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Professor of Rock
30 episodes
#1 in Our Hearts: The Greatest Songs of 1979 That Should’ve Hit #1
Aug 17, 2026 · 32 min
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’…
FROM THE VAULT: Red Red Wine: How a DJ's Mistake Turned UB40's Song Into a Chart-Topping Hit
Aug 16, 2026 · 16 min
Let's run it back! Up next two principals from the classic Reggae group UB40, original singer Ali Campbell and toaster the late Astro tell us the compelling story of a song that took 5 years to get to #1! Red Red Wine was originally composed and sung by Neil Diamond. In 1983 Red Red Wine went to the top of the charts in the UK but stalled at #34 in America then 5 years later a DJ played it by accident confusing this band with another one and people started requesting it. Other stations followed…
Rock Meets Star Wars: The Wild Stories of Terri Nunn, Michael Jackson, Toto & More
Aug 15, 2026 · 28 min
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the worlds of rock and roll and history’s most beloved sci-fi franchise collided in ways nobody ever expected. That’s right, on this episode of Professor of Rock, we’re counting down the greatest rock meets Star Wars stories around. And from the casting room to the recording booth, popular musicians and Star Wars have a surprisingly in-depth history. Including members of NSYNC who got their greatest wish... to be cast as Lightsaber-wielding JEDIs. They…
Kenny Loggins on the Story Behind “I’m Alright” and the Caddyshack Soundtrack
Aug 13, 2026 · 20 min
Coming up next, Kenny Loggins, the Co-Captain of Yacht Rock and the King of the Movie Soundtrack, tells the story of his first big movie hit from Caddyshack, I’m Alright! First, this legendary singer-songwriter was told by a big-time movie producer his movie song would be used for a dancing puppet, which he thought would be lame… Secondly, during the recording of the song, this singer invited another famous rocker to do background vocals, but he forgot to give him credit when the song became fam…
FROM THE VAULT: Celebrating Donna Summer’s Influence Across Disco, Pop, and Beyond
Aug 13, 2026 · 10 min
Let's take it back with this POR Classic! Celebrating the power of Summer, Donna Summer, one of the most influential artists of any era and my Top 5 Donna Summer Songs. Many know her as the Queen of Disco, but she was so much more than that, inspiring artists from every genre including New Wave, R&B, and Dance pop. Featuring appearences from Peter Hook formerly of New Order, Narada Michael Walden producer/songwriter behind some of Whitney Houston's biggest hits, and Limahl former lead singer of…
Rock Stars Who Hate Their Biggest Hits: The Songs They Refuse to Play
Aug 12, 2026 · 31 min
If you’re a rockstar. There’s nothing quite as brutal as watching the song you despise become the one the world won't let you forget. Today we're counting down the musicians who built their legacies on songs they absolutely could not stand. Including a teenage rock prodigy whose debut smash turned him into an overnight rockstar. But he spent the next two decades refusing to perform it and stating that no amount of money would ever make him play it again. Then there’s one of rock's hardest-hittin…
Rock Classics That Almost Never Existed—Led Zeppelin, The Clash, Don Henley & More
Aug 11, 2026 · 31 min
Rock history is full of legendary songs that almost never existed. Today we're counting down the most jaw-dropping near-miss disasters in rock history… songs that were almost derailed by decisions and incidents that should have designated them to garbage heap. And the world would have never heard them! First… The Clash's roadie was handed the demo recordings for one of the greatest double albums ever made: London Calling. But after stopping at a pub, he got drunk and fell asleep on the subway. W…
The Catchiest Songs of the ’90s: The Verve, Smashing Pumpkins, TLC & The Cranberries
Aug 10, 2026 · 29 min
To me the definition of great hit song is one that is so catchy and undeniable that whenever it comes on you feel like your 50 Feet tall and invincible. Some decades just hit different — and the 90s produced a run of songs so irresistible that the world still hasn't gotten over them. It’s time ro count down the catchiest sings of the decade! The greatest earworms of the 90s that you’re grateful to have stuck in your head and the stories behind them that nobody ever told you… including how one pr…
