Professor of Rock

Coming up….we tell the story of the 1960s Classic hit California Dreaming’ by the Mamas and the Papas. First, the song was bestowed upon a famous folk singer riding the wave of a #1 smash. Barry McGuire who had just hit the top of the charts with Eve of Destruction….He was set to follow up his Big hit with California Dreaming... However, when his interpretation of the song was deemed unfit for popular consumption, Papa John Phillips took an unexpected turn and ERASED his vocals completely. Barry was Livid. However, The move transformed California Dreaming into one of the Rock Era’s most iconic anthems and took the rookie band the Mamas and the Papas to superstardom. Comprised of John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and Mama Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty. These guys would go on to have 10 hits including the #1 smash Monday Monday but would crash hard after due to substance abuse. How the controversial artist who called himself “the Wolf King” betrayed the friendship of a fellow folk singer Barry McGuire… oh ya and the band has been signing the wrong lyrics the entire time, for 60 years. 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.

Coming up a great interview with a band that ruled the 70s… Dewey Bunnel and Gerry Beckley from the group America and the story of their biggest hit A Horse With Name is a whopper. First of all as rookies This debut single and the album it came from both hit #1… And to top it off, a Horse with No Name might be one the most unlikely #1s of its time…It wasn’t an obvious hit. It was very strange and haunting with vague lyrics that everyone got wrong! Was it about drugs, or acid, or about a painting? As fans tried to decode the lyrics, critics ripped this band apart over them and claimed singer Dewey Bunnell was imitating another legendary artist… it didn’t help that this band replaced that same artist at #1… Coming up we get some answers directly from the band 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.

At the dawn of the 80s, Legendary American Rock band REO Speedwagon had their backs against the wall. They needed a hit record or they were finished. Their label told them as much. With the pressure on singer Kevin Cronin… He wrote a piano-based song and brought it to the band. The band hated especially, guitarist Gary Richrath who shredded his guitar so loud during the recording he was trying to ruin the song or drown out the singer. Instead, it made the song a power ballad to be reckoned with. Keep On Loving You became the hit of 1981 and helped put REO in the record books as the song and record Hi Infidelity went to #1 and became one of the biggest of the 80s spending 15 weeks at #1 and putting these guys into stadiums! Up next an interview with singer Kevin Cronin on this incredible story. 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 a massive smash hit that was inspired by not one, but multiple stalker encounters. And one of them was by one of the most demented groupies ever. This disturbed fan wrote letter after letter claiming she and this artist were meant to be together… and that he was the father of her baby! Then one day she sent him a package with a weapon… telling him that they should use it on themselves so they could be together in the afterlife. Whoa… talk about creepy. However, this incident, and others like it, fueled the lyrics of this dark and sinister 80s classic that could possibly be the biggest song to come from the decade... But you know what? Fans weren’t the only ones obsessed. In fact, this artist was so consumed by this song, he didn’t even notice that his car was on fire while driving down the freeway. Completely locked into this song, he almost died. It was so big it helped this artist sell over 100 million copies of 1 album. If you haven’t figured it out by now I’m talking about Billie Jean by Michael Jackson from his 1982 classic Thriller. The story of how Michael wrote this song and captivated the world with his performance on the Motown 25th anniversary special with his moonwalk. It’s an unbelievable 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… an interview with some of the members of a band that has been somewhat forgotten in the time we live in... Which is strange because for a couple of years they were as big as any group on radio. In fact in 1999 when BMI compiled their list of the most played songs of the century they had 2 in the top 25… Tied with the Beatles and more than any other band. They actually had 3 in the top 60! I’m talking about the multiplatinum band The Association. Their vocal harmonies were some of the best of the rock era and yet they were like Halley’s Comet because by the 70s they all but disappeared from radio. They Scored half a dozen hits and then they were gone! Up next the story of one of the most-played songs ever… Cherish... The heart-wrenching song that many have walked down the aisle to but it’s a bit Obsessive! It was supposed to be a slow ballad but during recording the pace quickened and this made it a classic! The interview with members Jim Yester and Jules Alexander 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.

