Professor of Rock

We’ve all felt that pressure to act a certain way just because someone else expects it. That’s when a solid "don’t give a damn" anthem can really hit the spot, maybe even stopping you from doing something you might regret. When an artist makes it big, the tradeoff is constant scrutiny from the public, with everyone having an opinion on how they should live their life. But when you find a song that captures that feeling of frustration and defiance, it gives you a jolt of energy and strength. You feel as if that artist wrote that song, especially for you. We’re plunging into that sweet, purging spirit, with a countdown of the Top 5 "Don't Give a Damn" songs including Tom Petty’s You Don’t How It Feels that had naughty words so bad MTV played it backward making the song even bigger, and another Watching the Wheels that brought Beatle John Lennon out of retirement and one, My Life by Billy Joel that got me grounded—coming up 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’ve got a super-sized episode coming your way… featuring Pink Floyd's Echoes, a song so epic that it began as 24 separate songs. Songs that the band didn’t know what to do with. In fact, they called them “Nothing, Parts 1-24.” Well, when Pink Floyd did figure it out, what they had on their hand was a song so monumental that it changed the course of their entire career and rock music… jumpstarting The Dark Side of the Moon, one of the best-selling and most iconic albums of all time. But the intrigue doesn’t end there. Echoes may also have an unexpected connection to oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, a two-thousand-year-old volcanic blast, and an anti-Woodstock concert played to an empty stadium. We’ve got an incredible story from one of my all-time favorite bands, 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 next one of rock’s great frontmen Rob Halford of Judas Priest tells the story of the 80s classic You Got Another Thing Coming that became the mantra of hard rock and the iconic phrase actually came from a thesaurus! The song was also just a throwaway B side until it was played and became the song that brought metal to mainstream radio and to MTV and became the crown jewel of the 15 most dangerous songs that were banned by Big Brother with the PMRC... It’s the 80s underdog song that became the hard rock expression of the decade with one of the 80s biggest rock stars 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.

You know, I agree with a lot of music historians who have called 1984 the greatest year in music. There were a ton of great songs and albums released that year… But, after going back and reviewing the music that came out in 1985… I am not so sure that ’84 is better than ’85. You will see what I mean when we countdown the Top 10 Song of 1985 NEXT on Professor of Rock... INCLUDING a Movie song -- Don't You Forget About Me -- that was turned down by everyone except for a female-fronted rock band. But she was pregnant and couldn’t do it so she talked her husband Jim Kerr of Simple Minds into it... and Born in the USA, which is the most misinterpreted song ever, and even to this day it played for all the wrong reasons... and another #1 hit by Tears for Fears that the band admittedly ripped off the title from a rival band’s song and paid him 5 bucks for it. It’s the best of 1985 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 next an interview you won’t be able to take your eyes off of. I tracked down a lost paragon of the 80s. Dale Bozzio from Missing Persons This interview is a train wreck in the best possible way with Bozzio a singer whose band had 3 songs that everybody knows. And Even though any 80s kid can sing along to these songs and they defined early MTV.. NONE of them were actually hits. They got really close two of them hit #42 on the charts including Destination Unknown and Words and two others hit the Hot 100 including Walking In La and were all over the radio. The funny thing is Missing Person always gets included in the greatest one-hit wonders so really you could say they came close to being a one-hit wonder four different times but they definitely left their mark with a frontwoman whose strange costumes and futuristic style made here one of the most influential personalities of the time and it almost never happened… She almost died early in her career when she fell out of a high window at a holiday inn escaping an attacker. You gotta see this! 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.

After 4 straight #1 Albums in their Native UK and a #1 album in America that contained the #1 song of the year The Police were the biggest band in the world. And while they were at their peak they BROKE UP! Their fans were perplexed! Today we try to figure out why and tell the story of how their legendary lead singer Sting gave up a goldmine to go it alone... while taking a major gamble with his solo album and writing a hit song -- If You Love Somebody Set Them Free -- that was a therapeutic antidote and sequel to his disturbing and misunderstood smash hit Every Breath You Take. We have exclusive interviews with band members… 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.

Music has the power to change the course of human behavior. It’s truly the best medicine for the soul. When you're stuck in a funk, frustrated with everything, and feeling like your world is falling apart, sometimes all it takes is one of your favorite feel-good songs to turn it ALLLL around. It’s magic we can’t always explain, but who needs explanations. This is actually the hardest countdown I’ve ever had to put together because there are so many worthy choices, but we’re gonna count down the Top 5 Feel Good Songs of all time, including some exclusive insight by the artists that created them… including Walking on Sunshine that was so positive it irritated Katrina and the Waves and Come Sail Away that ‘supposed to be science fiction but it actually happened and Good Vibrations that might be the most insane production ever —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 giving you a front-row seat for a behind-the-scenes look at Aerosmith, one of the most chaotic, bad-boy rock bands ever. This five-piece knew how to grab headlines for all the wrong reasons. I mean the evolution of this band’s career was a wild ride fueled by drug abuse, in-fighting, and even a toxic disdain for the lead guitarist Joe Perry’s girlfriend… In fact, one of today’s songs Sweet Emotion put that girlfriend in the crosshairs…calling her a pig with a man’s face. Another song, Janie's Got a Gun, is a haunting narrative of vigilante justice that owes its origins to a treadmill epiphany. And then there’s Back in the Saddle which features a pretend bullwhip, coconuts, and yodeling. And it was written while the guitarist was stoned out of his mind. We’ve got decades of drama, controversy and unexpected song stories that you’re not gonna want to miss… 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 Carlos Santana, a musical genius, a guru of the highest order, and a saint. You have to see this interview. So try to follow this if you can. Santana's biggest song of the 70s, Balck Magic Woman, was a rock classic that many people have no clue is a cover from a band that started as a blues band... but would end as one of the biggest rock bands ever when it became a completely different set of members but that’s not all. It was a cover but the guy who wrote it basically admitted that he ripped off the music from a song from the 50s. So when the cover song became a huge hit for today’s guitarist he decided to send royalties out of his now pocket to the guy who got ripped off! Today’s legend got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after several decades of legendary songs and albums and everybody thought his career was winding down and then the year after his induction he had one of the biggest albums ever including a song that was the #1 song of the year in two different years falling at the end of a decade and beginning a new one. The stories are 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.

You know, the best songs often come from a whirlwind of emotions—whether it's fiction, non-fiction, or somewhere in between. The heart and soul behind the lyrics are what makes them so compelling. In this episode, we're turning the spotlight on songs that were lit by frustration, anger, and even heartbreak. From Paul McCartney answering a critic who claimed a legend wrote silly songs to Carly Simon calling out a cocky lover that became the biggest mystery in the history of recorded music, to Roger Waters voicing political frustration and one that ripped a Stevie Nicks so deeply she asked her ex-lover to change the lyric but he wouldn’t and then she had to sing it next to him for decades… it’s all here! It’s a countdown of songs in the key of diss… the top 5 disses of the 70s, coming up 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.