Professor of Rock

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.

Coming up, the story of a rock record that we all owned. Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi was the pinnacle of glam metal and hard rock... in the 80s you couldn’t escape it if you tried. And it came from a rock band who more than paid their dues to make it. Bon Jovi did every job under the sun to make it. The record sold over 12 million copies on the strength of 3 massive hits. (You Give Love) a Bad Name, Livin’ On a Prayer and Wanted Dead or Alive…. the #1 hit that kicked the album off was a rocker that grabbed you by the throat from the first vocal but it was originally a disco song that was written for famous female singer Bonnie Tyler. But once these rockers put their stamp on it no one could fathom it being a disco pop song. Another of these hits was written in the basement of the guitarist’s mom… a masterpiece about the demons of fame. Wanted Dead or Alive... It was a warning sign of the back-breaking extremities of life on the road and years after the mega success of the record it became so overwhelming that this frontman was ready to end it all… So was this song a prophetic glimpse into this band’s future? With the help of an iconic rock producer Bob Rock, we’re going to find out… The many adventures of Bon Jovi starring Jon Bon Jovi, Ritchie Sambora, and the band! 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.

Two legends, Paul McCartney from the Beatles and Pete Townshend from The Who were talking shop back in the late 60s. Pete showed Paul his band’s new song I Can See For Miles and bragged that it was the loudest dirtiest rockiest song ever. Paul McCartney took his bragging as a challenge. He went back to the Beatles and challenged them to get loud and crazy and move the sound meter as far into the red as it would go. the Fab Four took the challenge so much so that the drummer Ringo Starr played as hard as he could for 8 hours straight and by the time he was done his fingers were bleeding mess. He had blisters all over them! The song was named after a kiddie ride… Helter Skelter and in the end, the Beatles may have accidentally invented heavy metal…It’s debatable. but in the end the song blew everyone away but then the kiddies ride song was stolen by a notorious killer… Charles Manson. The story or a scorcher 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.

In early 70s they were one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Some call them the first stadium rock band…they sold more records than anyone for a few years with 21 top 40 hits in a row and 11 top 10s…and most people don’t realize.. they were all cover songs! I’m talking about Three Dog Night! With 11 top ten cover songs, you could say they are the greatest cover band ever. But the thing is, their arrangements and vocals were so spectacular, it felt like they were their songs and many have never known the difference. Chuck Negron, Danny Hutton and the late Cory Wells were giants of the 70s. With hits like Joy to the World, Shambala, Black and White, Never Been To Spain, Easy to Be Hard, Eli’s Coming, Old Fashioned Love Song, Mama Told Me Not To Come and today’s classic ONE originally written and recorded by Harry Nilsson. These guys had a knack for breaking unknown songwriters. Several of whom would become industry giants. Like Randy Newman, Paul Williams, and Hoyt Axton...Truly one of the most successful groups of the 60s and 70s,. For this episode, we’re once again enlisting the help of two of their lead singers (two out of three) to tell the story Chuck Negron and Dany Hutton of what just may be the loneliest song ever written. Get the story straight from these icons themselves… 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.

Up next, the greatest band in the history of the planet… who NEVER had a top-20 hit. In fact, they only had one hit but to call them a one-hit wonder would be blasphemy…I’m talking about Rush... I’m pretty sure they would’ve been SHAKESPEARE's favorite band. Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and the professor Neal Peart make up a band so unorthodox they play time signatures that don’t actually exist but they’ve found a way to play them anyway… You’ll see what I mean with today’s song that seems to make me smarter every time I hear it. I’m talking about Limelight…from their masterpiece record Moving Pictures. With an incredible ability to connect with their fans, they were the Avengers of rock and today’s song might be their greatest composition. You decide. From their incredible lyricist's own brush with a fan. It’s all coming up. Plus How I got a rap fan to Love This Legendary rock band… 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.

His voice was the soundtrack for the groovy 70s. He wrote songs with a band that mesmerized the Me Generation, and ushered in the genre of ‘soft rock. I’m talking about David Gates and his mellow gold masters Bread’ He ruled the 70s with his soothing voice and charming charisma with classic hits like Make It With You, If, Diary, Baby I’m a Want You, Everything I own and Guitar Man... But after years of dissension and inevitable burnout, his group, bread broke up, and by the mid-80s this iconic vocalist, surprised his fans around the world… when he waved ‘goodbye’ to the music industry… and disappeared… Instead of wooing fans on stage at sold-out arenas, he went his own way…Find out where he went… Up next, the steady rise and sudden farewell of the man I like to call the “maestro of mellow” and one of his signature songs 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.

In the mid-80s one of the greatest bands ever couldn’t get arrested… They were down and out until, they had a hit with a rap group… Walk This Way was originally an Aerosmith tune but RUN DMC remade it and Rick Rubin had the idea of including Steven Tyler and Joe Perry and co and it turned out to the opening shot on one of the greatest comebacks ever… the Story of Aerosmith’s classic 1987 album Permanent Vacation including the 3 hit singles: Angel, Dude Looks Like A Lady and Rag Doll. Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and the Boston Calvary took over radio again with one of the biggest comebacks ever. nest 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.

One day Billy Joel was working on material for a new album he would later call Storm Front, when a famous friend came by with a guest, grumbling about how hard it was to be coming of age in the 80s, but Joel, nearly 25 years older, recalled similar challenges when he was a teenager, the young man dismissed his empathy, saying Nothing bad happened in your day… When the obstinate young man left, The piano man was compelled to write a song that covered all of the stuff that had impacted the world during his lifetime. From the H Bomb to the Aids epidemic... The song became an international pop culture commemorative called WE Didn’t Start the Fire. yet the author regarded it as one of the worst compositions of his career. It was so wordy this artist said if he missed one word in concert it became a total train wreck… It was a novelty song that became one of the biggest #1 hit of the year 1989. The story of this smash… and all of its irony… 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 one of the greatest rock singers in the history of our planet… Paul Rodgers who fronted Free, Bad Company, and Queen at different times... tells a story that will leave you dumbfounded. He once formed a supergroup called the Firm with arguably the greatest guitarist of all time in Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, and they were working on their first single Radioactive and this guitarist told the singer he should play the guitar solo? or was it the other way around? Find out in our exclusive interview. Also, we have another special guest on today’s episode. Bob Rock, A legendary rock producer who did some of the biggest records ever including Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and Metallica. Find out why he did this legendary singer’s album for free! 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 incredible story of the Creedence Clearwater Revival “CCR” 1969 classic rock hit Fortunate Son. Written and performed by lead singer John Fogerty during the traumatic time of Vietnam when young men were being drafted to fight in a war where there were no clear answers. The song was written to protest more than the war though… it was the ultimate middle finger against the establishment and put CCR in a place where they outsold the Beatles in that same year. 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.