of the songs. With just one slot open, it came down to this one and two other tracks. Find out what changed his mind. Plus, discover which two songs inspired the process of writing it. The story behind this one will make you hear it in a whole new way.… It’s coming up… NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s song only needed its opening note to spark a revolution on rock radio. It’s sinister, it’s mind-altering, it’s empowering. One growling intro note is all it takes to open the portal to an otherworldly soundscape, masterfully crafted by one of the most colossal forces in rock history. This Rock band broke the world in two with this 1981 gateway anthem that turned all of us into believers and even though it’s one of the biggest songs in rock history technically, it wasn’t a hit and the band hated it until it got mixed.. it was inspired by a literary classic that every generation has read, and even though it was a tall order to name the track after this novel, it’s that rare case where the song is better than the book and the movie. Find out next! NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up… New Wave and Rock icon Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders faced the unpleasant task of having to fire one of the co-founders of her band…Then two days later, she faced the death of another co-founder that she cherished as “her right hand,” James Honeyman-Scott, and struggled with a volatile relationship with her ex-lover, Ray Davies of the Kinks. All of this happened while she was three months pregnant. It was a period of deep sadness and conflicting emotion, but Chrissie is a resilient warrior... and she rose from the anguish with a thought-provoking smash, the top 5 80s smash Back on the Chain Gang that became her band’s highest charting hit in America. A story of passion & pain for a Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame band is next…..on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

They spent roughly a million dollars making an album that should have been the biggest of its time. However, after the better part of a year, this band, Foo Fighters threw it all away… They completely scrapped the record. No one in the band liked the finished tracks, which Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins dubbed them the “Million Dollar Demos.” Even worse, all four band members were all at each others’ throats. In-fighting was on the verge of fist-fighting. Three albums into their career, they were done. Or so it seemed. With their frontman touring with another band, but somehow they found their mojo and recorded 14 new songs in a matter of days… Including today’s iconic ‘never say die” hit single, Times Like These...This song turned everything around for this band as they stared down the crossroads. It’s a story of near disaster and unexpected miracles…and how the song has a whole new meaning now… the story is NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up… It may just be the greatest Hard Rock song ever. With music by the foremost guitar hero of Generation X, the late Eddie Van Halen, and lyrics by rock’s ultimate frontman Diamond Dave… David Lee Roth. He wrote the words in response to a reporter's editorial that he only sang about "women, partying, and fast cars.” Diamond Dave took exception to the reporter implying that he was a stereotypical, vacuous rocker. After pondering on the critique, he realized he’d never actually written a song about “fast cars,” and he did so with piss and vinegar… the result was Panama from their multimillion-selling hard rock masterpiece, 1984. Not even a broken nose could stop him from singing after an accident live on stage...and to think this song barely missed the top 10… Today we're giving it the #1 spot… The story is next on Professor of rock Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Three strikes and you’re out. Isn’t that usually how it goes? Well, not for today’s band… Alphaville who despite repeatedly failing to break into the Hot 100 with the same single…the 80s classic Forever Young, still turned the 1984 single into a massive pop culture phenomenon. Played on underground radio here in America, a lot of people here just didn’t catch on to it until long after its release… Maybe that had something to do with Alphaville refusing to tour in the US for more than a decade. Even so, time was on their side. Because radio hit or not, this Forever Young was destined to be an eternal track… Perfectly capturing the dramatic longing and angst that we all feel when we’re young, this song drips with nostalgia and they released it half a dozen times… Would it ever be a hit? Find out NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All eyes were on this legendary band after they released their megalithic fourth album Led Zeppelin IV. Championed by many as the greatest rock record ever written… Everyone was clamoring for a sequel. But they wouldn’t get it. Instead, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham took a sharp left turn into unexplored territory… kicking out a bold collection of songs that tapped into a diverse selection of genres: House of the Holy. The rock press