Professor of Rock

The Grateful Dead may have the most passionate & loyal following of the Rock Era. The Dead were jamming their way to the highest echelons of live music when In 1986, this legendary band’s front man Jerry Garcia nearly died, and the future of the group was in serious jeopardy. Jerry recovered, and the Grateful Dead made a miraculous comeback with their first album in 6 years In the Dark which led to their one and only hit song, Touch of Grey! Most are shocked when They realize this all time group only had one hit. They’ve played live to the most people in rock history over 25 million but only had 1 top 40 hit. Coming up... the making of the unlikely anthem by the psychedelic road warriors from Palo Alto, and the unheralded author Robert Hunter who was an indispensable part of the group, even though he never performed with them. 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 an interview with 80s icon Paul Young about his #1 hit Every Time you Go Away that has one of the funniest misheard lyrics of all time. As a kid I botched it until i was corrected… Also many people don’t realize it’s actually a cover song. A cover of song originally written and recorded by one of the most successful groups ever, Daryl Hall and John Oates. Daryl Hall says he didn’t think the song was commercial at all, so it was destined to be a deep album track but just a few years later Paul Young saw its commercial potential and took it to #1. The story and interview on this 1985 #1 hit 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.

Up next an interview with 2 rock hall of famers who were in the 60s band Buffalo Springfield. Stephen Stills, who also went on to form Crosby Stills and Nash and Ritchie Furay. Both share their experience of creating a historic hit that defined its time. They were part of a supergroup and at the time nobody was aware that it was a supergroup…This rookie band actually recorded this classic secretly under their producers' noses because they wouldn’t allow the band to play together, they had been recording them separately and then combining the tracks into one mono track, making their sound weak. Ironically one of the band members Neil Young would spend his career lashing out at commercials using rock music and years later this song would be used in a beer commercial. The song was written in a 10-minute car ride after the Stephen Stills had witnessed something very troubling and originally the song didn’t even make it onto the debut album but after it was an accidental hit and they added it onto a second pressing. The interviews are coming up 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 it’s one of the most heart-wrenching stories of a classic song from real life… Fire and Rain by legendary singer-songwriter James Taylor...It's a song we all sing today. James Taylor (JT) was dealing with serious mental illness, and he had voluntarily checked himself into an institution at 18. He dropped out of school and formed a band. That band failed…. He began to sink further into darkness trapped by a vicious heroin addiction. Then he found out a good friend Suzanne had taken their own life. It left this 20-year-old future superstar homeless, destitute, and at the end of his rope… again checking himself into an institution to get clean where he wrote a desperate 'cry for help… a solitary prayer called Fire and Rain. It became a breakout smash that started a hall-of-fame career...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.

Today, it’s an epic track from a throwaway album… Or at least that’s what the band called it. This song though, it set a new standard for how rock bands wrote and released singles in the 80s, and in the process became one of their signature hits. Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue… Unfortunately, it never got its due on the charts. In fact, because their label hated it and refused to promote it, Home Sweet Home Tanked …So to keep the song alive, the Motley Crue, including Vince Neil, Mick Marrs, Tommy Lee, and Nikki Sixx funded a music video out of their own pockets. And you know what? People went crazy for it. It set MTV records and was so popular the network pulled the plug on it to give other videos some screen time. They made up a rule??? How does that make any sense? This is a story you’re not gonna want to miss. So get ready, 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.

