Professor of Rock

Coming up next, we've got Devo and a song that is not at all what it seems: Whip It. For over 40 years everyone has thought this all-time hit was "Dirty." It was such a catchy ditty it became a slogan of the 80s and it was one of the first major hits where the main riff was from a synthesizer from one of the funniest bands ever.. Whip It was actually pieces of three different songs that were all in different time signatures and different tempos but Devo combined them into one composition…. the Whip It music video ruled MTV and it was made for a little over 10 grand... Today we have one of its co-writers and singers telling us the real story. Next of 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's featured song Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas will have you kicking some serious butt while moving to the groove. A smash hit from the 70s, Kung Fu Fighting was inspired by a dance fight at a pinball arcade. As Carl Douglas watched what was taking place, the lyrics and melody started flowing into his head. However, the song wouldn’t resurface until later on. In the studio, Carl was recording what was supposed to be his break-out hit. And he had three hours to do it. But when he was done, his producer told him they also needed a B-side. With just A COUPLE OF minutes left on the clock, Carl rushed a recording of Kung Fu Fighting... after all, it was just gonna be a throwaway track. But as it turns out Kung Fu Fighting was the one that got all the attention. It became a monster 70s hit, tapping into two cultural phenomenons with expert timing. It’s one of the biggest-selling singles of all time. 11 million sold. The story is 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.

So I gotta ask… Is this the most tortured track of the 80s? I mean we’re talking about With or Without You by U2, a song that is physically painful to listen to. And really, that’s a good thing… This song is so agonizing, you can’t “not” listen to it. It pulls you in every time… Written at a crucial time in Bono's career, he was being pulled in two opposite directions at once… between his music and the woman he loved. And it was tearing him apart. Was there any hope? With or Without You had the potential to change everything for Bono and U2. The only thing is, they couldn’t finish it. And after repeated attempts to arrange it, they just kept coming up empty. So they were about to abandon it. That is until an unexpected secret weapon saved the day. It was kind of a miracle. Find out what that secret weapon was and if this tormented artist ever made his peace… 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... Tipsy from some serious ‘day-drinking,’ two members of one of England’s premier bands, The Hollies, composed a song about the Prohibition Era when alcohol was illegal. Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress was a rock epic that evolved into a mystery about a beautiful woman in a sexy dress. The Hollies purposely mimicked Elvis’s sound on the song using a vocal effect to give it some pop. It became the band’s biggest hit in the States, as well as one of the most played songs in classic rock radio history. But then The Hollies got sued for plagiarizing the song. But they didn’t get sued by ELVIS who they were deliberately trying to sound like… They got sued by a rival band Creedence Clearwater Revival. Then they found out that the song was used by the FBI on their two-way wrist radio to solve crimes. Find out what happened to the band 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.

Imagine a time when one man's voice was heard on about every other song on the radio. Dubbed "the man of a thousand voices," Tony Burrows holds the unique distinction of being the lead vocalist on FIVE hit songs from the 70s including Let's Go to San Francisco, My Baby Loves Lovin', and Beach Baby… In fact all five songs were one-hit wonders and four of them were on the singles chart at the same time! You’d think that a musician who sang on so many big hit singles during the same year would’ve been all over the television, yet Tony Burrows's pervading success on the airwaves got him banned from appearing on Top of the Pops for 4 years! Let’s jump into the fascinating story of this 'go-to' singer who made a significant mark in the annals of popular music history, all while remaining a mystery to the world outside of the recording studio. You’ll have to pay close attention, but you’re gonna have fun just singing along to the songs featured in our story that 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.

Up next, a Hall of Fame Songwriter Billy Steinberg who wrote five #1 hits for Madonna, Whitney Houston, the band Heart and the Bangles tells the story of working with one of the Founding Fathers of Rock and Roll.., the great Roy Orbison. Roy has electrified everyone from Elvis to Bob Dylan. He passed away in 1988 but Roy had always been Billy's hero and so he wrote a song for him called I Drove All Night. SO had and his songwriting partner Tom Kelly tracked Roy down. They found him playing old supper clubs. It seems he'd been forgotten. So Billy and Tom talked Roy Orbison into recording their.song. It was the first domino to fall in Roy's full blow comeback right before he.passed away. He went on to have several more solo hits and hits with the supergroup Traveling Wilbur's. Cyndi Lauper made their song a hit in 1989 but then after Roy Passed, , Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra used special technology to reconstruct Roy's vocal and music to release the recording after his passing. A great tribute to the great Roy Orbison. 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.

Get $5 off your next order through my link: https://sponsr.is/magicspoon_professorofrock_0724 or use code PROFESSOROFROCK at checkout. Or look for Magic Spoon in your nearest grocery store! 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.

I’m telling you won’t believe this story. Today’s rocker Jim Peterik used to give this beautiful girl a ride home from school… He was head over heels in love with her. But she had no idea. He wanted this girl to notice him but he was already stuck in the friend zone so he wrote a song about her called Vehicle and brought it to his band Ides of March. They put some relish on it, and it blew up… it became the fastest-selling song in Warner Brothers history. Unfortunately, Vehicle would be a one-hit wonder.. but Jim was a fighter… He not only won over the girl’s heart with this song, he married her and he rose from the ashes to form Survivor, a band that would become one of the biggest rock acts of the 80s and he even got to the top of the charts again. Up next, the interview and story 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.

Next up, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, a timeless anthem of liberation from a suffocating romantic entanglement. Fashioned by Paul Simon, one of music's master lyricists following the breakup of his Simon and Garfunkel along with the end of his first marriage. Paul Simon dismissed it as nonsense, a song that was just a joke… a game he was playing with his toddler to teach him how to rhyme simple words. It made his son giggle and somehow it turned into a song he recorded as an afterthought. It was even the last song released from his album…and it became a #1 SMASH… THE BIGGEST OF HIS SOLO CAREER. THE AMAZING STORY IS coming right up 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… an interview with iconic singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega who climbed up from the underground and had one of the biggest hits of 1987 with Luka. This hit song was one of the most unlikely hits of the decade because of its subject matter. When Suzanne played it for live audiences they never really liked it because it was sad and made them uncomfortable. So when her manager told her it should be her lead-off single she was shocked. She argued that it would never be hit, but he talked her into it. He was right… ASCAP awarded Luka the most performed song of the year and it went to the top of the charts…The thing is, Luka was written about another person, but many would find out decades later that the secret in the song was about Suzanne Vega herself. The story 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.