eviscerated them for it. But time would prove that they knew what they were doing. An essential entry into the compendium of rock, House of the Holy also boasts today’s featured song, No Quarter. And I’m telling you, we’re zeroing in on a haunting masterpiece. Written by the band’s most underrated member. This foreboding track is a work of sheer genius and will engulf your soul. It was also part of a cut-throat moment when two of the members reunited, leaving him out while naming their project after his song! Find out next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up…. Jimmy Buffett became the wealthiest artist of the rock era because of his clever songs that he turned into crafty entrepreneurial maneuvers. But there was a time when he was given free drinks as compensation for entertaining barflies, and didn’t own a collared shirt or a pair of jeans with no holes. His career was in such bad shape, he contemplated committing suicide in a hotel room. The game changer was when he came to his producer Norbert Putnam with an idea for a song that described a typical day, entwining the mundane, the frustrating, and the comical. Margaritaville! The producer told him it was a “terrible idea” for a song, but he went ahead…and recorded it anyway. Margaritaville became an iconic sing-a-long classic, but even more, it became a state of mind and the foundation of a multi-million dollar enterprise. Let’s put our ‘FINS UP,’ and get on board. A good time will be had by all in our tribute to legend Jimmy Buffett… NEXT…on Professor of Rock." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After this rookie hit the top 10 for the first time in 1983 he was ready to take his place amongst the legends with his follow-up… Prince Rogers Nelson otherwise known as just Prince created something that he wasn’t really comfortable doing. Writing a big stadium power ballad. He actually saw Bob Seger inspire a crowd doing one of his own classics and was intrigued, believing he could write a great one. He worked up a demo and it was 10 minutes long. Then he sent it to Stevie Nicks and asked her to write lyrics… she was too overwhelmed thinking she’d ruin the song. Then when he finally finished playing one of the best guitar solos of the decade he was worried he might’ve ripped it off Journey’s recent big ballad Faithfully. So he actually called Journey and asked them to listen to it. They were so mesmerized by this that they told him to run with it. It became the power ballad of 1984 and one that would push him to the apex of all of music. Up next through interview and story the tale Purple Rain! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up, it’s the latest edition of our program the Hit Song Redux. In this show, we go behind the Top 10 songs from this very same week 40 years ago in September of 1983! But counting them down isn’t enough. After we reach #1, we re-rank them according to all-time streams and views… to see what the real #1 hit is. Today we’ve got a massive lineup in store, with some of the most iconic tracks the 80s have to offer. But who will claim the top spot? Could it be The Police, a Jim Steinman special, Maybe Def Leppard or ZZ Top or Bonnie Tyler, or even maybe a one-hit wonder, or the big movie soundtrack hit of that moment? Stick around to find out and make your guess in the comments. It’s all happening… NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up next, an interview with a legend on a feel-good singalong 80s classic. First, this legendary singer-songwriter was told by a big-time movie producer his movie song would be used for a dancing puppet... which he thought would be lame… Secondly during the recording of the song this singer invited another famous rocker to do background vocals but he forgot to give him credit when the song became famous which started a decades-long rivalry and lastly to make matters worse they had a mediocre drummer who could only play a basic beat… It actually made this song a classic hit. An entertaining story of the song everyone knows next in Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, we’re bringing you the story of a perfect pop song… the 1984 smash hit Hard Habit to Break by Chicago… It was an 80s pocket symphony that hearkens back to the genius of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. This band and this song feature one of the most power-packed vocal duos of all time. Peter Cetera and Bill Champlin’s vocal prowess was second to none. On this episode, we’re giving you an exclusive interview with one half of that duo and getting some unique insight into this track. Plus, you’ll hear the incredible story about how this song’s writer Steve Kipner thought he was finished and went on vacation off the grid… only to find out that the song needed one more verse. He wrote in on the fly in a snowstorm nonetheless, he called it in on a 7-11 payphone. And it was perfect. Just what the song needed. If you’re not already addicted to this track, you will be after we’re done. It’s all coming up… NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Although Pink Floyd is no stranger to this channel, we really are breaking new ground here… taking on an