In 1980 AC/DC was on top of the world releasing one of the biggest-selling rock records in history Back in Black…Then they had years of dwindling sales, in fact, their next three records drastically underperformed and with rock bands like Guns N Roses, Def Leppard, and Bon Jovi coming on strong in the charts. Some thought this best band’s best days were behind them. but those who thought that didn’t understand this group’s grit and determination. Rushing toward a new decade they released one of the biggest rock albums of the time The Razor’s Edge while delivering their highest charting hit ever Moneytalks A true head-banger with a classic riff And yet today it’s been all but forgotten. How could the highest charting song of this band’s career become their most underrated hit that the band hasn’t played live in 32 years and been overshadowed by the other big song from the record, Thunderstruck? Stick around, 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, we’re showcasing a song that boasts the most recognizable date ever used in a lyric. September 21st! For decades people have wondered why the band who wrote this 70s classic chose this particular day. Earth Wind and Fire and their classic hit September made that date famous but the truth may not be what you think it is. Earth Wind and Fire or EWF, is known for the pure positivity that they infuse into all of their music. Any time you drop the needle on one of their records it's a guaranteed good time. And September is the epitome of all of that...Written by the band’s leader Maurice White and a songwriter he called up out of the blue who was on food stamps at the time and struggling mightily. Maurice Alle Willis her shot at the title and together they authored the 1978 smash September.. one of the most joyful jams of the era. So get ready, we’ve got the 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 the story of a very unique rockstar. Adam Ant... First of all his mother was Paul McCartney’s Housekeeper and he in turn got to walk Paul’s Dog and even snuck into his music room. later he and his band Adam and the Ants had 7 songs in the top 40 at the same time. Then in 1983, he was voted “World’s Sexiest Man” in the MTV viewer’s poll. His odd image was envied by many, including the King of Pop, while his music dominated the New Wave landscape of the 80s taking him to the top of the charts and the face of early MTV… Today we break down his career including his MTV new wave classic Good Two Shoes. There were dark times.. After a maniacal episode in 2003...he was found by police- curled up in a ball & sobbing in the basement of a North London cafe. It’s the story of a post punk icon, and his breakout solo smash Goody Two Shoes that was confused by some as a critique on righteous living but was actually a manifesto about exploitative journalism 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, legendary singer-songwriter Jackson Browne was asked to write a song for the 80s teen movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It was a Huge Departure for him and it took a few famous friends to convince him to do it. When he finished the song known as Somebody’s Baby, everyone KNEW it was a smash and told him to put it on his new album. He REFUSED the song saying it was a meaningless pop tune. It ended up being his biggest hit and an 80s classic and by not putting it on his new album it probably cost him platinum status and the #1 spot… He ragged on the song for years until his therapist of all people told him he was DEAD WRONG and that the song was about the most fundamental thing in life. Find out what song it is… Why this legend at first despised it and how he learned to love it 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 hitchhiking across America and stowing away on a plane and bumming around Europe as a youth, Huey Lewis toiled in band after band trying to make it in music for almost a decade. He actually dropped out of Cornell University to chase his music dreams and formed the bar band Huey Lewis and the News. They broke into the Billboard Top 10 with a brilliant hit written by Mutt Lange called We Both Believe in Love which Huey turned into Do You Believe in Love that became his first top 10 hit. Up next Huey tells the story in an exclusive interview where he admits that the music video for Do You Believe in Love was excruciatingly awful and the pain of watching it for the first time with label execs. 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….Jim Croce was an emerging superstar whose promising career started to enter its peak when he made a decision to quit the business altogether to spend time with his wife and newborn son. But a fatal moment would tragically change it all. At that point, after years of futility, he became a hit parade, marching off 5 consecutive Top 40 singles, including I Got A Name, Don’t Mess Around with Jim, Bad Bad Leroy Brown and today's classic song: Time in A Bottle. this was a song he buried on his new album that shot to the top of the charts after it was used in an ABC movie of the week.. the 70s pop classic would prove to be a beautiful and endearing omen. The story of a timeless song and career 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.

Throughout the late 70s and early 80s THIS BAND WAS ON fire. Between the US and the UK, The Police had 14 Top 20 hits and for a while they were easily the biggest band in the world. Today we’re checking out one of their highest charting hits. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. And it almost never happened. The song was ignored by two out of the three band members for years. So the lead singer Sting finally recorded it in secret. He steamrolled them to get it on the new album Ghost in the Machine…but in the process it alienated the others namely Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers and even though it became a monster hit, the song ultimately caused a rift that ended the band. Its a compelling story about a song that the singer believed in so much he searched for the Perfect rhyme for a word in the chorus for years and the song was definitely magic … 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.

