Professor of Rock

Coming up the story of one of the most elegant and breathtaking #1 hit of the 70s: Just My Imagination (running Away From Me) from the last remaining member of the legendary rock and roll hall of fame group The Temptations. Mr Otis Williams takes us through the song. Though this song was the first of several number one hits for the group in the 70s after dominating the 60s with My Girl and Can’t G...

The amazing story of the first all indigenous band Redbone and their ultra catchy 70s smash Come and Get Your Love. The band was compelled by a burning desire to put the spirituality and history of their ancestry in the forefront of their music... the band featured in this episode risked commercial acceptance...disregarded music industry conventionalism, and scored the first major pop hit by a gro...

Up next an exclusive interview with 70s Legend Peter Frampton the singer write guitarist who had failed as a solo artists for years. He procrastinated and only had a few days to write an album that's songs would eventually become part of Frampton Comes Alive which for many years was the biggest selling album ever until the 80s. At the time He felt his songs were good but for some reason they just...

Coming up, it’s the story behind one of the most recognizable music videos of the 80s… THE 1986 #1 hit Addicted to Love by Robert Palmer the suave, dressed for success rocker who is the epitome of James Bond of Pop music , along with a stunning backup band who couldn’t play a power chord to save their lives. It took a decade to get mainstream radio to notice but did they ever ever after this one....

Buddy Holly by Weezer..This nerd rock 90s blast from the past came out of the blue and took the world by storm. No one was expecting it, but everyone started singing along as soon as they heard it. River Cuomo and Weezer became the unintentional heroes to the underdog… the album and song were produced by Ric Ocasek of the Cars- This geek rock classic pays homage to every decade of rock era. and fo...

In 1984 a fledgling band called Split ENZ that included two brothers Tim and Neil Finn broke up, coming up short of the path to success they set. just a year later Neil Finn formed a new band. Their self titled debut album, though promising was a slow starter as their first three singles failed to chart, it was the forth song “Don’t Dream It’s Over"that raised a ruckus and saved the album form obs...

The amazing story behind Def Leppard and their breakthrough hit Photograph from their 1983 smash 10 million selling album Pyromania. Joe Elliott and company had to recruit a new guitarist when their current player was coming to recordings intoxicated. They tapped Phil Collen and he ended up saving the album with killer solos. Super producer Mutt Lange set the band straight and they had their first...

Next one of the Gen X's greatest guitar heroes, Steve Stevens breaks down a bonafide 80s classic. Rebel Yell by Billy Idol. First of all the song title came from a night of partying with the Rolling Stones… Then when they tried to record it, their drummer wasn’t hacking it… Low and behold they could hear a rival band recording next door with a killer drummer so they recruited him for the session a...

We just lost a soft rock icon. Jim Seals was half of one of the most successful duos of the 70s- Seal and Crofts and the author of an enrapturing Yacht Rock classic Summer Breeze We blow through the jasmine, and pay tribute to a revered soft rock legend with the story behind the classic 70s hit Summer Breeze and reflect on it’s power to take us back home again next on Professor of Rock. Learn more...

Coming up, we’re going to go behind the Top 10 songs of this very same week from the year 1982. You know we’ve done a lot of these Redux episodes on this channel, but I gotta say, today’s show might have all them beat. It’s absolutely stacked with great songs. When comparing it today’s top hits you almost want to cry.. How far we’ve fallen IT’s really sad. The 80s Ruled...this time around there ar...

Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys was America's Original Rock band and we celebrate their 60 the anniversary as we UNBOX the Beach Boys Sound of Summer 6 LP set and have an exclusive interview with some of the members of the original band, including Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine. Brian and the boys created Pet Sound and Good Vibrations only 5 months part as just 24 years of age. The album a...

Up next the story of One of the strangest, most compelling songs in the history of the 20th century. It’s the kind of 80s New Wave hit that makes you rethink the meaning of life. Once In a Lifetime by Talking Heads. David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth and Chris Franz were the quirky avant guard master of a whole new musical level as they made us look beyond the social construct. Jerry Harri...