epic album that we’ve never covered before. And with it, a formidable song that is as darkly beautiful as they come. Were covering the dog-eat-dog track from Pink Floyd’s 1977 masterpiece Animals, Dogs… It was written by one of the premiere lyrical geniuses of the past half-century… Roger Waters and boasts a brooding, black-hearted view of the world. Okay maybe that sounds a little bleak, but I’m telling you… When paired with the sonic excellence of his guitar hero bandmate David Gilmour, this track becomes a rarified work of art. Plus we’re giving you a preview of how this album led to the beginning of the end for this band. We’ve got no shortage of drama for this one. It’s an episode you’re not going to want to miss… NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today I have a very interesting interview with a legendary singer and former frontman of one of the biggest bands of the 80s Dennis DeYoung was with Styx for many years but his 1983 song Mr. Roboto may actually have been the straw that broke this band up. Mr. Roboto was a huge hit and it's still ahead of its time decades after it became a mega smash. It’ rocketed up the charts and has become the song that most know this band from even though they’ve had numerous hits. Problem is half the band hated it, including Tommy Shaw and some still do. It’s become synonymous with the 80s and a pop culture phenomenon but for years the band wouldn’t do it and even now when they do it, I’ve actually caught one member rolling his eyes… the song that divided fans and likely broke up the band… Mr. Roboto is covered in detail next by Dennis next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next, an interview with one of the most prolific songwriters in history… JD Souther...He co-wrote many hits for the biggest-selling American band ever, the Eagles. Today he tells the first-hand account of the Eagles' #1 hit sung by Glenn Frey and Don Henley that was a full-on brawl. The 1980 classic, Heartache Tonight. Coming from the multi-million-selling 1976 classic Hotel California, this hit was Written and recorded when the band was at each other’s throats and about to break up…this song came out of a jam session with Glenn Frey and JD Souther but they couldn’t nail down the chorus so later Glenn called a famous buddy, Bob Seger and he sang the song over the phone…amazingly the Seger sang back exactly what they needed to finish it. It became the band’s last #1 hit from their album The Long Run… Also, the story of the fight that ended the band between Glen and Don Felder Get the story straight from the legend next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Coming up the story of the groovy, “feel good” pop classic, Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison. Despite the song’s tremendous, enduring success, Van Morrison, who composed it & sang it, didn’t feel good about ANYTHING to do with the song. First of all, he made a terrible deal with a record label in which he received no royalties, and had to beg this unscrupulous label for a little money just to survive. And then there was the simple fact that Van, just flat-out hated the song, even though history has deemed it his signature tune,…one of the greatest classic songs ever and the rest of the human race LOVES it!! As they say in the music business…a hit is a hit is a hit, even if the artist who created it doesn’t want it to be. We cast some memories, and reveal the honest truth NEXT on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this short interview, we pay tribute to the late great 70s icon Gary Wright, who passed away on September 5th 2023, six years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Today we celebrate his #1 multi-platinum 70s classic Dream Weaver in an exclusive interview. . The songs "Dream Weaver" and "Love is Alive" were multi-platinum hits. Dream Weaver was released in 1975 but i peaked in 1976. Dream Weaver has outlasted its chart position as a pop culture touchstone with uses in everything from Wayne’s World, Toy Story 3 and the Full Monty, It also inspired Wes Craven in creating Nightmare on Elm Street’s music. The story is next. Wright would spend several weeks at #2 behind December 1963 (Oh What a Night) by the Four Seasons and Disco Lady by Johnnie Taylor, Gary would have to settle for the #2 spot on the billboard hot 100 but Dreamweaver did hit #1 on the Cashbox charts. Gary’s very next single Love is Alive would meet the same fate It would spend several weeks at #2. Dreamweaver has well outlasted it’s chart position as a pop culture touchstone with used in everything from Wayne’s World, Toy Story 3 and the Full Monty, It also inspired Wes Craven in creating Nightmare on Elm Street which Gary discusses on this segment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next, an interview with a singer-songwriter that many gen-exers had a crush on. Lisa Loeb! She was in a duo and then they broke up… She actually played music for 10 years and sold indie cassettes of her music but never caught a break until she met an up-and-coming actor, Ethan Hawke… He lived near her. He caught a show and gave a cassette of one of her songs to a director for consideration for a movie they were making. That movie... the 1994 hit film Reality Bites...The song was used in the movie and almost overnight it went to #1 and she didn’t even have a record deal… making her the first ever to do that! Pretty good negotiating position. Up next in an interview, she tells us the story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

