Professor of Rock

Alright, it’s go time. Today, we’re going all in on band roster chaos! You know, some rock line-ups are built for the long-haul… But more often, bandmates come and go whether we like it or not. Infighting, personality clashes, creative differences, sheer fatigue, and even tragedies all take a toll on bands… On today’s countdown I’m giving you 6 band line-ups that have changed so drastically over t...

So I was deleting some old files on my laptop and hard drives the other day, and I came upon an interview I did a long time ago…It must have gotten buried because I didn’t even remember doing it. But it’s from a multi-platinum hitmaking singer who’s written a few modern classics, including a dozen hits and several that went to #1. So even though I’m going to be cutting back on interviews, I though...

In honor of the great Steven Tyler's 78th birthday, we bring you back to this classic from 2021. In the early 70s 'the bad boys of Boston” know as Aerosmith were a maelstrom of chaos, and chemically induced tension. The leaders Steven Tyler and Joe Perry battled through their toxic relationship between themselves, and an interloper to produce a rockin’ rampage that started with bassist Tom Hamilto...

Coming up, we’re temporarily trading in the studio album cuts for the “in concert” experience. On this episode, we’re counting down 7 classic live tracks that have surpassed their original recordings. Classic songs that are even better in concert. We’ve got the story of Peter Frampton, who woke up with a wine glass in hand after a heavy night of drinking. He took one look at himself and wrote the...

Coming up, today’s band Foreigner took a frigid walk through New York City in minus 20-degree weather to nail down their classic 70s song Cold as Ice… a top 10 single about a gold-digging ice queen. A lot of people have wondered through the years if it was based on a real girl, and we’ll get to the bottom of that. Apparently, after finishing Cold as Ice, one of the song’s co-writers, Mick Jones, t...

Coming up on Professor of Rock, we’re diving back to 70s to rediscover 10 hits that were brilliantly crafted for their era—so of course they never quite faded away. But they are stuck in that wonderful decade. We’ll spotlight a duet that rewired the wholesome image of Olivia Newton-John, who dared to take bold risks on screen and on vinyl. There’s the track Miss You from one of the Rolling Stones,...

Alright, we’ve done the 60s, the 70s, and the 80s… But we’ve still got another decade to cover. On this latest episode of Professor of Rock, we’re counting down the most iconic cartoon theme songs from the 90s. And you’re not going to believe some of these stories. In the 90s, it seemed like the biggest rock stars were lining up to get in on the cartoon action… From Aerosmith to Devo to Michael Ja...

In this exclusive, full-length interview, Adam sits down with Gavin Rossdale, the voice and driving force behind the legendary band Bush. Gavin opens up like never before, taking us on a candid journey through the highs, the struggles, and the defining moments that led to the formation of one of the most iconic rock bands of the ’90s. From the uncertainty of his early days to the breakthrough succ...

Coming up, we tell the story of songs that had deep meaning to the writer, and to us, the listeners, who locked into their emotional power. And they are songs that are some of the most celebrated ever, but were surprisingly never HITS! We’ll tell the tale about Oingo Boingo's Dead Man's Party, a song that was inspired while staying at a haunted hotel where multiple deaths took place. And what came...

We're serving up another Vault classic in honor of POR's Sammy Hagar giveaway. In this classic episode, the Red Rocker himself, Sammy Hagar tells us how he joined Van Halen and the resulting Music. He also tells the story behind creating the game changing song Dreams, the second single from their 1986 album 5150 which was the first Van Halen album to go to #1. The album 5150 is named after Eddie V...

Coming up, we just hit 1.5 million subscribers! And to celebrate I’m giving some love to a “lost art” in the music biz, the Greatest Hits Record… but with a twist! Back in the day, these compilations were a vital part of our collections: Beatles Red and Blue, Eagles (1971-1975), Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Journey,… we all loved having all the hits in one place. Today I’ve got my picks for the 9 gr...

Up next, a true story of resilience and redemption as we tell the story of STEVE MILLER BAND and their classic song Jet Airliner… a song that was trapped on an unreleased album by a guy named Paul Pena, who was stopped by legal battles and a ruthless manager, who was hell-bent on destroying his career. But hope emerged from an unexpected source when legendary rock star and "gangster of love" Steve...

