Professor of Rock

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  Countdown: Rock Hits That Got Bigger With Age—Eddie Money, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steely Dan & More 14.09.2026 35分

  Coming up, we’ve got a brand new show, and I’m pumped for it. We’re telling the tale of songs that, in their time, were considered also-rans... they didn’t crack the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, but, over time, became bigger than songs that did, and even bigger than the songs that made it to #1. We’ll share how Eddie Money, one of the most recognizable vocalists of the Rock Era, was threatened with a lawsuit by an icon of Hollywood’s Golden Age for ripping off her exact lyrics for a 70s rock classic… A boogie-boogie tune by Lynyrd Skynyrd that spawned from a bloody fight inside a hotel bar between a band roadie and a hotel guest. The fight got so intense that the lead singer cut the guitarist’s hand and nearly ended his career. Plus Steely Dan's 2 sociopaths, who were such perfectionists that they fired 6 legendary guitarists before settling on their 7th and then made him play a solo for 6 hours before they thought it was good enough for their song. We have classics from Heart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Billy Joel, the Who, Eddie Money, and more. Our countdown starts with an iconic artist we lost in 2025 that the media totally ignored. His record label forced him to change his name to Benny Santini, but he turned the tables on them and kept his real name and made fun of the dumb name on his debut album by calling it What ever happened to Benny Santini. 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.
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  The Catchiest Songs of the ’60s: The Monkees, ? and the Mysterians, Steam & More 12.09.2026 29分

  I’ve got a great one today. We’re counting down the Catchiest songs of a legendary decade. These songs were all hits, but they are the kinds of hits that you’re pumped when they get stuck in your head… they’re that good. The 60s produced some of the most irresistible, perfectly constructed rock songs ever recorded, and they have even better stories. One of these classics went to the top of the charts, and as it got radio play, fans misheard a key lyric in it… at first it frustrated the legend who wrote it, but in the end he started singing the misheard lyric that way in concert as a joke between him and his fans. Plus the most Mysterious band in history: ? and the Mysterians. Some say they came from Mars; some say the singer is thousands of years old. Seriously, nobody is sure what is true about this band’s enigmatic singer and his biggest hit. In fact, I got in trouble with the singer over a show I did on them years ago… Will we ever know who they really are? Plus the rookie band The Monkees that was in competition with the Beatles, and then their main songwriter misheard The Beatles' new song on the radio and made a song out of it that ended up dethroning their greatest rival on the charts. And finally, Steam, a group of musicians who were so embarrassed by a throwaway B-side that they recorded, because they made a joke out of the recording session and were so over the top and silly that they slapped a fake band name on the song… and then watched in horror as the label made it the A-side and it went on to sell 6 million copies. And that’s where our countdown starts... See 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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  FROM THE VAULT: The Story Behind Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love – A Rock Revolution and Controversy 10.09.2026 25分

  Let's run it back to 2022! How Led Zeppelin created their biggest hit song, their only top 10, the provocative 70s smash Whole Lotta Love through rough waters including conservative radio programmers and later a lawsuit. Jimmy Page’s Riff has been called the best ever, Robert Plant’s evocative vocal and the incredible rhythm section of John Paul Jones and John Bonham, this song is a bonafide rock classic.... Coming up.. the story of a provocative Top 5 smash created by a daredevil supergroup that challenged the gatekeepers of commercial radio conservatism...and wound up being sued for violation of copyright laws. There’s a whole lotta yearnin’ ...and a whole lotta schoolin' 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.
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  1990’s 10 Greatest Hits That Never Reached #1: Depeche Mode, Tom Petty & More 09.09.2026 34分