While trying to finish their second album, today’s band Thompson Twins needed one more song. But they needed it quick. So their frontman Tom Bailey wrote a last-minute filler track overnight… just something to tack on the end of the record, But as it turned out, it was an accidental #1 hit. It was the 80s smash In the Name Of Love And it turned the band upside down: changing their musical direction throwing the guitars into the corner adding synthesizers and paving the way for an even bigger hit a short while later. A hit that also happens to be today’s featured song. Hold Me Now has become An essential 80s Masterpiece. Written shortly after a falling out and reconciliation between two bandmate-slash-lovers, Tom Bailey and Allanha Currie. It is a surefire punch to the gut in the best way possible. In this episode we’re giving you the fascinating story behind Thompson Twins the classic hit, Hold Me Now, and also an interview with the singer and writer Tom Bailey coming up… NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up the story of a song released under a heavy dispute between a Glam Rock God, and the King of early 90s Soft Rock. It was Paul Stanley of Kiss vs. Michael Bolton. The Co-writing credits read that both wrote the power ballad Forever. It was also the first hit by Kiss in more than 12 years. During that dry spell, two members of the original lineup were gone Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, and so was the legendary look of the band. It was a bold and risky move to change their image… Unmask… take off their iconic makeup. But would that radical change pay off? Get a front-row seat to the dispute between the hard rocker and the soft rock balladeer and the crazy antics of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley and Kiss. Find out how everything turned out…..NEXT….on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When today’s legendary band came out, they were unlike anything anyone had ever heard back in… Black Sabbath! Their music was hardcore and at first, they almost called themselves a three-word title that started with Polka, thankfully they saw a horror movie around that time and took its much cooler title as their name.. Their first record was destroyed by the critics but out of nowhere fans bought a million copies of it and they readied their sophomore record. Needing only 3 more minutes of music to finish it, the band created a track that inadvertently affected the future of rock & roll. Paranoid would change everything. It was the unfolding of a heavy metal anthem was it inspired by dark mysticism or the highs and lows of drug indulgence….find out next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Use my code PROFESSOROFROCK to get $5 off your delicious, high protein Magic Spoon cereal by clicking this link: https://sponsr.is/magicspoon_professorofrock Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up an interview with iconic guitar player George Thorogood who’s 1982 laid back full throttle riff of Bad to the Bone has dominated our society for decades and it wasn’t even a hit when it first came out. He wrote it when he got to open for his own rock and roll heroes the Rolling Stones… He tried to emulate Keith Richard’s typical, legendary, can’t get it out of your head riff style… and He NAILED it. Then he offered Bad to the Bone to an old rock legend, who’s management rudely and flat out rejected it. So he recorded it and swung for the fences vocally snarling one of rock’s baddest ass stutters ever with a song every guy claims as his theme and has been tens of millions of American’s phone ringtones… Let’s do this! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mick Hucknall of Simply Red was abandoned by his mother when he was only 2 years old... Later in high school his art teacher said something that inspired him to attempt writing songs. His first try was a song about Ice Cream but The second song was so far ahead his 17 years it was shocking. Holding Back the Years was and is a deeply methodical song about loss, regret and abandonment. He worked hard to get it heard but it failed to chart. until one to the 80s biggest singers’s praised the song on one of the biggest radio stations in America From there is started to get airplay and. It immediately rose to #1 and then out of nowhere absent mother reached out to him. The incredible story of one of the true classics of 1986 from the soulful Mick Hucknall and Simply Red is next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the 70s, Cheap Trick went on a crazy commercial rollercoaster through the music industry. Starting off slow with their first few records, they unexpectedly rose to the top of the tracks with a foreign import Live at Budokan. From there this band with the scorching duo of singer Robin Zander and Guitarist