Up next the story of One of the first hard rock songs to light up the charts… Some even call it the first Heavy Metal song…and you’ll understand why next… The story of Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf. The demo came after singer and writer John Kay test-drove a car… the music in his head dictated it would be a cruising song. But at first, it was written as a slow ballad but the second it was sped up it became one of the coolest rock songs ever. … then the band got the iconic title Born to be Wild from a slogan off of a billboard After it was recorded the band was very confident in it and they were anxious to get it out to radio. But the label was pushing for another song to get the coveted A side. So they compromised… They would put both songs on the record. one on each side and whatever the DJ played that was the song… Well, it just so happens that all the DJs chose this hard rock B-side and it flew to the top of the charts...then it became the voice of a new generation when it was used in one of the first indie movies called Easy Rider that blew up the box office. a great 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.

Forget the auto-tune. Today we’re going back to an era when singers could actually sing… unassisted. Just raw, pure, unadulterated talent. And in fact, we’re bringing you what I believe is the all-time greatest male vocal performance on a rock song. It’s tough to pick but I think Brad Delp of Boston on their 70s rock classic More Than A Feeling is the GOAT. Written by Tom Sholz the wizard who produced their Boston self-titled debut album in his basement is a perfect song. Upon release, it was an absolute instant classic. At his peak, Brad Delp was hitting and holding high notes that even the best of the best couldn’t reach, but despite that, he rarely gets the credit he deserves. So to put him back in the spotlight, I’m matching him against some insanely talented rock singers. Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, Freddie Mercury of Queen, and Steve Perry of Journey…. And I’m stripping three iconic tracks down to the vocals for a head-to-head match-up… to prove once and for all who really deserves to be called the GOAT… the greatest one-song vocal performance. Get ready, it’s all 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, it’s a song that spoke for a generation, but was never intended to. A throwaway track that this band didn’t much like, and one of the guitarists actually tried to sabotage it in the studio. That however backfired. And only made the song better. Lyrically, it tells the story of a doomed, drunken confession the lead singer, Thom Yorke made to a girl he was infatuated with… and well, was basically stalking. Let’s just say he crashed and burned. But the song itself, rocketed up the charts, somehow managing to be both cathartic and self-loathing at the same time. In fact, this track got so big, the rock establishment tried to paint the band as a one-hit wonder. It’s the insane story of Radiohead Creep from their 90s classic Pablo Honey. So would they still be standing when all the dust settled? Plus, find out why they basically blacklisted Creep for years. The story is coming your way… 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 an all-time rock classic that has 2 Legendary versions. All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan was actually covered by Guitar Virtuoso Jim Hendrix and realized before Dylan could get his out. Bob Dylan got into a motorcycle accident and shortly after changed the way he wrote and the result is All Along the Watchtower with lyrical inspiration from the book of Isaiah from the Bible making the song lyrics over 2700 years old. Thing is after Bob Dylan heard Hendrix's version of the song he freaked out. He loved it. In fact, after he heard it he started playing it the exact same way. It’s become arguably the greatest cover song ever and has been covered since then by everyone from Dave Matthews Band to U2. Bob Dylan released All Along the Watchtower on his 60s classic John Wesley Harding. Get the story 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, the story of a brilliant reclusive artist who didn’t want any attention…. He just wanted to make music. Mark Hollis played the game for a while and was miserable doing it. For 10 years, he was the leader of Talk Talk, a band that quietly mesmerized & influenced a generation. In 1984, he wrote a signature song of self-determination and independence called It’s My Life that became the group’s only hit in the U.S. Then a few years later he walked away from music to be a dad never to return…. Even when his song was remade by the multiplatinum band No Doubt and became a massive hit across the world he was nowhere to be found…not even for an interview. join me for the heartwarming spotlight on an artist driven by artistic purity, integrity, and parental responsibility…. something you hardly ever hear in rock and roll 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.