Today, the name of the game is “Sabotage!” And it's sabotage in every sense of the word. And on this episode, we've got stories of self-destruction, tales of bands mutilating their songs in concert, and even undercutting rival bands onstage. We’ll tell the story of Liam Gallagher, who refused to perform Oasis's MTV Unplugged gig. And instead, he actually heckled his bandmates from the balcony thro...

Coming up next an interview with one of the greatest voices of the 80s…Tony Hadley who fronted new romantic band Spandau Ballet. He tells the story of their greatest songs including the classic TRUE and in the middle of the interview I shock him with the news that a boy band totally ripped off his classic song plus their other classics like Gold and his story of meeting Frank Sinatra. Let’s do it....

Rock has always had a rebellious streak… that’s why we love it, right? Well, coming up, I’m counting down 6 songs that stirred up controversy and pissed off all the wrong people. These are tracks that got banned, blacklisted, and canceled by gatekeepers and tastemakers. We’re back at it again with another edition of Taboo Songs! And one of these tracks by George Michael was one of the most talked-...

In 1986 Van Halen released their first album with new lead singer Sammy Hagar. 5150 became the band’s first number one album in the US and included three top 25 hits. It also contained a mind blowing rocker, Best of Both Worlds was a perfect pairing of Eddie’s guitar and Sammy’s voice that should’ve been a massive hit. Next up the story of this Van Halen classic with commentary by Sammy Hagar. See...

Coming up….we celebrate songs from one of the greatest years in music. These songs were HUGE back in the day, but decades later, sound really DATED. Just because they haven’t held up well doesn’t diminish our love for the songs, but it makes for an interesting study in music. One of the songs, Turn Up the Radio, came from a bunch of drinking buddies who were all in other bands but jammed for fun o...

We lost another great one, and for me, this one really hurt. I was honored to spend several hours with the legendary singer-songwriter and comeback kid Neil Sedaka several years ago, and we really hit it off. In fact, he sent me Christmas cards and kept in touch in the years after that. I was honored to call him a friend. Neil was definitely one of the good guys in music. He wrote so many classics...

Coming up, it’s never over until it’s over. On this episode, we’re featuring 6 bands and artists whose careers were buried 6 feet deep. All of them had already made it big. Fame and fortune, chart-topping hits, best-selling albums, legions of adoring fans… they had it all… well, until they didn’t. The music industry is very fickle, and even the best can fall on hard times. But today, we’re all abo...

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 an...

Coming up, another great song mystery. It’s a famous song everyone knows: House of the Rising Sun. But Nobody really knows who wrote it or what it’s specifically about. Today we have a special guest to help us solve it, The Animals Eric Burdon. It was either about a hooker or a prisoner. It’s centuries old but became a #1 hit when the lead singer of today’s Hall of Fame band covered it and may hav...

Today, we're diving into one of the most turbulent, passionate, and creatively explosive sagas in rock history. This British-American supergroup, Fleetwood Mac, turned their personal disasters into platinum records. But somehow, through all the substance abuse and betrayal, they channeled their misery into one of the most epic rock careers ever. For this episode, we’ve got the story of two songs t...

In this edition of 70s Hidden Gems, we dangerously hover over some gory pulp fiction with Bloodrock’s freaky D.O.A, We drift down the sea of heartbreak with Ian Gomm’s Hold On….and come together for a union of humanity with Livingston Taylor “I Will Be In Love With You" (James Taylor’s brother) and Lindisfarne with Run For Home and Robert Palmer’s Every Kind of People. This is A showcase of 5 dive...

Coming up, some of the greatest songs of the 70s have one thing in common. Even though they are classics and you hear all the time on classic rock radio, they were never hits. Some struggled and did not make the Top 40 on the Billboard chart, and some were not even released as singles. We'll share the story of legendary singer Carole King who had 24 hits before the age of 20, but when she went sol...

On March 1st, 1973, Pink Floyd released  The Dark Side of the Moon  — an album that redefined what rock music could be. In this episode, we revisit the making of this landmark record with legendary engineer Alan Parsons, who shares firsthand stories from inside Abbey Road Studios. From the heartbeat that opens the album to classics like “Time,” “Money,” and “The Great Gig in the Sky...