Rick Nielsen piled up platinum hits consistently and it seemed like they would coast right through the 80s. But then They HIT A WALL. Cheap Trick plummeted and their next five albums would all be… underwhelming…So in a last ditch effort to save this band’s career, their label hired a team of outside songwriters to basically write the album for them. 1988’s album Lap of Luxury. THIS didn’t go over well with the band. but from it came the band’s biggest chart hit EVER. The Flame. A smash power ballad that ruled the summer of 1988. Although loved by listeners, Cheap Track actually hated the song so much when they first heard it, their guitarist smashed the demo tape under the heel of his boot. This episode is a hell of a ride. Get ready next of Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Was this 1983 hit record, recorded by the #1 band of the time actually a solo album in disguise? Synchronicity by the Police with Sting taking center stage: the #1 album was composed almost singlehandedly by this frontman, the 1983 record featured four hit songs, including the massive #1 hit Every Breath You Take. But as good as that one is, it may not be the album’s defining track. Rather, I’d say its commercial runner-up King Of Pain is even more representative of how Sting was feeling at the time. Suffering from a broken marriage. His band breaking up. It’s all in there…King of Pain also features one of the best opening lines you’ll hear in a hit song… There’s a Little Black Spot on the Sun Today...But when it was all said and done, did he take this track too far? Was it too much of a pity party? His future wife, Trudie Styler thought so and called him out on it which is where the Title came from in the first place… It’s such a great story find out next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up...The story of two brothers who lost their father to the gun of a drifter when they were mere toddlers. Gregg and Duane Allman lost their father at an early. age. They learned how to make music and formed a band together as teenagers that would become the stuff of legends… the Allman Brothers Band. They would rule rock radio and help invent southern rock as know it. In the 70s the band was on the verge of a huge national breakout when the eldest brother, Duane Allman the guitarist was killed in a motorcycle accident. Younger brother Gregg & the other surviving bandmates including Dickie Betts overcame their deep despair- finding the inspiration to carry on WITHIN the music of their fallen leader...and channeling the ghost.. of a legend…in a song that would become their only pop hit … Ramblin’ Man...The tragedy & triumph surrounding a 70s rock classic is NEXT on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

COMING UP, the story behind an absolute classic of Rock told by its iconic singer. Joy to the World by Three Dog Night became the #1 song of 1971. Chuck Negron who was one of their singers at the time sang those perfect opening lyrics….4 words that would change everything. Jeremiah was a bullfrog. and the rest is history. The song was actually a discarded song from a silly kid’s show that failed. In fact, the band wanted nothing to do with it and turned the song down several times before Chuck Negron finally got it. It’s probably the most familiar and beloved four words ever sung in a pop record This story is one you have to hear to believe, It was written by an actor who was in one of the 80s big movies. In fact, this actor’s mother also wrote a number one hit, the 1st #1 hit for Elvis Presley. the only mother-son to accomplish that in history. Both Danny Hutton the last remains original active member of Three Dog Night and Chuck Negron who sang the original recording share their takes in an exclusive interview. Next on Professor of. Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 1983 at the height of MTV #1 female rocker Pat Benatar took POP radio hostage with this explosive anthem…Love is a Battlefield. Today I sit down with the famous co-writer of this classic…Holly Knight... It started out when her legendary songwriting partner, Mike Champman blurted out a weird title and then the 2 songwriters sat across from each other with a swimming pool between them and shot a paper airplane across the pool with each writing a line each time and flying it across until they finished the song… Luckily it didn’t fall in the pool! In the end, Holly felt one of the key lyrics sounded like a car commercial… the song certainly lived up to that magnitude as it became Pat Benatar’s signature hit and the video ruled MTV. The story is next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up… In 1985 legendary band Genesis took some time off when their lead singer Phil Collins was working on his solo album No Jacket Required. So the band's other prolific songwriter and guitarist Mike Rutherford started his own band… He called it Mike and the Mechanics. They recruited two different singers Paul Young and Paul Carrack and out of nowhere they had a hit album that contained 3 big hits: All I Need is a Miracle, Taken In, and today’s song Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground) which went to #1. This massive hit was renamed when it was chosen to be in a 1986 movie called Choke Canyon… This song is so eerie and satisfyingly creepy it’s found new life time and again since the 80s. It’s such a freaking cool song. Years later it was banned from radio during the gulf war for truly dumb reasons. TODAY WE HAVE THE story from an interview I did with its Singer… One of the greatest singers ever and a man who’s had hits with many different bands including his own solo stuff. The Story of this Eerie Apocalyptic #1 rock hit from 1986 hit that predicted what’s happening right now is next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up… Another helping from Two of rock and roll’s greatest storytellers. Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman wrote the biggest 60s and 70s hits when they were part of the Guess Who...They had already had a couple of hits with These Eyes and Laughing when they released a monster record in the early 70s American Woman that included two #1 hits and a top 5. They were American Woman and No Sugar Tonight and No Time. Randy Bachman wrote a dear john letter to his girlfriend and decided that it might work as a song so he put one of the most recognizable guitar licks to it that he admits he lifted from another band of the time. The story of a 70s rock standard is told by two legends next as well as a run-in with a legend when he was a kid next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Check our sponsor NordVPN and click the link to get a special Professor or Rock deal: 4 EXTRA MONTHS when you purchase a 2-year plan. https://nordvpn.com/professorofrock Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s aspiring songwriters and lovers were so dirt poor that at times they struggled to even feed themselves. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were down and out before the joined Mick Fleetwood…Just between them, they couldn’t even afford a bed frame and slept on a mattress on the floor. as it turns out, that would be a key memory years later… after they had sold millions of records with one of the biggest bands of the 70s, Fleetwood Mac,. Penned by the enchanted songstress Stevie Nicks, today’s track is a bittersweet, nostalgic look back at the days before her meteoric rise to fame Gypsy barley missed the top 10 but epitomizes what Fleetwood Mac is all bout. The song begs the question was she better off as a struggling songwriter than a global superstar? It’s a rags to riches throwback track, that comes with some other unexpected tie ins as well… including the tragic death of a close friend and an ill-advised marriage to that friends husband that happened for all the wrong reasons. The story is coming up… NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up, an interview with one of the 80s great hitmakers. The most successful duo of the rock era, Daryl Hall and John Oates Everything they touched turned to Gold and Platinum. Here, John Oates tells the story of a number-one hit from the mid-80s that came at the crossroads of Analog and digital… Out of Touch, it was their final #1 hit after ruling the neon decade with 11 hits, and this one was one of their biggest and they almost gave it away. To put it all in perspective this song was actually a huge accident. Also on this same 1984 record, they had another hit where they spelled the chorus and if you were anything like me you were a little thrown by this… the story is next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up…A story of scorned passion…revenge, and arson. It sounds like a film noir thriller, but it was actually an innocent 2-minute song called Norwegian Wood by a little band called the Beatles! The song was based on a cheating husband (John Lennon) whose finished masterpiece managed to offend one of the most influential artists of the Rock Era and change the landscape of popular music for generations to come. It was from the greatest band ever that some critics then and now called the first boy band bashing them over their first few hits like She Loves You Ya Ya Ya… Well, this was the song that turned them into popular music’s Michaelangelos! They set the course for music and decades later everyone is still trying to match them. There’s only one band that could create such a storm of melodrama. Including Paul McCartney taking some credit and George Harrison’s latter feud with Lennon over a writing credit. Find out all the details NEXT on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next The Electric story of one of the 70s greatest masterpieces. Bennie and the Jets by Elton John. A song that was truly a happy accident… as Elton stuttered a word in the chorus and it became the best part of the song… along with some misheard lyrics that most have been singing incorrectly for years. It was a hodge podge of Glam rock and fantasy to create a song that Elton was pissed off at the label for releasing over a single that He thought would be the big hit. As you’ll find out next it just so happens that the label and the artist were both right. The story is next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Bad Songs Happen to Great Bands… Did one of the greatest bands of all time, the