  Today we’re going back to the strange year that separated two decades… where music really had no identity… Hair Metal was waning, and Grunge was still undiscovered, but today we entering an alternate universe where music history has been changed. As we count down the 10 songs that made the top ten but missed #1 but today they get their due… including Depeche Mode's Enjoy the Silence that a band member stole from its writer and snuck behind his back to CREATE a whole new musical backbone BEHIND IT. SPEEDING IT UP adding a new beat to it AND MAKING IT SOAR. The writer was LIVID, but itmade the song perfect and gave the band their biggest hit. Plus, Phil Collins, the biggest hitmaker of the 80s, was hired to write a song for a movie, but then the producers rejected it... so he kept it for himself, and he had sweet revenge when it was a bigger hit than the movie. Plus, Free Fallin', a song by the iconic singer Tom Petty making up funny lyrics to make his legendary producer laugh. The lyrics got dumber and dumber, but his joke song became his biggest hit and an all-time classic. And then there’s the only album in music history with 7 top 5 hits. And Skid Row, the hard rock band who fought like hell to keep a corny power ballad off their blistering debut... but their singer hit one of the most insane high notes in history and they were forced to put it out, and that story is where our countdown starts. See 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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  The 15 Most Controversial Songs of the ’80s: Inside the PMRC’s Filthy Fifteen 08.09.2026 34分

  Coming up, we haven't done one of these in a long time, but it's a special edition of our popular show Taboo Songs. But this time we're gonna give you the 15 songs from the 80s that shook the world with their sheer explicitness. In 1985, Tipper Gore, wife of Al Gore, and several other politicians' wives had a little too much time not here hands and decided to create a committee to save us from offensive and disgusting music that would certainly warp the minds of all the children. More than 40 years later, all of us, Gen Xers that they were trying to protect, have mostly turned into law-abiding citizens, and we now laugh at the shock and the horror that these songs caused. There's a reason why they were called the filthy 15 and today we're gonna count them all down and tell you why they were banned down to the specific nasty lyric and where the artists are now including Prince who had three entries in this countdown, that includes the song Darling Nikki that actually corrupted Al and Tipper Gore’s own child plus what the lead singer of AC/DC said to these elites when he found out one of his songs made the list… I’ll give you a hint it has to do with the middle finger, but far worse let's count down the filthy 15 See 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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  5 Biggest Double-Crosses in Rock History: The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Queensrÿche & More 07.09.2026 28分

  Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/POR and use code POR and get $150 if you win your first $5 lineup!You’ve heard the Doublecross stories of rock and roll in the past, like the evil manager who stole everything from the band Badfinger, leaving them penniless, and led to two of the members taking their own lives, and how David Bowie fired his whole band mid-concert. Well, I’ve got 5 more backstabbing, relentless double-cross stories, including the Murry Wilson worst father in music history. He went behind his son Brian and his band’s back and sold their 200-song catalog that included 30 of the biggest hits in rock history for pennies on the dollar... compared to their half-a-billion-dollar value. Plus, Queensryche, who fired their lead singer’s wife as manager, which caused an in-concert meltdown where the singer spit on his bandmates and then beat ‘em up after that… the grudge match led to 2 different iterations of the band touring under the same name. But that’s nothing because one of the biggest bands ever, Fleetwood Mac, had a greedy manager who put a fake version of the band out on tour hoping that fans wouldn’t notice. That’ where our countdown starts. See 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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  FROM THE VAULT: How Metallica’s Enter Sandman Took Over Radio and Redefined Heavy Metal 06.09.2026 15分

  In 1991, Metallica changed the world forever as they went global with the Black Album including their menacing song: Enter Sandman, the song should’ve been a #1 hit, it’s certainly outlasted the songs form the week it peaked on the charts. up next We celebrate the genius of Enter Sandman and the Black album. The song was written by Metallica’s big three. James Hetfield, Kirk Hammet and Lars Ulrich. A metal masterwork if there ever was one. See 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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  #1 in Our Hearts: The Greatest Songs of 1988 That Should’ve Been #1 03.09.2026 31分

  It’s time to jump in the Time Machine and change Music History with the songs that deserved to be #1 in an amazing year from the 80s. Today we have some great songs, including the shy, unknown singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, who was asked to sub in for a legend who was having technical difficulties… The only problem was it was at a sold-out Wembley Stadium with tens of millions watching via satellite. She only had a guitar and a mic, but one song from her called Fast Car blew the audience away and took her record to #1 overnight. Plus the classic GNR track Welcome to the Jungle that was a failure because neither MTV nor radio would touch it. Not until a desperate plea to play it 1 time at 4 in the morning turned it into the biggest rock album of the 80s. Plus the fast song that was hell to record until the band kept slowing it down. And then it became a revelation. Plus the band Information Society that ruled the charts with 3 straight hits but then vanished without a trace. But today we track them down 38 years after they disappeared. Let’s rewrite history. See 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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  Top 10 Songs of 1975 That Should Have Hit #1: Styx, ELO, Bad Company & More 01.09.2026 32分