Bob Seger had been a regional sensation for over a decade but when it was all said and done he had only had one hit in 15 years and by 1976 it had been 8 years since that hit. He couldn’t seem to break through. Well, one night after seeing a popular film of the time he started to have a vision for a song. the 70s rock classic NIGHT MOVES was a very emotional and private experience from his adolescence and sometime later he wrote it at an A&W Drive-in after ordering a burger.. rumor is he wrote it on his tab… He wrote it about a teenage tryst. She ended up marrying somebody else and broke his heart but he turned it into a breakthrough smash single, transforming him into one of American Rock’s greatest rock storytellers. and to think due to a mix-up at his label it almost ended up being a b side… 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, an all-time rock hit is put under the microscope by the entire band and this one has so many layers to it. Time of the Season by the Zombies was released in 1969 going into the 1970s and it was the perfect song as the psychedelic 60 bled into the excessive 70s and it has so many backstories. First of all, It didn’t become a hit until a year after the band had actually broken up. Its unique handclaps and audible breathing made it one of the most unique million-selling hits ever and it contained a phrase that would become part of our everyday vernacular.… Who’s Your Daddy... then the label was ready to give up on the legendary album the song came from Odessey and Oracle… it was saved at the last minute but even then the record’s title was misspelled and it still hasn’t been corrected. Then to add insult to injury when the song hit the top of the charts, with the band broken up a promoter put out a fake version of the band and began to tell people the lead singer had died… The lead singer Colin Bluntstone found out about his own death when reading the paper. 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.

It was the blockbuster record that put rock back on the front burner in the middle of disco…and it came out of nowhere… Tom Scholz and his upstart band Boston saved rock and roll with it’s power chords thought 70s classics like More Than a Feeling, Peace of Mind, Foreplay/Long Time and Rock & Roll Band to name a few of the powerful song that ignited radio. It sent shockwaves through the industry when it sold out virtually everywhere. Yet it’d been rejected by every major label in the industry. one even wrote a rude letter saying it offered nothing new. Tom Scholz the genius behind it had been tinkering in his basement for nearly 6 years perfecting it’s sound… He was rejected, laughed at and on the verge of financial ruin… It helped that had had one of the greatest singers ever in Brad Delp...Up next an original band member who was there during that stint tells rock and roll’s Cinderella story of the record that saved rock and roll. 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 rare interview with rock singer-songwriter Dave Pirner of 80s and 90s Minneapolis scene group Soul Asylum on the 1993 classic hit Runaway Train. The song started out as one thing and ended up making a seismic change worldwide. Dave Pirner actually wrote the song about depression but it took years to finish. The lyrics were too similar to another #1 song from long before but after going through some dark times, one day a metaphor hit him right between the eyes and he wrote the song we know in a few minutes then the song’s video would have even more impact helping solve crimes and saving lives. 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.

