Professor of Rock

Today’s featured artist is one of the most mysterious frontmen you could ever meet. Legally changing his name to a symbol and he did it before Prince! He claimed to be a time traveler from another planet… And he also says that he’s lived a past life on prehistoric Earth, back when the dinosaurs were roaming around. So I guess it’s no surprise that the name of his band came from a cult classic 1950s Japanese science fiction film featuring aliens in capes. It’s one of the biggest one-hit wonders ever… Question Mark and the Mysterians with the 1966 classic 96 Tears. Lead singer Question Mark was always hidden behind dark sunglasses, he led his band out of nowhere to the top of the charts with one of the most unexpected songs of the rock era… Paving the way for an army of garage rockers ever after and even inspiring the phrase punk rock… This #1 hit has an inescapable organ riff that defined an era. No one knew who the singer really was for decades… Let's try to find out 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, we’re dropping the needle on a track that a revolutionary artist wrote as a favor for his bandmate’s side project. When Prince and the Revolution bassist Brown Mark asked Prince to write him a song for his side project Mazarati Prince picked up his acoustic guitar and whipped up the song “KISS” in a few minutes. He didn’t think anything of it. But when Prince checked on the song’s progress a day later, he realized it was vastly improved… He knew it was a hit and it was too good for this band... he wanted it back. So he locked himself in the studio for four hours and wrote the funkiest #1 hit of 1986. Then promising to give his bandmate Brown Mark a co-writing credit, he tacked it on his album Parade… sending it to the top of the Billboard charts. The only thing is, he never shared the writing credits. It’s the story of how a stolen song became one of the biggest hits of this Prince's career, and how was really the catalyst behind the break up of one of the biggest bands of the 80s… 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 band who taught us how to rock KISS…like many band before them, hated their biggest hit. The ballad “Beth" was allegedly written by drummer Peter Criss. Though Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons don’t believe he actually composed it. The band loathed Beth. They hated it so much they didn’t even show up to record it, so half the band didn’t even play on it, including Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Then they tried to keep it off their album. Ace Frehley was to busy playing poker to care. They buried it on a b-side until a random DJ turned the record around and made Kiss’ biggest hit. The saga behind the People’s Choice for “Favorite Song” in 1977... 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 a legendary singer-songwriter who’s had various hits but the biggest Hit he wrote…was sung by another artist, and then the biggest hit he sang...he didn’t write! both were nominated for Oscars…Stephen Bishop had a #1 hit in 1985 with the Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin duet Separate Lives from the film White Nights… He didn’t sing it. but he did sing the 1983 #1 Hit It Might Be You from the Movie Tootsie. But he didn’t write that one. Separate Lives came from a horrible breakup with a Hollywood leading lady. Karen Allen who played Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s one of the most gut-wrenching #1 hits of the 80s and he just so happened to luck out when the biggest star of the moment sang it. Phil Collins. A great interview with Stephen Bishop you won’t want to miss and the story of Marilyn Martin’s promising career. She would later leave music to become a real estate agent. The story is 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.

He was a small-time criminal… he was also a mailman… Then he was a chauffeur…He drove bands to and from shows. His name was Bon Scott… He went from being one of AC/DC’s driver to their lead singer literally overnight! He jumped on stage one night when AC/DC was playing instrumentals and started singing. Angus Young and his brother Malcolm Young were floored. This guy had chops… They turned their story… their rise to the top of the charts into a song… It’s a Long Way to the Top if You Want To Rock and Roll. the song became so synonymous with Bon Scott that the band stopped performing it when he passed away…Brian Johnson refused to sing it out of respect…the song’s signature sound came from a strange instrument… Bagpipes... 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, This group was on a tear to start the decade. Wham! starring legend George Michael and his pal Andrew Ridgely were on top of the world. but George in particular was obsessed with dominating the charts. His goal in 1984 was to score four #1 singles. And you know what, by November he and his partner had three… With time running out, he pulled out a surefire hit he wrote in the middle of watching a football game on TV. He was certain it would hit #1… and it was a holiday song called Last Christmas... However, in December he was invited to sing on a massive charity single. Band-Aid Do They Know It’s Christmas ...when he heard it, he knew it was sure to go #1. Wrestling with guilt, he secretly hoped his song would outperform this charity track. It’s the story of one of the most popular songs of the 80s with almost 3 billion streams yet the song was only a promotional single in the US. Find our if it ever got to #1 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.

This 1982 rock classic is played every Friday when the weekend starts since it became a hit. Mike Reno, Lead Singer of canadian stadium rockers Loverboy tells the story of their signature song "Working for the Weekend! in an exclusive interview.. When he was recording he sang the wrong lyrics and the mistake made it a classic hit. 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.

It was the final single in the storied career of one of the most hard-hitting, epic rock bands ever assembled. Fool in the Rain by Led Zeppelin. For a decade Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones turned the world upside-down and inside out with their cutting-edge, all-out rock compositions… But they also did it with tracks that undercut audience expectations. And that is exactly what this song did. It came from their final proper studio album… In Through the Out Door… Fool in the Rain sounded like nothing else in the band’s catalog, and was so far out in left field, that honestly it was a gamble to release it. But the band felt like it would be their biggest hit. So would this unconventional song completely backfire and kill their momentum? Or would it be a huge hit…Find out 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.

It may just be the greatest cover song of all time..If not, it deserves that distinction for the 80s. Tainted Love by Soft Cell. Marc Almond's hypnotic and sinister vocal and Dave Ball's synth pop magic made Gloria Jones original into an 80s smash hit... and combined it with the Supreme's #Staying1 hit Where Did Our Love go! on the billboard hot 100 for 43 weeks in a row. A record that stood for decades. Soft Cell and Tainted Love was part of the 2nd British invasion that blew up radio in the early 80s with New Wave and post punk bands clamoring for the charts. Tainted Love has become one of the quint essential song of the neon decade. Up next the story of Professor of Rock and how I got my butt kicked for playing it as a teenager. With Exclusive interviews. 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 song that contains arguably the most iconic line in the history of the rock era… Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio A Nation Turns its Lonely Eyes to You… So poetic, so perfect. A tribute from the greatest: Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel… or Simon and Garfunkel from the Graduate film. Only problem is. This sports legend felt slighted by the lyrics. He was pissed! He totally misunderstood the context. Mrs. Robinson actually started out as Mrs Roosevelt… as a tribute to the first lady. it was going to be a lead song for The Graduate but then Paul Simon actually rejected the offer…would the movie execs be able to talk them into it? It was originally about Mickey Mantle but Simon had to change it because Mantle did’t have enough syllables to work for the song. Oh ya… Also When the song became famous the Yankee Clipper threatened to sue Simon and Garfunkel thinking they were making fun of him but years later Paul Simon was able to explain it to him… Worried that the soundtrack album would come out at the same time as the duo's next album it was a battle of marketing that would make them the first group since the Beatles to replace themselves at #1. 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.