  Let’s travel back to 1975 and rewrite history. In 75, 36 Songs hit #1, but as we look at the songs that missed #1 but hit the top 10, I would bet my life on the fact that most of these songs were better than the #1 hits. So let’s give them their due with Lady by Styx, the song that invented the power ballad. It was a song that was a total bust on the charts a few years earlier but a Top 40 DJ heard the song on a jukebox at a pizza joint, and played it on his show, and saved the career of one of classic rock’s most successful bands… plus the musical genius Jeff Lynne who was severely criticized by his own father, who told him his music was rubbish. He retaliated by composing his first top 10 hit in America… plus the sexualized rock song Feel Like Making Love that the singer joked may have caused the birth rate to skyrocket in the 70s. Plus the classic hit Low Rider that came from a drummer playing the wrong beat it could’ve been a disaster… Instead, it inspired the lead singer to throw out a joke lyric that became a pop culture phenomenon, and that story is where our countdown starts. See 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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  Young MC, Patty Smyth & Gary Numan: 3 Wild Stories Behind Their Biggest ’80s Hits 31.08.2026 10分

  Coming up, a new show where I give you 3 unbelievable rock and roll stories straight from the legends themselves in 10 minutes or less that will make you laugh, cry, or both. It’s our premier episode of Zingers including the young icon Young MC who wasn’t old enough to buy alcohol but he wrote 3 massive hits in about the time it takes to watch a movie and those 3 songs have generated many millions of dollars for him and set him him up for life generating 85% of the his total income as a musician for the rest of his life, he’s here to tell the story. Plus the 80s icon Patty Smyth, who had one of the most popular music videos in MTV history, but she detested every second of it... Having to wear heavy makeup and costumes that made her unrecognizable. It gives her anxiety just speaking about it, and she’s here to tell the story. And finally the odd new wave icon Gary Numan, who had one big hit that didn’t sound like anything on the radio, but he began to loathe it with every fiber of his being. He hates it so much he refused to play it, but one day he got his comeuppance when a legend called him out on his behavior, and he realized he was being a huge baby. 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.
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  Top 5 Rock Meets Sci-Fi Stories: KISS, Michael Jackson, The Who, Sting & More 30.08.2026 33分

  A few weeks ago, I introduced a new show where I did a pop culture crossover of Rock and Roll Meets Star Wars, including a story of how Terri Nunn, the Lead singer of New Wave band Berlin, was a frontrunner for the role of Princess Leia…She even had a final screen test with Harrison Ford, who did not like her. So, getting rejected by Star Wars, she became a new wave icon with the #1 hit, Take Me Breath Away well I got so many requests for more Star Wars and rock, but this time around we’re doing Star Wars as well as expanding our coverage to other science fiction franchises. From Star Trek to ET to Alien including how The Who Saved the RIdley Scott movie Alien and How Micheal Jackson’s Label sued ET and Then ET turned around and Sued Neil Diamondas well as the crazy story about Sting’s Space underwear from the movie dune…and One of the funniest Williams Shatner stories you’ll ever hear and it has to do with he band KISS it’s my top 5 Sci-Fi rock and roll crossovers… So let’s get it started: at #5, I have a special guest to tell the story about the time that a famous voice actor fooled William Shatner into believing he was Gene Simmons of KISS and all hell broke loose… It’s a Gag that is still going. Ok, so Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry, and it debuted on NBC in 1966. And although it was canceled after just three seasons, the show found sustained success in syndication during the 70s and built a passionate fanbase. See 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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  The Story Behind AC/DC’s “Big Balls” and the Wild Genius of Bon Scott 29.08.2026 18分