Up next.. the story of an all time classic rock song from both the singer Lou Gramm and guitarist Mick Jones who wrote it.. All-time 80s anthem JukeBox Hero by Foreigner! They each had a great song and pretty much combined it into one with dual experiences… legendary guitarist and producer Mick Jones said it came from letting a fan come backstage after he’d waited 5 hours in the rain to get tickets to their sold out show. The Iconic vocalist Lou Gramm said his inspiration came from standing outside a sold out concert hall not able to see Hendrix perform. It maybe the most challenging song for a rock singer to perform in history… Most can’t hit the notes but boy did this guy do it even if he had to fight a legendary producer tooth and nail to get it just right. The song became a #1 rock song an sold a million copes twice! From 1981 hit album Foreigner 4. 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, it’s one of the most instantly recognizable and impossible to resist songs of the rock era. Take on Me by A-ha. It's music video ain’t chopped liver either… maybe the definitive video of 80s MTV . Take On Me is a song that rises high above its genre and era. But it would be a long and rocky road for this band to get there. Morten Harkett and his band A-ha would rise to global fame but it started clear back in the late 70s when their keyboardist came up with one of the catchiest hooks of all time. Only the band thought it was too catchy nicknaming it the Juicy Fruit song because it was so over the top catchy. For a while wanted nothing to do with it… then in the 80s they put it out and it Failed. How could the catchiest song ever not be a hit. It’s inching up to 2 billion plays on Youtube alone. Find out how they turned it around 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, it’s one of the darkest days of one of the rock era’s most storied bands. 1987's Tango in the Night was Fleetwood Mac’s 2nd biggest record. Most people forget that. It also had more hits than any of their albums tied with Rumours with Little Lies, Everywhere, Seven Wonders, and Big Love. Already known for having more than their fair share of secrets, intrigue, and infighting, one tragic day after recording Tango in the Night took the band’s brand of musical mayhem to an entirely new level… leaving one band member, Stevie Nicks fearing for her life. And another Lindsey Buckingham outright quit the band for good. Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks were both stuggling with substance abuse and Christine McVie felt pushed out of the creative cycle. John McVie hadn’t played in so long that he was rusty, but through all this turmoil they managed to record a hit song so magical, so joyful… even happy-go-lucky, that it puts you in a good mood even time you hear it. So could that joy and the record's success overcome the drama? Stick around to find out. 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 legendary singer Steven Tyler of Aerosmith wrote one of rock’s greatest masterpieces at the age of 14. A 14-year-old kid! Not only that… This 70s classic is a pretty heavy song for a 14-year-old to understand let alone write. The 70s hard rock classic Dream On is the one that put the screaming demon and the Boston boys on the top of rock royalty. But when Tyler brought the bonafide rock classic to his band, guitarist Joe Perry didn’t want to cut it because he felt it was too soft for their sound even though the song builds and then explodes! Many obstacles stood in the way of this song becoming a hit from a run-in with a gangster who pulled a gun on the band to it failing on its first release to Steven Tyler blowing out his vocal cords on one big performance. The song is sung by Steven Tyler in an entirely different way than any song he’d sing thereafter. the 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.

Coming up, we’re going to go behind the Top 10 songs of this very same week from the year 1982. But that’s not all. After we count them down, we’re re-ranking each song according to all-time streams and views, to find out which song has made the biggest mark on history. So who do you think will take the top spot today? Will it be a veteran band like Journey, a previous chart-topping act like Rick Springfield, or the J. Geils Band? Or maybe a surprise one-hit wonder? Or could it be an 80s hit machine like Huey Lewis and the News? Stick around and find out if any of these contenders can make a run for the top spot… 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.

Up next one of the greatest guitarists of the rock era, Steve Stevens tells the story of meeting legendary singer the new wave Elvis… Billy Idol and working on their first hit together…White Wedding, the head banging rocker that many have played at their weddings. Which is funny because it’s actually an ANTI-marriage song. Also many were confused with the lyrics thinking that the singer wrote it about his sister... misunderstanding the slang. And what’s more, the iconic music video cost very little to make but became one of the most visually iconic of all time. Also, how they crafted a classic that’s become synonymous with MTV’s glory days. The interview is coming up 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 an interview with legendary singer Eric Burdon of the rock and roll hall fame band the Animals who’s signature song has empowered so many over the years but especially one of the biggest all time superstars of them all who credits this song as the direct inspiration to everything he’s ever written. Bruce Springsteen has said that We Gotta Get Out of This Place is the song that’s inspired everything he’s ever done form Born to Run to Born in the USA. I actually interviewed the singer and the legendary brill building songwriting couple Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil who wrote and I dare say both their stories haven’t been told together on video yet. It’s historic… it’s also may own personal favorite videos i’ve ever done. check it out 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.

A lot of people forgot about this band from the latter part of the 80s… Today’s act actually scored three US Top 10 hits from their debut album All That Jazz. The Sophista pop band named Breath pulled off an 80s hat trick... Not an easy feat. Especially since up until then they were riding out a losing streak of four failed singles. They were all but done. But it would be an impressive comeback and the perfect underdog story… seemingly setting them up for a long and prosperous career. First Hands To Heaven stole the #2 spot. Then came How Can I Fall at #3 and then Don’t Tell Me Lies at #10. This band should’ve been huge. They had the talent, and their lead singer David Glasper had a breathtaking voice. So what happened? Why are they all but forgotten today? Was it a case of the sophomore slump? Or is there some other reason they dropped off the map? Stick around, as we get to the bottom of this one, and try to figure out where in the world their singer 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.

