Professor of Rock

Coming up, we're relaunching and rebranding a series that we used to feature as a regular entry on the channel… The Hit Song Redux. WE USED TO TRAVEL BACK to the golden era of rock to count down the top 10 hits from THIS SAME WEEK, AND THEN AFTER THE SHOW, WE’D TELL YOU what the real top 10 was based on how much the world has listened to them since. But now there’s a twist… we’re expanding our coverage to the entire Top 40 from that week to find out once and for all what song is the real all-time #1… we’re calling it Test of Time. On this inaugural episode, you’ll hear the story of a heartbreaking confession from James Taylor, who didn't find out he lost his closest friend until 6 months after she was gone. And so he wrote a classic Fire and Rain, inside a psych ward. Plus, the throwaway song The Tears of a Clown that Smokey Robinson recorded just because he needed an extra song, 3 years later, after he’d already put out several new albums. Someone at his fan club put the 3-year-old reject out for the fan club, and the radio started playing it, and it soared to #1. Plus, Immigrant Song, the track that unintentionally crowned Led Zeppelin the greatest rockers of all time. It was meant to be a joke, but fans took it seriously. And they got it right. the story Your Song By Elton John, No Matter What by Badfinger, Black Magic Woman by Santana, I Think I Love You the Partridge Family, I'll Be there by the Jackson 5, and My Sweet Lord by George Harrison. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up, we are about to discuss one of the catchiest songs of the 80s. It's My Life by Talk Talk. One that makes the hair on your neck stand on end. But it came from a genius reclusive artist, Marc Hollis, who didn’t want the limelight. He played the game as best he could, but was miserable doing it. He should’ve had dozens of hits, but It's My Life was his only hit in America. But there’s a lot to this story. After this big smash hit he walked away from music to be a father, and he never returned, but he had good reason to. When he was away, a greedy label put a lame remix album without his permission. He sued them, and they had to destroy eversingle copy they had made and this was sweet revenge, especially after his label had sued him before for not being commercial enough. The story of a classic is next.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 a video that we tried to release 2 years ago. It was up for a bit but got claims. Then we tried to put it up again last year, and the same thing happened before we could even release it. So we made some adjustments, but due to its subject and its history of trouble, we will only have it up for a short time. But let’s see if it stays up first. It’s the story of an artist we lost on Christmas Day in 2016. Back in the 80s, he was obsessed with dominating the charts. His goal in 1984 was to score four #1 singles. And, by November of that year, he and his musical 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 that couldn’t miss, but it ran into the biggest song ever and had to settle for #2. But here’s the thing…He actually sang a small part on that song, too! So he sang on the top 2 songs on the countdown, but his own song was kept out of #1, but it would become one of the biggest songs ever with 4 billion streams, and to think it was only a promotional single in America, but the big Surprise is that it actually ended up hitting #1... 37 years later… Merry Christmas from 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.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Professor of Rock is celebrating with another stellar classic from the vault. The in-depth story of one of the biggest selling singles of all time. The only 80s song to hit #1 four different times … Do They Know It’s Christmas by Band Aid was put tother by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to fight starvation in africa. Geldof saw the famine on television and knew he had to do something do ha assembled an A list team to record a song that he hoped could generate millions for relief. Everyone from Sting to George Michal to Duran Duran, Boy George, Spandau Ballet, Bono of U2, Phil Collins and many more. Up next an exclusive mini Documentary on the story of the song with co-writer and creator Midge Ure of UltraVox as well as interviews with 80s icons Paul Young, Tony Hadley formerly of Spandau Ballet. Four different versions of the song have went to #1 in the UK. The heart felt story is told in this new mini-documentary…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merry Christmas Eve from Professor for Rock! Today, we revisit an absolute POR classic; a special gift for you from our friend the 3rd biggest selling male artist of the 20th century behind only Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra… He tells the story behind his classic Christmas record as well as the magical story behind his #1 hit Chances Are! The first time he heard it on the radio he almost wrecked his car he was son excited.