  Coming up, the story behind Ac/DC’s classic rock hit Big Balls, a song with a dual meaning that made parents angry and the goody-two-shoes blush, but it made every Gen-X kid fall down on the floor laughing. It was written by rock icon Bon Scott, who was always the life of the party to his detriment. In a drunken daze, Bon turned his fascination with his body part into a song meant as filler for an album, but Big Balls became a surprising classic rock standard. One that everyone who has come of age since the 70s has laughed about with their friends for days on end! Hey also came up with a song later about his wife that could be taken as good or bad, and she divorced him for it. We’re gonna loosen up the shackles of self-righteousness and have some fun telling the story of this track. 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.
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  A Classic Rock Masterclass with Rick Beato | Full Interview 27.08.2026 1時間 25分

  This is the full uncut interview with Rick Beato… a Classic Rock Masterclass. Actually, it’s more of a 90-minute geek-out on music. We just kick back and discuss all our favorites in music from Boston to Led Zeppelin to Pink Floyd to everything in between. I’ve received a lot of requests for the uncut interview, so here it is. See 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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  The Greatest #3 Hits of Rock’s Golden Era 26.08.2026 33分

  Coming up, we continue our treasure hunt, tracking down the greatest #3 hits in music history, and this time we got to arguably the best era in music history 1965-1969. Including songs by the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Stones, including California Girls, a song that popped into the mind of Brian Wilson after he swallowed his first tab of LSD… You could honestly say that the song that came from that trip started a musical revolution that inspired everything that came after. Plus a track that saved the career of future legend Stevie Wonder during a time when his label wanted to drop him because he was going through puberty. In fact, they had labeled him a novelty act; he would go on to prove them wrong as one of the last living musical geniuses... Plus one of the most prolific lyricists of all time, Jimmy Webb, captured the image of a man working on a telephone pole and turned it into a hypnotic classic… And lastly, the angry song Fortunate Song that stood up for the common man that became one of over a dozen huge hits for John Fogerty whose historic run in music was thrown off course by one of the biggest scumbags in music history. It’s a special countdown of the Top 10 Greatest #3 Hits released between ’65 & ’69, 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.
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  FROM THE VAULT: Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun”: The Song That Almost Got Censored 25.08.2026 20分

  Let's take it back! As a father of 3 daughters this was the most difficult song that Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, one of America’s great rock bands ever had to write… It actually took him 9 months to finish, then a record exec made him censor his own song fearing it wouldn’t get played on pop radio because of 1 word that wasn’t even a swear word… Would he change it? It would be the biggest hit on an 80s hard rock masterpiece. Pump an album that had a pretty good chance of being the first hard rock record to have 3 #1 hits from one album… would it happen … THE ROAD WOULD BE TOUGH… Janie’s Got A Gun got banned and had to compete with a smash hit starring a cartoon cat... find out if this …provocative and haunting song pulled it off 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.
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  The Catchiest Songs of the ’80s: Quiet Riot, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Cheers & More 24.08.2026 35分

  The catchiest song of the 80s...Some songs are earworms that crawl into your brain and are so annoying you beg for mercy. Some are great, but they get so overplayed you tire of them and hope you never hear them again. But every once in a while, a song is so catchy and satisfying you're on cloud 9 when they get stuck in your head because even if you hear them 100 times, you never get sick of them… Today we celebrate those treasures as we travel back to the 80s to capture those perfect songs and the stories behind them, including the Cheers theme song that puts a lump in our throats every time because it sounds like home or a bygone era. Plus the Frankie Goes to Hollywood song Relax, that was so catchy and dangerous a DJ banned it in the middle of the first time it was played on the radio. Plus the cover song Cum On Feel the Noize that took Quiet Riot and metal to the top of the charts... but the singer behind it ruined his career in one dumb interview.…. And an otherworldly scream that saved a rock band’s career. See 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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  The Greatest TV Themes of the ’50s & ’60s | The Twilight Zone, Bonanza & More 22.08.2026 28分