Most people assume that today's song from one of the biggest bands ever was a #1 hit because it’s such a classic radio standard...played all the time. In reality, it missed the charts entirely. Desperado by Eagles is one of their biggest songs ever. But Desperado wasn’t a hit because it was never actually released as a single. Written by Don Henley when he was a teenager. The 70s classic has quite a history from starting a fire at a photo shoot that required the fire department to save them to the band having no budget for recording which only gave the Henley a few takes in the studio to try to nail down the vocal with a renowned orchestra playing behind him. No pressure. But the song would have its revenge as it appeared on a future album and was a big reason why that album would sell 40 million copies.. 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.

After years without a hit in their native land and a grand total of zero hits in America, Thin Lizzy was on their last leg… Phil Lynott and co were told by their label if their next record wasn’t a hit they’d kick ‘em to the curb. They were in debt, they were desperate but this band was made up of working-class Fighters…however today’s classic song, the Boys are Back in Town was one that the band deemed a throwaway track that didn’t even deserve to be on their next album, but the late decision to include the song would lead to a couple of DJs from the south playing the deep cut and it spread like wildfire not only saving their career, it catalyzed a classic rock anthem. Up next, the story of one of the most overlooked bands of the entire 70s and the surprising motivation behind this song… 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, were covering one of the biggest songs from a legendary rock band that has been streamed over a billion times and despite it’s popularity It never actually charted on the Hot 100. Simple Man by the kings of the south Lynyrd Skynyrd. The only reason it wasn’t a hit is because it wasn’t ever released as a single.. It finally charted decades later … Funny story: Apparently, the band’s producer Al Kooper didn’t want them to record it. So Ronnie Van Zant and co locked him out of the studio and told him not to come back until they were done. I guess these guys were butting heads all the time. But somehow, despite the constant fighting, they managed to put together one of the strongest debut albums ever: Pronounced ‘Lĕh-’nérd ‘Skin-’nérd And this song, well, I’ll just say if you listen closely, you’re gonna hear some of the best advice for a happy life and it has even more meaning now since this band’s last founding member, Gary Rossington passed away marking the end of an era.… Get ready, 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.

Warren Zevon was told by one of the founding fathers of rock, Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers that he should write a novelty song about a horror movie icon… So he wrote a total joke song…One he called a piece of crap called the Werewolves of London... It became his only hit! It’s a song about a mysterious, sophisticated gent who could be seen dining at Chinese restaurants, and drinking Pina Coladas in posh areas of Soho & Kent. He’s a dapper fellow, with tailored suits, and perfectly coiffed hair. But don’t let appearances fool you….Despite his dashing looks, you better keep your distance... cause he’ll rip your lungs out. The truth behind this ‘hairy handed’ bottled lightning hit, and the tortured artist who released the cap- then “drew blood" 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.

Today the lords of rock Led Zeppelin are back in full force. We take Another deep dive into the heaviest band in history with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham… It’s the story of A key track from their landmark fourth album, Led Zeppelin IV otherwise known as Rock N Roll and it actually came out of an improv jam session while the band was taking a break from writing another classic track. Written in only 15 minutes, it was like the band pulled this one out of thin air. The legendary guitarist even called the creation of this song, “spontaneous combustion” and it was a big middle finger to the critics who claimed the band had lost their rock edge. Now, decades later it is still revered as an all-time standard. It’s the tale of the unlimited fist-pumping, heart-stopping classic… 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.

It was one of the most storied #2 hits in rock and roll history from a band that was criminally underappreciated in their day. The Zombies' 1964 classic “She’s Not There” blew everyone’s mind including the Beatles. Half a century later, People are getting hip to their genius. Up next the entire band from Rod Argent to Colin Bluntstone tell the story of this their biggest hit. It hypnotized listeners in the 60s and it was the first ever rock hit to use an electric piano as a lead instrument… and then decades after its peak on the charts it was Banned from radio for being lyrically inappropriate after 911 The story is up 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.