'It began as an innocent remark precipitated from a lover’s quarrel, that progressed into an anthem for freedom. The legacy of Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd the 70s classic, the greatness of the creation from Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Al Cooper'It began as an innocent remark that came from a lover’s quarrel, it turned into a legendary song that has likely been requested at every Live Rock show...

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It was a dark, dark time back in the summer of 1989. Or at least it was for today’s featured artist. After conquering the 80s with his own unique brand of musical genius Weird Al Yankovic found that critics and audiences had turned against him. After his should’ve been a hit movie UHF bombed. From there things got even worse when his longtime A-list partner Michael Jackson Rejected his latest song...

Up next we celebrate Benny Mardones who passed away 2 years ago. Considered by the industry to be a one hit wonder. His one hit, called Into the Night was much more than that simple label.. It has charted 3 different times over the last 40 years including hitting the billboard hot top 20 twice in the 80s at the beginning and end of the decade. It’s one of the most misunderstood song of the rock er...

38 Special’s 80s Classic Rock Hit Hold On Loosely came from a great story: it’s one of the most recognizable riffs in music history with a memorable chorus that’s tattooed on your brain at first listen. The catchy title came from a line that singer Don Barnes had heard on on old time talk show, the guitarist, Jeff Carlisi said the riff he was going for was the Cars meets Lynyrd Skynard and they fi...

Despite massive success in her native United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe, Alison Moyet is far from a household name in America. She’s had 9 Top-30 singles, and 5 Top-5 solo hits in the UK, not to mention the multitude of fans that adored her as one of the first New Wave dance divas as the lead singer of Yazoo, or Yaz as they were known in america, with synthesizer virtuoso Vince Clarke- of...

In 1980, AC DC lead singer Bon Scott died under tragic and mysterious circumstances... missing his band’s big break Back in Black by a matter of months. His replacement, another iconic rocker, named Brian Johnson was selected by guitarists and brothers Angus and Malcolm Young… They all picked up the pieces and penned the biggest rock album of all time. Yet questions linger about how much of the al...

The coveted #1 HIT! It’s the top of the summit that every artist desires, whether they admit it or not. I”m not saying they are all writing for #1 But every artist I've interviewed who’s topped the charts is proud of the achievement... and of course the record labels lived for this. But what about the bridesmaids? The rung just below. The close but no cigar #2? Today I’m counting down the 10 great...

Gun N’ Roses had just come off a massive album that shook the world called Appetite for Destruction with a batch of controversial heavy rock songs that had parents and teachers in an uproar and teenagers hanging on their every word. Every one was fired up about their upcoming material. .. Surprisingly, it ended up being a sensitive, kind-hearted song about being tolerant and understanding… What? I...

Today we celebrate Elton John's "Madman Across The Water" 50th Anniversary Reissue, the brilliant rock n’ roll psychosis of a slow-rising classic…It took people a little bit to realize that this 70s album was a master work but Elton John and Bernie Taupin knew they had a batch of stellar songs and 50 years later it’s still a mystery... l "When it was released in 1971...Many thought the name of the...

When music critics found out former Beatle Paul McCartney was writing a movie theme back in the 70s, the reactions were definitely mixed. Yeah, some were positive. But others? They had no faith in the music. In fact one of the producers was ready to pass on what would become a game changer for a lounge act…Paul McCartney and Wings reinvigorated one of the most popular film franchises in history. A...

As many of you no doubt already know, we recently lost another musical legend. On May 26 Depeche Mode’s own Andy Fletcher passed away from natural causes at his home. He was 60 years old. Band members Dave Gahan and Martin Gore made the somber announcement: "We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member and bandmate Andy 'Fletch' Fl...

"Coming up….the story of an art rock heroine Genius named Kate Bush and the story of her beautiful and compelling 80s hit, Running Up that Hill (Deal With God) which just went to #1 a full 37 years after it hit radio. Kate was frustrated by a lack of empathy from the man she loved. To solve the problem, she came up with a bold plan to reverse the role of the sexes. We enter the mind of a true musi...