Beach Boys release one of the worst songs of all time in Kokomo? Today we’re telling the story of that chart-topping hit that polarized music fans. You’ve seen our #1 in Our Hearts episodes? Well, today’s episode could be the reverse of that. it’s made too many Worst Song of All-Time lists to count! How could one of the most iconic and creative bands in American pop history commit one of the 80s greatest musical sins? Well, the legendary genius Brian Wilson, Who wrote most of their material had nothing to do with it... Further, it was a big comeback #1 for a band that had been down and out since Brian, their musical leader had been MIA for years. Plus the shenanigans of Mike Love and his infamous Rock Hall of Fame speech! This one’s gonna be fun… Maybe you love the song it maybe you hate it. Let’s see NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up. It may be the most famous opening monologue from a classic song ever …a brave sermon every 80s kid knows by heart. Prince Let’s Go Crazy, the #1 smash from the Purple Rain Soundtrack that blew up 1984. Just by its first few words: Dearly Beloved we are gathered here today to get through this thing called Life! Let’s Go Crazy is a high-energy, savage synth-rock masterpiece that will have you up on your feet the moment it hits. The only thing is, it may not be the straight-up party song you think it is. In fact, if you missed the cues in the intro, you may have missed its coded message entirely. Sung by one of music’s most enigmatic and controversial superstars, the purple one, He was already a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. but this time he went beyond even that…And strangely enough, this 80s smash would prove to be prophetic as Prince was found dead in the very place he described in the song… once you hear this story it will bring a whole new meaning to the song next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up next, a star-studded event with a diverse group of legends telling the story behind one of the Biggest movie soundtracks of the 80s. Footloose. It was one of only 5 albums to hit #1 the year it came out. A record that still stands and as a soundtrack it had 6 top 40 hits Footloose by Kenny Loggins, Let’s Hear it For the Boy by Deniece Williams, Almost Paradise by Mike Reno of Loverboy and Ann Wilson of Heart who we have interviews with to tell the story. The other hits were Dancing in the Sheets by Shalamar, Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler and Heaven Helps the Man by Kenny Loggins, 3 of these songs hit the top 10 and 2 went all the way to #1. And the screenwriter, Dean Pitchford had a hand in all of them! There are so many great stories hear. There’s the top 10 duet that almost didn’t happen because one singer broke her hand. She had to sing without pain pills and first met her duet partner when they sang the first take which became the record! And then 2 of the #1 hit were pitted against each other for an Oscar. Find out who, plus an appearance by Kevin Bacon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Two of most cerebral rockers and known perfectionists Donald Fagen and Walter Becker AKA Steely Dan, just knew they had a song for their debut album with Hit potential. It was called Reeling in the Years and was a bitter retort against Donald’s girlfriend who had ripped his heart out so he wrote a “get even” song that was missing one little thing... it lacked vibrancy and passion. So, the duo followed a deep gut feeling that they needed to bring in a musician that would provide the spark they desperately needed. Up next the story of a hired gun who stepped into a recording studio in Santa Monica to pull a song out of the doldrums and turn it into one of the greatest guitar tracks of all time, one that Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin called his favorite ever and one that became a 70s classic from their 1973 classic album Can’t Buy a Thrill NEXT on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next the Mike Reno singer from the 80s rock band Loverboy breaks down one of their signature songs. It rocked the 80s. It’s a song that put ‘em on the map and started their rise to play stadiums. Mike Reno and guitarist Paul Dean met at a warehouse where the guitarist was jamming with his new band. Reno asked if he could belt out a few songs and it was so electrifying the two decided to collaborate right then and their! After they had this first hit some people read a little bit too deeply into the lyrics and claimed the song was about sadomasochism and bondage. This shocked the singer… The band clearly didn’t write it about this but now it’s become lumped in with that. The interview and story is coming up next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Paul Simon wrote the title track to the best-selling album of 1970, 71, and 72 as half of one of the biggest groups of the Rock Era, Simon and Garfunkel When the duo broke up, he embarked on a very successful solo career that burned hot through the 70s. But by the early 80s, his star had cooled, and he dug deep within his artistic soul for inspiration that took him to a faraway continent… Africa. He called it Graceland! It re-energized his career and became one of the most acclaimed of the 80s and one of the most controversial. Coming up, the story of the lead single You Can Call Me Al... which came from someone calling this legend the wrong name twice at a dinner party. The song actually failed until he created one of the funniest music videos ever with Mr. Chevy Chase. The story is next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