“Over the first 22 years in the history of the Grammy Awards, no single artist had swept the so-called “BIG FOUR,” Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and New Artist of the Year.” Until 1981…. Christopher Cross made history while competing against some of music's heaviest hitters: Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Barry Gibb, Lionel Richie, Billy Joel, and Pink Floyd. He did it with his #1 smooth 80s classic Sailing... the song that defined Yacht Rock, a genre that wouldn’t be named for 30 years. He won the Oscar, 5 grammys and more and then banished them to his garage. 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.. they were a rock supergroup Made up of parts from 3 legendary Prog rock bands Yes, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and a new wave band The Buggles… Together they formed Asia who mastered the early 80s with the biggest straight ahead blockbuster rock record of 1982…they stole the #1 spot from the likes of ACDC, Foreigner, Pau McCartney and Fleetwood Mac it was actually the biggest selling album of the year pop rock or soul. The main hit from the record The Heat of The Moment was an apology letter to the singer’s girlfriend and it actually started as a country song but cooler heads prevailed and it became the singalong rocker of 1982. A founding member and co writer of the song tells the story personally 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 an artist who changed everything. He grew up with aspergers. He was lonely and misunderstood but found solace in the writings of science fiction..he wrote this song as a teenager on an out of tune piano about a robot prostitute.. It ended up selling a million copies and going to #1 and no one knew what the song was really about. Up next in our interview this artist 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.

Coming up, another great story from an interview I did with one of rock's greatest storytellers. Mr. Randy Bachman from the Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive BTO… This 70s rock hit came when BTO was on tour with the Doobie Brothers. The band was on the road going to a gig when during a traffic jam a truck driver boxed their tour bus in… so a little while later this rock legend confronted the trucker at a rest stop. A brawl was about to go down… from this incident... the trucker said something that would inspire a rock classic. Let it Ride… It became a 70s guitar classic. Get the story from this rocker 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.

On the run from a dishonest record label and a bum contract, multi-platinum, grammy award-winning, rock hall of Famer Billy Joel dropped off the grid and hid out in a dive bar in LA. There under an alias, he spent six months on the down low playing music for down-and-out crowds. It didn’t pay much, and there was no glory in it, but it was a life-altering decision. That’s because it taught him how to take his song-craft to a new level and gave him the inspiration to write the signature song all signature songs are judged by…Piano Man. It would break him into the mainstream and make him a superstar. It’s a song that generations of fans have turned into a go-to karaoke classic and an essential track for any Saturday night and years later Joel would find out he initially made only about 8 grand off of it even though it’s one of the biggest songs ever. The story of a 70s classic 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.

Up next we go behind the signature song behind a ground-breaking album that boasted 11 Top 40 singles on the Hot 100, and seven #1 hits*. Just unbelievable numbers. I’m talking about Saturday Night Fever the soundtrack from 1978 that really is a Bee Gees album. the record was so big you almost have to call it a movement…The song most associated with this movement the Bee Gees Staying Alive has been misunderstood for decades! Everyone knows it as a carefree, jolt of swagger but it’s actually a very serious song from a group that absolutely dominated the charts even doing something the Beatles didn’t do. Barry Gibb replaced himself at #1 not once, not twice but three times with four straight #1 hits. With Staying Alive, Night Fever, If I Can’t Have You, and Love Is Thicker Than Water… Stayin’ Alive started the momentum and it almost didn’t get released… 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.

In the space of just over two years, Phil Collins scored twelve Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. 12...That’s insane. And actually, that list includes five #1s, and the lowest single really came in at #7. So 12 Top 7 singles? And as it just so happens, today we’re covering that #7 song. Take Me Home from his 25 X Platinum album No Jacket Required from 1985. But what makes this story even more compelling, is the fact that Phil Collins hired the singer he once replaced to sing on the track. Peter Gabriel…. And when I say replaced, I’m talking about fronting one of the biggest bands of the rock era... Genesis. So you would expect there to be some bad blood. Find out if there was. This is definitely one of my favorite tracks from this artist and honestly, it deserved a higher ranking than it got. Get ready, 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.