  Coming up...The story of the greatest TV THEMES of the 60s. Last year we covered some of the greatest TV themes of the 70s, 80s and 90s. But today we're counting down the best TV themes from what many consider the golden age of television… the 60s and 50s. And there’s some wild stories here. First, one of the most recognizable pieces of music in TV history was stitched together from two obscure stock tracks, and the composer had no idea his work was being heard by millions of people in the TV show The Twilight Zone. It would be years before he ever found out, and he only ever took home $700 for one of the most iconic intros of all time. Then… one of the most beloved TV Western themes in history: Bonanza was so perfectly constructed that when a music legend added lyrics and released his own version, it completely bombed. And finally… an Academy Award-winning composer recorded a terrible, throwaway vocal demo about a talking horse… just to show producers what he had in mind for the theme. He was horrified when they loved it and used it as the finished product. Let’s get started. Plus the TV theme that a talented songwriter tried dozens of times. It was sung, it was done with guitar… Nothing was working, so he got so frustrated he just whistled it in 1 take, and it became a classic. 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.
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  38 Special’s Don Barnes on the Stories Behind “Hold On Loosely,” “Caught Up in You” & Their Biggest Hits 21.08.2026 30分

  Coming up next, an interview with a band that, no joke, had 16 hits in the 80s but, for some strange reason, they are always passed over, and many under the age of 50 don’t remember them. Why have they been forgotten? Well, all you have to do is play someone Hold On Loosely or Caught Up in You, and all of a sudden the light bulb goes off. I’m talking about Southern Rock Royalty 38 Special. Today, I have the uncut Don Barnes interview. Don sang and helped write those hits and made the band a classic rock staple. Coming up, we have the stories of many of their biggest hits straight from Don, including the story of how the band got their name when they had to break into their own rehearsal space and the police surrounded them thinking they were criminals. Plus much more. Here’s Don with the stories of some classics. See 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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  The 7 Catchiest Songs of the ’70s: Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC/DC & More 19.08.2026 29分

  About a month ago, I started a new show where I talked about the catchiest songs of all time. But they are the good catchy, where you love it when they get stuck in your head. Well, I chose 7 from the 70s, and most of you agreed with them, but many said, Well, you have to include this one and this one. Well. We’re gonna do it again. We’re counting down the 7 catchiest songs of the 70s. It’s Round 2, and these songs and the stories behind them are even better than our last list. First, there’s Van Halen, who covered a 60s Kinks classic and so thoroughly reinvented it that fans of the band thought that they had written it. This mix-up led to fans approaching the original band after shows and at airports to compliment them on their cover version of their own song. It made them livid. Then there’s the thoroughly misunderstood rock anthem Sweet Home Alabama that was calling out a corrupt politician, but everyone thought they were cheering him on... leading this corrupt leader to hijack the song and make it his personal campaign track. And finally, there’s the burned-out rock frontman Bon Scott who snapped at his producer and dared him to get in the booth and sing this future hit song better than he could. He had to eat crow as he watched in stunned silence as this producer hit every screaming note perfectly. It’s all coming up next on POR. See 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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  #1 in Our Hearts: The Greatest Songs of 1979 That Should’ve Hit #1 17.08.2026 31分

  Coming up, it’s time for a POR throwback. Back in the early days of the channel, we had our regular series #1 in Our Hearts where we honored songs that were so unbelievably great, they should've been #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. But for whatever reason, whether it was lack of radio play or marketing, or maybe the label just wasn’t behind the track… these songs came up short. Well, now we are going to zero in on a specific year and look at the top 10 songs that didn’t quite make it to #1, and we’re going to give. Today we're heading back to the late 70s. Let’s see if you can guess the year. It was the year that rock made a huge comeback and decimated Disco on the strength of several big hits, including Sultans of Swing that was inspired by the most self-delusional band in town. This band played in an empty pub, and it inspired a Dire Straits’ breakout hit. Then there’s the two-hit wonder Nicolette Larson, who found her biggest hit in a dusty cassette tape that was being stepped on as it sat on the floor of a rock legend's truck. And finally, there’s the Toto keyboardist who wrote an iconic hit on his piano in his apartment… he couldn’t stop messing with the catchy tune until he figured it out. It took him three days, and his neighbors were banging on the door for him to stop. He even got evicted due to the noise.” But in the end, it paid off, going top 5 and making his band a household name. 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.