No way in hell was Jim Kerr and Simple Minds going to record today’s featured song… (a future #1 hit from an iconic 80s’ film.) Don’t You (Forget About Me) for the movie The Breakfast Club. They wanted nothing to do with it. They didn’t care if it was a lock. It was band policy… they only recorded songs they wrote themselves. End of story. In fact, they turned down this track six times. Finally, the songwriters Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff, desperate for them to sing it, had the movie’s director, John Hughes arrange a private screening… Simple Minds consented to watch The Breakfast Club and after that, they recorded the track. Turns out they rocked it. But stubborn as ever, they disowned it when it went Top 10 around the world. Come on, would these guys ever like this song? You know the rest of us sure did. Stick around for a great story NEXT on the Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up, it’s the remarkable story of a #1 rock song from 1984 that was written on the porcelain throne. ya the Yes #1 classic rock standard, Owner of a Lonely Heart was written by Trevor Rabin while sitting on the pot In fact, Trevor said he wasn’t ashamed to sing in the loo. well, it’s hard to argue with the results. But even more importantly, this song was instrumental in bringing one of the greatest prog-rock bands of the 70s back from the dead and into the 80s. After years of being broken up, the founding members including Chris Squire and singer Jon Anderson, plus some new faces including producer Trevor Horn all converged around this song… giving them a new lease on life and a new musical direction. And to help us tell the story, we’ve got exclusive interviews with the iconic frontman Jon Anderson who co-wrote and sang this song… as well as some behind the scenes insight from the legendary record man Phil Carson who helped reunite this band. You’re not going to want to say “no” to this one. The story is… NEXT on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Roger Hodgson grew up a happy boy but then his parents sent him away to a punishing boarding school. He put this horrendous experience and his search for sanity into an all-time 70s classic called The Logical Song. When he brought it to his band Supertramp a key member, Rick Davies hated it… but an adventurous recording session gave the song a true uniqueness including a strange instrument he Bought for a few bucks, as well as recording the iconic sax in a men’s room and adding a cool sound effect from one of the first handheld video games... In the end, the drummer made a 10-dollar bet with Roger Hodgson that the record Supertramp Breakfast In America would go top ten… the drummer won the bet in a big way when the album sold 20 million copies this amazing story is coming up next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It should’ve been the zenith of his career… On a fateful night backstage in Knoxville, Tennessee in the summer of ’77… Instead…it was a coup de grace that led to his exit from the supergroup he helped create. Randy Meisner of the Eagles was allegedly too sick to sing his encore spotlight classic rock hit Take it To The Limit with its legendary high note finale. He and Glenn Frey got into a shouting match backstage on the Hotel California tour that night and it got really ugly when Randy punched Glenn in the face. Police tried to break it up but Don Henley called them off. The story behind the song that was the crowning achievement for one of the most beautiful voices of the 70s, and the infamous incident that centered around one of the most recognizable songs in Classic Rock history that sealed this artist’s fate as a member of one of America’s greatest bands… and a tribute to the late country-rock pioneer who’s high harmony helped bring so much depth to Eagles classics like Take It Easy and Witchy Woman is next on Professor of Rock Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up next, a very special interview that I was over the moon to get.. Mike Ness of Social Distortion. This Rock Icon released his debut album in the early 80s... It was self-funded, but then his career would take a long 5 year hiatus as he became homeless, sleeping on friends' couches while Struggling with addiction, and was even in and out of jail… He took these real-life born-to-lose experiences and released a classic album with three huge singles that took him from Homeless to Hit status with 2 straight gold records. Story of My Life and Ball and Chain and then a punk cover of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire. He’s since become the heir to the Man in Black by way of punk and rockabilly. Up next this icon tells us his story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.