Professor of Rock

Today, we’re getting into the entertaining story behind an up-tempo 80s track that landed in the Guinness Book of World Records… You Spin Round (Like a Record) by 80s dance-pop group Dead or Alive Written by colorful, larger-than-life frontman Pete Burns… Before Pete got his big break, he spent his time terrorizing patrons at an independent record store. There as a sales clerk, he gained a reputation for ripping on customers if they bought music he didn’t like… Even throwing their purchases back in their face. But later on, after he finished throwing records at customers, he threw down a record of his own… DOA's signature song You Spin Me Round that launched his band to prominence, and became a go-to track on dance floors and in karaoke bars around the world in 1985 from their album YOUTHQUAKE…They ruled one chart so perfectly they had 7 top 10 hits over just a couple of years but the second the 80s ended they disappeared and their iconic singer would be the victim of a disastrous surgery…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.

Today’s featured song is an undeniable masterpiece. Not only has it been hailed not only as Queen's greatest track, but also as one of the foremost rock songs ever written. Two words:  Bohemian Rhapsody! Technically, it is three of the best songs ever written… since it is made of three distinct sections… Rock, ballad, and opera. Yes opera. And it all flows together seamlessly. So naturally, the record label hated it. No way in hell were they releasing this monstrosity as a single. So the song’s composer Freddie Mercury leaked it to a local radio station. And the response was of course overwhelming. Calls poured in and listeners stormed record shops looking for a copy. The label ate crow.  Brian May loved it.  It rocked the 70s and then it rocked the 90s when the comedy film Wayne’s World used it.  It went to the top 5 yet again!  The story of the greatest song in history. 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.

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.