Professor of Rock

Coming up, Wang Chung, a band that finishes many of the top one-hit wonder countdowns but the problem is..the band had 5 hits including 3 everyone knows and radio still plays. Today’s song Everybody Have Fun Tonight is the one that many point to as their one hit… it also finishes in the top countdown of worst songs and that’s why I wanted to cover it. It is definitely not one of the worst songs ever. Everybody Have Fun Tonight is a classic from the 80s that did a couple of really cool things. It became an accidental catchphrase of the decade that defined the 80s and it introduced a new word into many dictionaries which also happened to be the band’s name. When this singer brought the song to his bandmate, he wanted nothing to do with it. He thought the band was too smart for it and that it was too commercial. But it became a smash and its iconic music video was banned for being too visually dangerous for some with the potential to cause a severe medical condition. the band is here to tell the story… 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.

Coming up next, Lost interview footage I didn’t know I had with one of the greatest band’s in recorded history. and there are Some real revelations here. An all time #1 Hit that happened because the band re recorded a song they’d already released on their album. When they put it on the album it was thought of as filler…An album track but then The genius behind their music woke up one day and knew if he had the band rerecord the song and drop 1 instrument and change the spelling of a word in the chorus it would be a hit. He was exactly right… the song soared to #1 with a totally different singer then the band had used on their singles before and it immediately had an effect on what parents would name their newborns. also exactly 25 years to the day after this song hit #1 the writer’s 2 daughters would have a #1 hit for themselves. Plus we try to solve a long term mystery about one of the most famous song ever 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.

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.