Wow. You’re in for a treat, the greatest female rock singer in history, Ann Wilson takes us through her band, Heart’s greatest Hidden gems including a walk through their peak in the 70s. After Dreamboat Annie, their first album made the global superstars they had a legal battle with their label Mushroom Records when the label released their follow-up album without the band’s approval and unfinished. They fought them and were able to get them to stop production and a judge gave them just 2 days to finish songs, mix, and master theirs. so 2 versions exist. also the story of this legend’s favorite album track and how it devastated her to write it. Coming up 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.

Following on the heels of two gigantic #1 Hot 100 hits in 1985, today’s featured song the 80s classic Head Over Heels, written by iconic synth rock pioneer Roland Orzabal and sung with his partner Curt Smith of Tears for Fears, was in line to make it three in row…but would it happen? Ambitious and anthemic, this song boasts some highly intelligent lyrics that take many listens to unriddle. It came From a record that was named after a bad TV movie. Songs from the Big Chair with a music video that defined the 80s. It’s one of the most under-appreciated songs of the neon decade. So good a cult movie Donnie Darko based an entire sequence on the song and filmed it without knowing if they’d even get the song rights. We solve this mysterious 80s song riddle 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 two legendary artist tell the story of an all star collaboration Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald and their 70s classic This Is it. At the time Michael McDonald was fronting one of the biggest bands in rock with the Doobie Brothers and the Kenny Loggins had just left a classic duo in Loggins and Messina to create a solo career… They had just collaborated on the grammy winning song What A Fool Believes about a year before and they were afraid they’d jinx their partnership.. so after a while apart they ran into a each other in the supermarket and said let’s just get together and write a piece of crap get that out of the way and then we can write a good one.. That piece of crap became another grammy winner and 70s classic. when they wrote the chorus they thought it was love song but 1 event changed it completely find out the story in our exclusive interview 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, the story of a journeyman rocker, who finally scored fame when he reached his 30s. Billy Squire’s breakout hit The Stroke was a provocative sledgehammer - misinterpreted by innuendo that led the way to one of the biggest albums of the 80s. It sold 4 million copies... In 1981... he was on top of the business he loathed, but ironically... just a few years later, after releasing his highest charting single, Rock me Tonite his career suddenly plummeted due to a music video. After that, he just up and disappeared! The details of the slow climb and the rapid fall of an 80s icon 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.

It was a top 3 hit in 1976 barely missing the number one spot only to come back decades later to hit number one as part of the bestselling soundtrack from Guardians of the Galaxy: Fooled Around and Fell in Love credited to Elvin Bishop was sung by underrated vocalist Mickey Thomas who went on to kill it with Jefferson Starship and then just Starship in the 80s with #1 hits like WE BUILT THIS CITY and SARA… Like I indicated it’s one of those rare songs that’s credited to the guitarist instead of the singer…but WOW what a vocal performance! He sang the HELL out of this 70s ringer and he’s the one who’ll tell us the story and in the middle of it he grabs his guitarist and sings it!. The story of an all-time classic 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: he’s an American institution… Even people who hate Country Music the genre he’s most tied to Love him. Johnny Cash the man in black… he’s the kind of Legend that legends are measured by. By the end of his long career, Johnny Cash had won every award a musician could dream of and had wealth only a few have attained. But when he was staring at his own mortality… when he was knocking on death’s door, he asked a question….does any of it matter? One of his final songs, a cover Nine Inch Nails' Hurt asks that question... The cover of Trent Reznor’s song that first appeared on his rock album The Downward Spiral. When Johnny Cash covered Hurt for his the Man Comes Around album Trent Reznor Originally hated it. But after seeing the amazing music video he changed his mind… He actually said that from that point forward it was Johnny’s song. The story of the classic from Cash’s American Recordings 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.

