Professor of Rock

Coming up, we’re moving into the shadows of the '80s to uncover the most chilling, emotionally gripping performances of the decade. They were the songs that ruled the radio dial and haunted our souls with 10 iconic vocal performances from the decade’s best. As we count down the most haunting songs of the 80s, including post-punk icon Siouxie Sioux, who gave her voice to the fall of an entire civilization… Stevie Nicks, who had faced so much pain and drama in her band that a 15-minute, 16-verse epic still couldn’t contain it all… And then there was Aimee Mann who was abducted as a child and after a detective finally rescued her she struggled to speak off and on for years, but it fueled her songs including a haunting 1985 song Voices Carry that became here biggest hit and then one haunting vocal that was the final recording of a beloved legend Karen Carpenter who left us far too soon. It’s the Top 10 Most Haunting Female Vocals of the 80s—NEXT, on Professor of Rock.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some songs are just BLESSED…seriously, it just seems like certain songs are touched by the hand of God where the miraculous and unexplained happens… Well that’s exactly what today’s song was and still is. Life in a Northern Town.. It was a mind blowing song in 1986 that didn’t sound like anything on radio. And it was meant to be. Today’s singer Nick Laird Clowes tells us how he was mentored by both Paul Simon and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd… In fact, Gilmour produced today’s hit song: Life in a Northern Town. and the real magic happened when they were in the studio and turned down everything in the chorus except for the vocals and they both looked at each other and knew it would be a smash. It would become one of the most nostalgic and haunting songs of the 80s, and even more incredible, he wrote it on his dead hero’s guitar. This interview is mind-blowing and shows the true power of music and why we‘ve lost something in all of the technology and mathematical approach to music. One of the best rock storytellers I’ve ever witnessed.. This interview is a beautiful example of the magical muse that transpires when a song is born and raised in greatness... on Professor of Rock.See 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 Juke Box Hero, an all-time classic rock song from both its iconic singer, Lou Gramm, and guitarist Mick Jones, who both wrote it. It's one of the '80s greatest anthems. They each had a great song and pretty much combined it into one with dual experiences… Mick said it came from a fan who stood in the rain for 5 hours to get tickets to their sold-out show. Lou Gramm said it came from his own experience standing outside a sold-out concert hall, and being unable to see Hendrix perform. Many rock singers have called it the most challenging song to perform in history… Most can’t hit the notes, but boy, did Lou do it, even if he had to fight a legendary producer tooth and nail to get it just right. Juke Box Hero became a #1 rock song and sold a million copies twice, 25 years apart! The story is next.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Songwriters have stated many times that you never know where or when a clever lyric is going to strike. It’s also that way for a guitarist. A catchy riff can come at any time and from any place. You’ll hear what I mean when we talk about some of the best solos of the 70s. For instance, Ritchie Blackmoreimprovised a solo to impress a journalist who was doing an exposé while riding on a tour bus; he dared him to do it, and this Ritchie came up with it right there. But was it classical music or rock? Another giant solo busted out when two genius musicians were on the verge of a bitter breakup. And another that came from Lynyrd Skynyrd's bassist… And finally, David Gilmour's extended solo on Comfortably Numb that may not only be the best solo of the 70s, but possibly the greatest solo ever, where a genius was sculpting emotion out of thin air, topping off a historic song that has since become one of the greatest songs in rock history. It’s the countdown of the Top 10 Guitar Solos of the 70s, NEXT on Professor of Rock!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

FROM THE VAULT: When you listen to the modern day standard "Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac, you may not immediately hear the sadness. You may not recognize that it is song about a failing relationship.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

FROM THE VAULT: Hey Music Junkies, the Professor of Rock, always here to celebrate the greatest artists and songs of all time; If you love music, you’ll want to subscribe below and hit the bell so you always get our daily content. You’ll also want to check us out on Patreon as we’ve added a bunch of exclusives and benefits there. Today we're discussing 5 forgotten songs from the 90s that will take you back to the good old days. Including exclusive commentary from the the artist. including Emerson Hart from Tonic, the Popoff brothers from the band LIT and Vinnie Dombroski from Sponge. As well as songs by Garbage and Ephraim Lewis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up next, we're firing up the time machine and heading to an iconic year in the 70s… Can you guess it? It was the year Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record and Muhammad Ali stunned George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle. And in music, it was a pummeling, too. One song came when a future rock star Donal Fagen, hit on the wife of one of his college professors when she was pregnant. Then there’s the all-time classic Piano Man everyone sings along to, but Billy Joel was embarrassed by it; he only made a couple of grand from it. Then there’s Randy Bachman, who wrote Ain't Seen Nothing Yet as a joke to make fun of his brother's speech impediment, and it hit #1 in 22 countries. And then there’s Steve Miller, who ripped off a lyric from an oldies song, but misheard it and has been singing the wrong word for 50-plus years... one that doesn’t exist in the English language. It was a fabulous year in music, and we're counting 'em down NEXT on Professor of Rock!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I really screwed up a few weeks ago. I was counting down the greatest songs of 1976 and left out More Than a Feeling, one of the greatest songs in classic rock history. I’ve never messed up like this, but here’s the thing: in any other year, it would easily be the #1 song. But in 1976, it would be competing with Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. So that got me thinking… What is the greatest song in classic rock history? So that set me on a quest for rock immortality. I dug into an elite group of songs that not only ruled radio and soundtracked our lives, but have become the definition of rock itself. For this episode, I’ve assembled the ultimate musical showdown. I’ve got a list of 11 of the most legendary classic rock standards to echo across the airwaves. But the question is, which one deserves to be #1? What song is the GOAT of classic rock? My 11 candidates are special. There’s More Than a Feeling, a song that saved rock from a complete disco takeover. There's Stairway to Heaven, a song that got so big it was banned from being played in guitar shops around the world… And the one that has the greatest note hit by a singer ever. Let’s get ready to rumble… NEXT on the Professor of Rock.See 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 my favorite people, Huey Lewis, about one of the biggest #1 hits of the '80s, The Power of Love. It’s become legendary both because of the feel-good sing-along chorus and the iconic movies it supported. Huey was in the midst of a huge album THAT RULED the mid 80s with 4 big hits, when he was tapped to write the theme song for not 1 but 2 blockbuster films, so he had to choose. The one he said yes to (Back to the Future) was a challenge. He had no desire to write a dumb song with the movie title in it… Huey thought the title was too on the nose, so the director said, "Just send me the next thing you write…" Huey did just that, and Power of Love became a #1 smash… The only problem is that the filmmakers didn’t capitalize on it. And they missed a window to have a big soundtrack album… Up next is the story of how Huey Lewis gave 10% of the song’s royalties to an old friend for coming up with the title of the song. The only problem is the tile was the same as 2 other hits at the time. Very common, and there was the fact that this artist was banned from putting the song on his new album. It's all coming up next on Professor of Rock.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up, the legendary duo Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, or OMD for short, tells the story of their career in 5 key songs that helped invent the iconic sound of the 80s. So get this, they wrote their first big song “Electronic” when they were teenagers forming an underground synth duo, and it ended up selling 5 million copies of their single ENOLA GAY, which was written and recorded on a cheap synth they bought out of a mail order catalog… They got bigger with every release and but in the mid-80s, they were called in at a moment’s notice to write the theme for the 1986 film Pretty In Pink after a test screening went sideways. If You Leave was a last minute scramble that had them staying up all night to write and record the song and then when the song was too long at over 5 minutes they fudged the number on the tape saying it was 4 and half minutes so it would get played on the radio and it became a smash. The interview is next on Professor of Rock.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.