Professor of Rock

Coming up, two legends and world-class storytellers share the story of one of the biggest radio songs ever. These Eyes was the first big hit written by Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings of the Guess Who. Guitarist Randy Bachman went to pick up a girl for a date and she wasn’t ready, so he sat downstairs waiting, and there happened to be an old piano there, so he wrote this little song in a few minutes. He later took it over to the singer’s house who changed one key lyric… It put this legendary band on the map. As a classic of the late 60s and early 70s, both Randy and Burton tell the story of this classic rock standard. 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.

For over a decade, Led Zeppelin ruled rock with an iron fist. I mean, no one else even came close. With the release of eight epic, life-altering records including the blockbusters Zeppelin IV, Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffit...they changed the landscape of rock forever… kicking out classic rock standards left and right… it all came crashing down one morning in the fall of 1980 when their Drummer John Bonham was found dead. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were so devastated, Page didn’t pick up a guitar for 2 years. Some bands bring in a replacement and go on… This band knew they couldn’t… Today, we pay tribute to Bonzo and celebrate their final chapter by breaking down their final album Coda rIncluding their plan to release a punk song under a made up name to get the public’s reaction…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 one of the most mysterious, otherworldly songs of the 80s. It’s a song that absolutely hypnotizes you as a listener Eyes Without a Face by Billy Idol. Written by Billy Idol and Guitar Hero Steve Stevens for the 1984 New Wave classic album Rebel Yell. With an exotic chorus that’s sung in french. The song STARted out as a ballad but then Steve Stevens who’d written the music walked into the studio and let out a face melting blazing guitar solo that was so potent when he walked into the control room everyone in their was jumping up and down cheering including the singer. the story of this 80s classic is told by this legendary guitarist and co creator 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 the story of a song that never really got its due when it was released as a single. My Best Friend's Girl by the Cars… Yeah, sure it was a Top 40 hit… but not by much. And yet I don’t think anyone today could deny that this song is an absolute classic rock staple. It’s also a signature song from a debut record so strong that honestly, it could have been released as a greatest hits album. Written by Rik Ocasek with vocal help by Benjamin Orr, this song, along with Just What I Needed, lit up radio in 1978 and we’ve had the meaning of the song backwards from the start. Up next, the story of a 70s classic by a band that balanced punk, new wave, power pop, and 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 coolest stories of a one hit wonder ever…This artist dropped out of high school to follow his rock and roll dreams, he scratched and clawed for 10 years before a chance meeting in an elevator gave him a shot at a record deal. Grayson Hugh arranged and helped finish a song that he knew would be a hit, but then couldn’t release it because an Icon got first dibs on releasing her version. Finally after so many failed promises, His song, the 1988 hit Talk It Over shot up the charts… The unbelievable story of rock and roll perseverance straight from the artist 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.

Every now and again in an interview with an artist, a story is told that is so unique, Poignant and heart felt that the story enhances the song to an unparalleled level. It seems to deepen with every listen. This is the case with Marc Cohn’s hit Walking in Memphis... Most people thought this massive hit was a made up homage to an artist, poetic license on steroids, but as we’ll find out in the exclusive interview coming up, every part of this song actually happened. the Ghost of Elvis to Al Green preaching. Marc Cohn was a Struggling singer songwriter and trying to find that one hit that would get him his first big break and he found it in one weekend. the story from grammy winner Marc Cohn 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.

"In 1967, a brilliant concept album was recorded that shattered the boundaries of song arrangement, and forever changed the art of recorded music. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Maybe Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr created a concept record about an imaginary band. They were in a race with the Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys to create the greatest record ever.. The last cut on their ground-breaking record A Day in the Life was a mind-altering composition inspired by the death of a notorious socialite, and psychedelia. We raise the curtain on this fantastic voyage across the perils of stone cold realism.. and the fantasy of lysergic imagination….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 the song that drove one of the UK’s biggest bands The Cure kicking and screaming out of obscurity into the Mainstream Thematically, Robert Smith’s Lovesong was completely out of character for the pope of mope… It was an unexpected bright spot on Disintegration.. the 1989 album that makes you feel like you might never see daylight again. Don’t get me wrong, it’s easily one of the most darkly beautiful records ever created. It is a moody, melancholy masterpiece that has not only been hailed as the peak of this band’s career, but also one of the greatest albums of the 80s. So what was this so-called ‘happy’ track even doing there? And could this band’s reluctant rockstar make peace with the song that turned this indie band into stadium headliners? We’ll find out... 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, a tale of identical twin brothers who were told by everyone in the music industry that if they wanted to make it in show business, they had to lose their thick Scottish accents. The Proclaimers had a lot against them before they hit with I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles). For example...famous British TV host Paul Yates called them “weird” on their national television debut… But they didn’t care. They refused to drop their accents, and proved their skeptics wrong when their 2nd single rose to #3 on the British Pop Chart, and their 4th single became an International smash- largely because of their accent, Then the band got a stroke of luck, when American actress, Mary Stuart Masterson (who had become a fan of the band), submitted their music to be used in the Johnny Depp film Benny and Joon. The music instantly gripped the crew and everyone who saw the movie and took it to the top 3 in american 5 years after it was a huge hit everywhere else. 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.

Conflicting stories, throat surgery, destitution, overblown egos, and cartwheels across sports cars. It’s all part of today’s #1 80s rock anthem Here I Go Again by Whitesnake. Singer David Coverdale first recorded this song in 1982 and it went nowhere… then he was on the cusp of a break through record when he had to have throat surgery and didn’t think he’d ever sing again. He was 3 million in debt and his label wouldn’t give him the cash to make a music video to promote the song… yet somehow he overcame… With Whitesnake self titled that had 3 big rock hits, Still of the Night, Here I Go Again and Is This Love from 1987 into 1988… The key was dusting off the 1982 recording of Here I Go Again and giving it new life… on his way to world domination.. but he had re record it 3 times with 3 different bands because he fired his entire band before the album came out. Find out the story 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.