Professor of Rock

So all I have to say is FINALLY. Today we hear from Foreigner’s legendary vocal and guitar tandem of Lou Gramm and Mick Jones that set the 70s and 80s ablaze with over a dozen rock standards and some of the biggest albums of their time. And they’ve finally been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. One of the biggest snubs ever. Today they tell us the story of one of their greatest rock songs: Hot Blooded. Foreigner first played it in front of a massive crowd at Cal Jam. They blew up the massive festival and were cheered on to do something unprecedented at a festival. Play an encore, but they had already played all their songs. So they went out and played a new one they had been writing it wasn’t even finished so the singer had to repeat the 1st verse over and over. When it was over the tens of thousands were singing every word… They knew it would be a smash and the rocker was so scorching hot that the guitar solo actually started the legendary guitarist’s amp on fire. The story of the classic Hot Blooded from the 2 principles of this band 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.

What a story. Coming up next we have principles John Hall and Lance Hoppen from the 70s band Orleans. These guys lit up radio for a couple of years with 3 big hits including 2 that are still played all the time. But then the group up and vanished… John Hall retired from being a rockstar and went into politics. Today’s classic 70s hit “Still the One” was actually written by a band member’s wife while she was doing the laundry. One story claims she wrote it on an envelope and one says it was a napkin but the band recorded it in about 15 minutes. It became a top 5 smash and conquered pop culture and was released on a record that had one of the strangest album covers of the time. The interview 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.

It’s a B-side track turned Top 10 hit, Walk of Life by Dire Straits. And it ended the run of the world’s biggest band in 1985 and 1986. But don’t blame the song. It’s a truly infectious piece of ear candy that deserves all the success it got. No, as it turns out, Dire Straits' frontman, Mark Knopfler, was just a reluctant hit-making machine. He loved the music, but not the fame. And after creating the #1 album Brothers in Arms, with sales of over 30 million copies, he realized it was more than he had bargained for. So at the peak of his career, Mark pulled the plug and walked away. Who does that? Well, you’re about to find out. Today, it’s Dire Straits' Walk of Life and the story of how its success helped bring the world’s most popular band to a grinding halt. You’re not going to want to miss this one. It’s all 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.

It’s the tremendous story of the 1979 song London Calling by the Clash. In the late 70s, the world’s most influential punk band was convinced the world was falling apart, and they needed to do something about it. Fueled by concerns over widespread famine, the environment, drug addiction, police brutality, tidal waves, and nuclear war, the band’s charismatic leader composed the prophetic manifesto London Calling that seems more relevant today than it was when he wrote it in 1979. London is calling to the zombies of death. 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, it's one of the most important interviews I’ve ever done. Right Here Right Now by Jesus Jones has the distinction of conveying a revolutionary message in mere minutes. It says the most in the least amount of words! Frontman and writer Mike Edwards takes us through the inspiration of this all-time 90s classic… a song that has become a hallmark of the ages since it went to the top of the charts decades ago after the Berlin Wall came down and the Cold War ended for a time. It's a story you're not going to want to miss... 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… Get ready for a tale of resilience and redemption as we delve into the story of Jet Airliner… a song that was trapped on an unreleased album by Paul Pena, who was thwarted by legal battles and a ruthless manager, who was hell-bent on destroying his career. But hope emerged from an unexpected source when legendary rock star, and "gangster of love" Steve Miller stepped in to breathe new life into the imprisoned track. With expert rearrangement and by changing the lyrics from an angry song to a happy-go-lucky one, Jet Airliner was transformed into a chart-topping sensation across multiple formats. The aerodynamics for one of classic rock’s greatest hits and a classic of the 70s is revealed 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, we’re going back to one of our newest shows on Professor of Rock. One that has us digging deep into the catalog of the world’s greatest party band, Kiss! For this episode we’re featuring 5 essential Kiss tracks that together tell their story… including songs about concert car crashes and ROCK VERSUS DISCO. But I’m not telling these stories alone. Today, I’m turning center stage over to this FAMOUS foursome’s iconic guitarist Ace Frehley. And not only is he giving us the inside scoop on these classic songs, but is also telling us which ones he loves and which ones he hates. It’s going to be a lot of fun. So get ready, it’s time to learn from the band who taught us all how to rock… 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… the story behind one of the most amazing, impromptu vocal performances of the Rock Era. Guest vocalist Merry Clayton on the Rolling Stones's Gimme Shelter was so spellbinding it stunned normally nonplussed singer Mick Jagger. Some sources claim that the performance was exerted with so much conviction and power, it actually caused the singer serious harm. It’s an emotional and inspiring episode… Gimme Shelter is such a landmark song that even people who can’t stand the famous yet polarizing band behind it, still love this song. Keith Richards knew the song would be great when he wrote it on his guitar while watching people moving in and out of a rainstorm. And even though it’s one of the Stones's most-played songs ever it was never released as a single. 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.

RIP Eric Carmen… the iconic artist who sang the lead vocal on several, iconic classics, but he never liked his voice. His dream wasn’t to be a singer… In fact, he was a child prodigy who began his classic training as a violinist and pianist, but that all changed when he saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Eric Carmen became the frontman for a short-lived, yet highly influential band named Raspberries, composed the smash Go All the Way that was banned by the BBC, and when he embarked on a solo career… his first hit, All By Myself, became his first hit, a timeless, emotional masterpiece. Then… he left the limelight to concentrate on just being a songwriter, but he was convinced to sing someone else’s song for a movie nobody believed in. That song was Hungry Eyes. It would forge his comeback and set up another hit after that… Make Me Lose Control. We pay tribute and tell the story behind three of the greatest hits of this late great, truly gifted artist …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, how a guitar-playing welder & his fishing buddy, gave a lyrical makeover to a cheesy instrumental and transformed it into one of the coolest songs of the '60s - then in a totally different band with the same members ... the singer gave it a rock renovation turning the saxophone solo into guitar classic that lit up classic rock radio with a southern fried twist. I’m talking about Spooky by Classics IV the #3 hit from 1968 and then it was restyled by Atlanta Rhythm Section (ARS) in 1979 and then it became a Halloween standard. 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.