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A few weeks ago, I told you that I had a special gift for you this Christmas, and it’s a few days early. The most requested video in the history of my channel: a Rick Beat dit down. Over the history of my channel, I've had thousands upon thousands of requests asking for this video. I don’t know what you’d call it… Some have called it a crossover. Some have called it a collab. But whatever you want to call it, I had a blast. Over the summer, when I was drowning in the quicksand of claims and despair, this legend reached out to me to offer help, as he had been through my plight and then some. And we became fast friends. And since then, we've spoken on the phone many times and had some great talks about all things music. For today’s interview, I go down a rabbit hole of rock and roll with Rick Beato. From his early years to his extensive career, and along the way, I PICK HIS BRAIN and ask him the questions I've always been curious about in his musical journey... from his favorite records to the one song he would like to hear before he leaves this earth… to some things that I’m not sure anyone knows about him. This is one I guarantee you’ll enjoy. Let’s get into it. "See 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 time to resurrect some of the greatest hits of the 70s and 80s that were actually huge hits in their time but have been somewhat forgotten in modern times. I’m going to prove why they deserve the Stranger Things treatment, meaning a renaissance in pop culture... including the rock song Midnight Blue that Lou Gramm brought to his band Foreigner, but was crestfallen when the leader rejected the song outright… So Lou put it out as a solo song, and it outsold Foreigner’s next album by a long shot… Sweet revenge. Then there’s The Tubes' song She's a Beauty, that everybody knows by heart, but nobody can remember the band’s name. It was their only big hit, and it came from an exotic dancer. Or how about The Little River Band that had 13 hits in a short time, including Cool Change and years later, they can’t even tour under their own band name because a bunch of impostors own it, even though none of them are original members. There’s also the stories of Throwing it all away by Phil Collins and Genesis. Atomic by Blondie that was stolen from a Nursery Rhyme. Also Same Auld Lang Syne by Dan Fogelberg, the Best of Times by Styx and I’ll wait By Van Halen. The songs in this episode share one astonishing link: they were monster hits that faded from the cultural spotlight, seldom landing in TV, film, or social media. It’s time to change that…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, one of the most perplexing disappearing acts in rock history. Blondie with Debbie Harry defined the late 70s and early 80s and was the face of the musical movement. They were beloved by critics, and they ruled the charts with 7 huge hits in about 3 years. But they weren’t just hits; they defined the era. True masters of hook-laden classics that captivated punk kids, rock kids, and disco kids equally, but their label was so out of touch with their sound that even after several big hits, they doubted them. In fac,t they had an album that seemed completely hitless or at least that’s what the label told them after listening to it. Granted, the Autoamerican was very different from their other material. when it came out, the risky record got no love from the industry, but then it scored 2 number one hits in a row, including today’s featured song The Tide is High and Rapture flowing Blondie hits like Call Me and One Way or Another. . Today's song the Tide is High was beloved by one of the greatest rock legends ever John Lennon, who brought it up in an interview, ironically the next week the song he loved replaced him at #1 but sadly this song would be their swan song on the charts Worn down by a never-ending workload and label pressure to stay on top, these guys bottomed out and never had an other hit after having 7 big ones in just 3 years. . But was it really the end? We’ll find out… 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.

So what happens when Weird Al, the world's most famous musical comedian—a guy who's made a career out of roasting rock’s biggest acts—completely snubs you? Or give us a short clip of what a full-blown parody might’ve been like, but never turned it into a full song. Today, we're talking missed opportunities… and hidden gems by the king of musical comedy and covering career-defining hits that were begging to be mocked… the biggest bands and artists who somehow escaped the ultimate honor in music: getting sonically skewered by the prince of parody. Most of these bands got a little taste of what a parody of their song could’ve been, but they never got the full monty. And many were huge missed opportunities, including Axl Rose, who was brilliantly mocked on multiple occasions… but just not when it counted most, as well as another rock frontman who really wanted to be skewered but Al declined. There’s also the hilarious send-up of Alanis Morissette's Ironic music video, where he rides shotgun and spazzes out right alongside her... but skipped the song parody. And then there’s a funny parody making fun of Metallica, who were fighting Napster. Many claimed it was Al, and the song started going viral, but was it the real deal? We find out 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 a famously cerebral band that many think is one of the greatest ever, but they only had one radio hit, and guess what, they HATE IT. They Loathe It. Refuse to perform it, you’ve heard the cliché many times, but there’s a rub with this one. It's a song that spoke to a generation but was never intended to. The Band wrote it as a joke. The guitarist thought it sucked, so he played the most outrageously over-the-top dumb guitar solo ever to sabotage it, and it totally backfired. It made the song a classic. It was written about the lead singer’s awkward, drunken plea to a girl who thought he was a creep because he was stalking her. It was a confession made to this girl he was obsessed with… He crashed and burned, but the song rocketed up the charts, and even though it was a creepy joke, it was both cathartic and the epitome of self-deprecation. Let’s do it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.