Professor of Rock

Is it the most elaborate cover-up in rock history? Some would say yes. For today’s episode, we’re covering The Beatles, a band that was at the forefront of the cultural revolution, and that would go on to change music forever. However... there are some out there who would have you believe that The Beatles' entire history is a lie. And they say they have the evidence to prove it. It’s a story fille...

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One of the so-called Filthy Fifteen, today’s rebellious rock anthem We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister never got a fair shake... not from parents, not from the media, and not even from the Government. This classic rock anthem had a target on its back for years from the powers that be...Their gameplan? To censor so-called offensive music across the nation. But that was the whole reason the s...

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a room with people you couldn’t stand, but had no choice but to grin and bear it? Well, the two leaders of Stealers Wheel, Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan, knew that feeling all too well. They captured that awkward vibe and turned it into the song Stuck in the Middle with You, which unexpectedly became a massive international hit! The funny thing is, they never th...

When legendary frontman Jim Morrison of The Doors told his band members they should go home and write some songs to fill out their live show and have more to record. Teenage guitarist Robby Kreiger took him seriously and wrote a song that night... Light My Fire. When he brought it into the band they were blown away… thing is today’s Robby not only wrote the music, he also wrote most of the lyrics...

What can you say about today’s band The Cars? They mixed two genres perfectly to become one of the greatest rock bands of the late 70s and 80s helping save rock and roll and giving it a new sheen. The Cars had two lead singers, Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr, who on their own could’ve led any band. But their power was drawn from the other members of the band who all brought a magic that couldn’t be p...

You’ve heard them all a million times or more. The most overplayed songs of the 80s. Not only did they flood the radio airwaves back in the day, but since the neon decade they have conquered pop culture media, getting played again and again in movies and television shows. I’m talking about tracks like Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer’s and TOTO’s Africa But for today’s...

Coming up... the story of the mini-rock symphony Love is Like Oxygen from Sweet, a band once dismissed by critics as a "bubblegum group" focused only on making money. But with their final big hit, the band reached the pinnacle of their artistry, delivering a track that was a complete departure from their usual sound. SADLY Their redemptive success was short-lived, as their lead singer left the ban...

Where do I even start with this one? Over 50 musicians came in and out of this one-hit wonder band in its time... Dexys Midnight Runners. And its principal, the singer Kevin Rowland absolutely detested his #1 hit Come On Eileen. He hated it because he didn’t think it was mixed right… He was so angry about it, he didn’t listen to the song for 40 years, which is hard to believe because we all LOVED...

Coming up, the story behind one of the biggest hits of 1966 Mellow Yellow by Donovan. Packed with hidden meanings and controversial themes, this song, somehow, managed to sneak past the old-fashioned ideology of the media gatekeepers' values and came close to topping the American Pop charts. It’s a song about recreational drugs, young desire, having a laid-back disposition, and, believe it or not,...

Sometimes you hear a rock and roll story and it’s so good you feel like it was scripted or made up. Well, today’s story seems too good to be true, but it’s 100% true. It’s the story of John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band who paid their dues for years, playing 3 gigs a night sometimes. Well, they caught a lucky break when a producer wanted to use their song On the Darkside for a big Hollywood...

Coming up… A Holy Grail interview. When I started doing this years ago I made a list of 15 artists I have to interview before I die and my top 3 were no brainers… Well I just got one of them… Sting! They Say to Never meet your heroes well I did and he blows that theory out of the water. Up next a very personal interview with a musical genius about one of my favorite records ever… he’s the only art...

From the early 70s to the close of the decade, the Eagles were flying high, having written a litany of beloved rock-era hits. As well as some classic rock standards that were never released as singles. But life in the fast lane left this 100 million-plus record hit-machine running on empty. Quick tempers, in-fighting, and backstage brawls would plague this band of guitar-slingers for the long run…...