My favorite thing in the world is when I do an interview that Leaves me Speechless. Where it blows my mind like "Did that really just happen?" Well this is one those interviews, from an 80s new wave virtuoso named Thomas Dolby….A true renaissance man who was discovered by legendary producer Mutt Lange when he was busking on the street. He would go onto help revolutionize the future.. he was the secret sauce behind huge 80s records by everyone from Def Leppard to Foreigner. Today he tells us about getting the call to play keyboards with David Bowie at Live Aid and how they rehearsed an exact setlist and then Bowie changed the Opening song seconds before they walked on stage. He got play Heroes in front of 100s of millions of people. We also hear how Michael Jackson invited him to his house right after Thriller and asked him to write him a song This is a can’t miss 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 John Oates of rock duo Daryl Hall and John Oates or Hall and Oates tells the story of the feel-good 80s classic You Make My Dreams. the song came as a result of a happy accident… John Oates was jamming with a friend…He was playing the delta blues… His friend was playing western swing and they combined it and he started singing what would become the iconic chorus… later the end result didn't sound anything like the blues or western swing it pretty much sounded like the 80s. Honestly, if someone asked me to define the 80s with one song this one would be a candidate… also they quit making the instrument they recorded the iconic riff with so it took them years to find the exact synth to duplicate the song live when their’s was destroyed … the story is up 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.

Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain from one of America’s most popular rock bands Journey watched their bandmates guitarist Neal Schon and bassist Ross Valory go through caustic divorces. The palpable stress that affected the musicians became the inspiration for one of the band’s greatest hits. Separate Ways, Worlds Apart has become their signature rock song. It’s one of the toughest song for any singer to take on and Steve Perry knocks it out of the park. As perfect of a rock song as it is... It also has some baggage. It has one of the cheesiest music videos ever put to film. Even the band admits it. but this song just had major pop culture renaissance 40 years after its peak. on Stranger Things It’s all coming up NEXT including an interviews with band member Neal Schon 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.

John Mellencamp was hellbent on making his record label eat their words… His label was focused on grooming him to be the next Neil Diamond, they said his album which included the 80s classic Jack and Diane and Hurts So Good was complete garbage. Back then John Mellencamp started out as Johnny Cougar, then it was John Cougar and then John Cougar Mellencamp, by the time he got his first #1 hit he had changed his name 3 times…but the 80s ditty Jack and Diane gave him what he’d always wanted…His real identity. But it was a fight to even get the label to release American Fool. That’s when he told them to shove it. He’d take it somewhere else. Well, they did release it and it made him the king of 80s heartland rock. the story of his only #1 hit Jack and Diane 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.

THIS BAR band came out of nowhere in the eighties to take over radio… Huey Lewis and the News stole the spotlight... Especially in what may have been music's most competitive year…1984 where they snuck in for 1 week to take #1 with their album Sports when Prince, Van Halen Michael Jackson, and Duran Duran were battling it out up next this legendary artist tells the story of I Want a New Drug, a song he wrote in just minutes… he was driving and had the song..he quickly pulled over and ran into an office and screamed for a pen and paper and wrote it in about 90s seconds, then later it was part of a huge lawsuit when the film Ghostbusters asked him to write a song for their soundtrack and when he had to decline they allegedly asked another artist to write a song with a similar sound… The story is coming up 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.

Elton John and Bernie Taupin were one the most prolific songwriting teams of the Rock Era- So far they’ve collaborated on more than 300 songs. From 1973 through 1976 alone, the duo had a number-one song an average of every four weeks. But their addictions to alcohol & substance forced a dissolution of their partnership, and impeded their respective careers for 7 years… In fact, the 70s biggest superstar actually lost his passion at one point and began to flounder missing the top ten for 3 years and had 3 singles that didn’t even make the charts…but Elton and Bernie came back together and wrote an 80s classic that forged a massive comeback with I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues a love letter from Bernie to his then wife. but says he now regrets writing an iconic lyric from it. Find out which one 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.

One of the most famous openings in music history came from the drummer playing a mistake. Low Rider by WAR became a 70s classic due to this happy accident. He was accidentally playing on the upbeat and when he realized his mistake he was about to change course when all of a sudden everyone else started playing on top of his mistake and the singer stepped up to the mic and said a random phrase and a 70s classic was born. We get the story of this classic From a founding member of one of America’s greatest Funk bands. When this one comes on the radio, we all turn it up to 11 and jam out, best heard when cruising down the freeway. The cool, laid-back hit of 1975 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.