Professor of Rock

Coming up, a snapshot of international supergroup ABBA in 1976, with two massive hits on the horizon... Fernando and Dancing Queen. Yet they made a choice no one saw coming. Fernando was a reworking of a song originally written by ABBA's manager for one of their singer’s solo careers. The principal writers of ABBA wanted the band to record it but they didn’t care for his lyrics. So they rewrote it. The other song Dancing Queen was inspired by a smash that opened the gates for an entire musical movement and later science would prove that it is the happiest song ever recorded. … But Why did This Group pick one song over the other? And what impact did it have on their legacy? We explore the surprising decision to sit on a song that made one of their lead singers burst into tears because She knew would be their biggest hit in favor of another more complex one… that may have been code for a man who saved them from an earthquake …Huh? Don’t worry you’ll get it soon… It's 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.

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Coming up next… REO Speedwagon's I Can't Fight This Feeling was a classic #1 that took 10 years to get together. It sat on the shelf for a decade because today’s legendary guest Kevin Cronin had no clue how to finish it. He had no idea what the song meant.. so one day, desperate for a hit and desperate to finish it, Kevin decided to bring in another iconic singer-songwriter to help him. But right before he was supposed to come, this singer got pissed. What the hell does this song mean… And in that second, Kevin realized that the opening line should be the chorus and title of the song and it all came together…what had taken 10 years now took mere minutes to finish and it became a #1 smash…but Kevin admits that He has taken a lot of Crap over the years for a cheesy lyrics that still haunts him. Get the hilarious story straight from the icon 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.

Up next we’re going to Go Go behind the top 10 songs of this VERY same week from the year 1987. One of my favorite years in music. 37 years ago. We are going to re-rank them based on their performance since then and you’ll be shocked at what artists we have interviews with trickled in. Who do you think has the #1 song? George Michael, Guns N Roses, Sting, or Belinda Carlisle, Let’s find out… Well, we’re going to find out that Payola stopped a couple of great bands from going top 10 like Pink Floyd’s Learning to Fly and the Cure's Just Like Heaven. But today we right that wrong and we see what the real top 10 is. Today on the Hit Song Redux. 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.

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Today’s episode is a bottled lightning two-for-one. Singer Freddy Curci had Two chart-topping tracks though his bands vanished into thin air shortly after. One with the band Sheriff called When I’m With You went to #1 in 1989 and one with Alias called More Than Words Can Say that hit #2 the very next year in 1990. So two massive hits with the same singer but two completely different bands.. He also set a Guinness World Record when he held the last note out for nearly 20 seconds. He had a #1 hit in 1989 and then another million seller the very next year. It’s a lot to unravel, but it’s really cool. We’re bringing you the rare story of two bands, one singer, and two-1 hit wonders, 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 iconic singer-songwriter Johnny Rzeznik shares the story of one of the biggest songs in history: Iris. He was going through one of the worst periods of his live. Johnny was in the middle of a heartbreaking divorce. He had a horrible case of writer’s block and he was so low he was on the verge of quitting his own band, the Goo Goo Dolls. He felt hopeless. So he left his home in New York and ran away to Los Angeles to hide away from it all, holding up in a hotel. Just then a major film, City of Angels, recruited Rzeznik to write a song for the soundtrack and that's when inspiration struck. He felt the song Iris coming through him when he broke 2 strings on his guitar. He just kept playing through the adversity because he knew he had something special. When it was done, Johnny knew he just written a smash… it was touched by a higher power especially when he recorded it. Iris would become one of the biggest songs ever and save his career and his life. Up next this legend shares the story. 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 ’66, the Beatles introduced the world to a character so mysterious, that her name alone sparked curiosity and speculation... Eleanor Rigby. Who was she? Where did she come from? And why did she captivate the imagination of millions? This haunting, string-laden track from a seminal album wasn't just a song—it was the beginning of a musical enigma. Did Paul McCartney make up the name or did he steal it from a gravestone? And who wrote the song? The most famous songwriting duo ever - Lennon-McCartney - got into a nasty argument through the press about it. The story is 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.

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