Professor of Rock

The Police created the 1983 #1 Hit Every Breath You Take at a tumultuous time.. Sting was going through a painful divorce, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers were fighting tooth and nail with Sting to get their ideas heard and producer Hugh Padgham was in the middle of the strife. Manager Miles Copeland had to go lay down the law. They were the biggest band in the world and they wanted Synchronicity to be the biggest record on the charts so they were able to stop the fist fights for a time to create a blockbuster. Sting sat down to write a love song one night but it turned into a sinister stalker song. Every Breath You Take would take a lot to finish but when it dropped it went to #1 for 8 weeks… The biggest song of `1983 and the most played song ever. Get ready for a riveting story of the trio who had an outright songwriting brawl, all the way to #1. 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.

When Martin Fry of 80s New Wave band ABC was sick, music saved him. This Charismatic velvet voiced new wave frontman was going through his darkest times, when he had Hodgkins disease. As he battled cancer with chemotherapy he realized that listening to his favorite music lifted him up out of despair and so he wanted to create a song that paid tribute to this joyful music of motown that helped him survive. the result was one of the greatest top 5 hits of 1987, When Smokey Sings about his hero, Smokey Robinson.. the song just soars. Up next this Martin Fry of ABC tells us the story of capturing that and how his tribute to his hero Smokey actually passed him up on the charts as both were in the top 10 at the same time. 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 real story of how Dave the Snake Sabo and Skid Row created the 80s metal classic 18 and Life. There are a lot of urban legends about this song and Dave sets the record straight. The top 5 hit came from Skid Row’s multi-platinum 1989 self titled album that included the hits Youth Gone Wild, I Remember You and this classic. . As an opener for Bon Jovi during their New Jersey tour, many said that Skid Row was better with the duo of Dave Sabo and Rachel Bolan and Sebastian Back on vocals, they helped rock rule radio as the 80s came to a close. 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.

Burton Cummings of the Guess Who made up the all time 70s rock classic American Woman on the spot in the middle of a live show… while hearing Randy Bachman’s guitar vamp Burton sang the famous lines stream of conscience and a #1 hit was born. Luckily a bootlegger was recording the show and the Band got a hold of the cassette and recorded it after. Contrary to popular belief the song was not written as an anti war song or against American… Burton sets the record straight in this exclusive interview on the biggest rock song of 1970. 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.

Fine Young Cannibals blew up 1989. They seemed to come out of nowhere and were gone just as quickly. For one year they ruled the charts. #1 on the album charts with the Raw and the Cooked and then two #1 hits including She Drives Me Crazy and Good Thing. When the English Beat broke up, Andy Cox and Dave Steele decided to form a band using MTV to find a singer. After auditioning 500 singers they finally found a singer the old fashioned way. Through people they knew. Roland Gift had distinct falsetto and Fine Young Cannibals were born. They worked with Prince producer Bobby Z and created a beautiful pop album that set the charts and the 80s on fire. So why did they walk away from music? Whey didn’t they record a follow up album? Relegated to the one album wonder status or as we call it Bottled Lightning. Find out why 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.

The 1970s #1 Classic Rock hit Black Water by the Doobie Brothers is has been called the rock and roll equivalent of Gone with the Wind meets Huckleberry Finn. The classic rock band wrote it as a love letter to the south. They thought the song was ok but don’t think it was a hit so it was relegated to a b side when out of nowhere a DJ played it and suddenly the request lines lit up like a CHRISTMAS Tree! Weeks later it went to #1. Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons also tell the story of how Another Park Another Sunday was stopped in the charts because radio stations refused to play. You’ll love this underdog story of two 70s classics! 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.

Robert Smith and the Cure had a lot that went into their song that broke the band to the world, Boys Don’t Cry… written in the late 70s and released in the US in the 80s it set up the decade perfectly. the song came from years of antics by Robert and his band. He was expelled from school for several live shows that incited craziness… He was beaten up for wearing his mother’s dress to school. He also wrote Boys Don’t Cry as a protest against the adults who told him to cover his real emotions. It set the Cure up for long term success which would be followed by Close to Me, In-between Days and Just like Heaven to make him one fo the greatest of the 80s. 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.

When Soundgarden released Black Hole Sun, a surreal and sinister trip into the unknown… the song's sonic beauty resembled a psychedelic apocalypse. Authored by legendary Seattle musician Chris Cornell during a late-night drive, he quickly rushed home to capture this haunting melody. When he finished the song he completely underestimated it, calling it a decent third or fourth single. Little did he know this rock anthem was about to flip the musical zeitgeist upside-down and send Soundgarden past Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Alice in Chains in grunge’s next wave of the 90s... next we dig deep into the meaning of this dreamy soundscape… 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.

The story behind the 1983 classic Space Age Lovesong by A Flock of Seagulls. Mike Score of A Flock of Seagulls tells the amazing story of this perfect 80s hit. He started out as a hairdresser during the day and played in an experimental rock band at night. In this exclusive interview he reveals how he created the shimmering new wave wall of sound that he dubbed Punk Floyd. and how he wrote a perfect song called Space Age Love Song after he already hit with I Ran. With his plucky exploration he was 50 years ahead of his time with Space Age Lovesong, the emotional guitar driven song. It’s a new wave classic. Up next the story of this immaculate 80s record 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.

We’re counting down the Top 10 songs of this very same week from the year 1985. This time around we’ve got some of the biggest hits from the 80s duking it out for that #1 spot. It was a legendary week for sure. You had Dire Straits, Billy Joel, Tears for Fears, Aretha Franklin and Huey Lewis and the news all vying for the coveted #1 spot along with a great one hit wonder and Somehow, we’ve managed to pack in three parenthesis songs, three summer blockbuster hits, as well as some iconic music videos that solidified already great hits. It’s 80s nostalgia to the max, that is going to take you back to the best days of your life... 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.