Coming up… Get ready to take a nostalgic journey as we countdown the Top 10 One-Hit Wonders of the 70s with the actual artists telling their stories… We have so many classics here: like Mountain's Mississippi Queen that came when they were playing a live show and a blackout happened so they started to play an impromptu jam to keep the crowd going and it turned into an all-time classic. Or when Dav...

Once upon a time at a Halloween party in the 70s, a notoriously shy, unsociable future hall-of-fame rockstar named Donald Fagen got the courage to hit on a beautiful woman… He slipped her his phone number, but the problem was this awkward genius had just hit on his college professor’s pregnant wife… Would it lead to a torrid affair? We’ll find out the details next. But the embarrassing moment was...

Coming up… we're putting the spotlight on Sunglasses at Night, an iconic '80s anthem-ditty created by Corey Hart who caught the attention of two of the most famous singers in recorded music history before he was a teenager. From its mysterious lyrics that most of us have been mumbling through cuz we have no idea what Corey is saying, to that unforgettable synth riff, this track didn't just define...

Crosby Stills & Nash Tell the story of their first hit SUITE: JUDY BLUE EYES the song that put them on the map as one of the world's first supergroups. In this interview the Late David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Captain Everyhands: Stephen Stills tell the story of this 60s classic and how they played Woodstock at 4 in the morning. The Groups would later add Neil Young and become one of America's...

Coming up next. When guitar legend Neal Schon of Journey was an unknown 14-year-old kid, he told his parents he was going to a sleepover at his friend’s hour… Instead, he went to a famous bar and had a guitar battle with his hero… BB King. A decade later, Schon would rule the beginning of the 80s with one of the greatest classic rock songs ever… Any Way You Want It. This song still shakes stadiums...

Coming up, an interview with with throwback icon Brian Hyland about a song that every generation living on this earth knows by heart... Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. It’s become one of the most played songs of its time and when Bryan recorded it he was only a sophomore in high school. It became a #1 hit even though it was considered very risqué for its time… One of the most int...

I have a question for you all? How many perfect songs are there in the world. Where every second of it is exhilarating… That no many times you listen to it, it doesn’t lose it’s luster. In my opinion one such song was released in 1987, The Cure's Just Like Heaven. This song’s origins is really interesting as well. It’s just like a dream. If you can believe it, this happy song was inspired by one o...

Stevie Nicks, one of rock’s most revered singers, was on her way to a secretive honeymoon after getting married. During the drive to the couple’s destination, Prince's Little Red Corvette came on the radio and she pulled over at the closest record store to buy the tape. The song was so compelling it inspired Stevie to forgo her wedding night and instead, she wrote her biggest hit, Stand Back. Nick...

Up next we’re going to count down the top 10 songs of this very same timeframe from the year 1988. We have interviews and stories from the artists… as well as your stories and dedications. And then we’ll recalibrate them based on their all-time performance since then. It’s a great show with so many great songs a couple of artists who reached the coveted BILLION VIEWS CLUB and today’s Top 10 countd...

Coming up… the wild story behind Rock Me Amadeus by Falco, one of the most unexpected global hits of the ‘80s. It was written in German which happened to be Falco’s native tongue but when he tried to sing it in English, it didn’t work. So Falco sang it in German which was a massive risk for them in America. In fact, Rock Me Amadeus was released twice, and both times it was a total flop… each time...

Coming up, an interview that really surprised me. Sometimes I do an interview and think I know what to expect and then the unexpected happens and it turns into something else entirely. Today’s multiplatinum artist Rita Coolidge hit the jackpot in 1977 and 1978 with 4 big hits including We’re All Alone and Your Love Is Lifting Me Higher. Then soon after had another big hit being chosen to sing the...

It’s hard to understand why a song that was hit all over the world wasn’t released in the US. Today’s song Zombie by the Cranberries was never released in America, yet it’s the most streamed song of the year it came from. And even crazier it may have stopped a centuries-old conflict. It was sung by a beautiful angel whose gorgeous voice went scorched earth on this hardcore rock song. She wrote a s...