The Story Behind Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”: How Rocky III Created a #1 Hit
Aug 7, 2026 · 22 min
The story of the #1 hit Eye of the Tiger from Rocky 3. In the early 80s this Survivor co-founder Jim Peterik came home for Lunch and checked his answering machine. He couldn’t believe what he heard, Sylvester Stallone asked him to call him back. He thought it was a prank call. but when he called back it was really him… Sly Stallone wanted an unknown band Survivor to write the Anthem to a sequel to one of the greatest franchises ever, Rocky 3-apparently Queen had turned down the use of their #1 h…
Top 5 Two-Hit Wonders of the ’80s: Ratt, Icehouse, Tone Loc & More
Aug 6, 2026 · 26 min
Coming up… Van Halen, Ratt, and more as we skip the one hit wonders to talk about the topic of top 2-Hit Wonders. ...But today I wanted to shake it up. What about those artists who actually followed up their huge hit with another one of equal impact? A second legitimate hit but then never had another one? The Two Hit Wonders. It’s a special countdown of the Top 5 '2 Hit Wonders' of the 80s! Including Ratt, Icehouse, White Lion and how Tone Loce ruled 1988 by stealing his two biggest hits from se…
The Songs That Should've Been #1 in 1984
Aug 5, 2026 · 36 min
Coming up, We’re going back in time to a perfect year in music and setting it right. Taking some top 10 hits and giving them their due at #1. Including some great stories, including a tragic internal conflict between long-time collaborators Daryl Hall and John Oates, one that led to the issuance of a restraining order, splitting the most successful two-some in rock history. Hey, how are ya gonna write songs together if there's a restraining order?! Then there’s a story of the highest-charting so…
FROM THE VAULT: How Pink Floyd’s Time and The Great Gig in the Sky Keep Dark Side of the Moon Timeless
Aug 4, 2026 · 25 min
Let's run it back with this classic! Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon...Imagine if you will an album so legendary.. So in Demand that there were factories working around the clock to manufacture it and still couldn’t keep up.. or so the legend goes or urban legend that is. . And it'’s still selling like hotcakes. It spent almost 20 years on the charts but never went to #1 in its native land..It has spawned more folk tales than any album ever.. Led by a provocative and talented lyricist/ sing…
Top Songs of 1969: The Final Countdown | The Zombies, Tommy James & More
Aug 3, 2026 · 36 min
Coming up…we take the time machine back to a year that changed everything with songs that were all over the map. We’ll tell the tale of Time of the Season that became a massive hit after the Zombies, the band that recorded it, broke up, and they had no idea that the song was soaring around the world. As well as Sugar Sugar, a song that was one of the catchiest of all time, but it was recorded by a fictional kids' band, and it became the biggest hit of the year even though the man who sang it was…
The Greatest Novelty Songs of the '80s: So Bad They're Good
Aug 2, 2026 · 23 min
I'm counting down the top 5 most cringe-worthy 80s novelty tracks that are “so bad, they’re good.” We’re talking songs like Pac-Man Fever, Party All the Time, and the Super Bowl Shuffle. But on the other hand, some of these songs killed it on Billboard Hot 100. So someone must have thought they were good back in the day. Will you admit to liking them? I have to admit I’m a sucker for Bad B-Movies and Bad B-Songs… Is that a thing? Get ready for a trip into the quirky, the bizarre, and the truly a…
The Women Who Drove Rock Stars Wild—and Inspired Classic Songs
Aug 1, 2026 · 28 min
Coming up on today’s episode, we're back at it again. We’re counting down the most dangerously alluring song about females in rock history … These songs were written about real women who did a real number on some of the most famous rockstars ever. We’re gonna tell the story about a notorious woman known only as “Wildcat” who made a surprise late-night call to Chris Isaak. He knew she was trouble but told her to come over anyway. But before she arrived at his door, he picked up his guitar and wro…
The Mamas & the Papas’ “Monday, Monday”: The #1 Hit Recorded in the Wrong Key
Jul 30, 2026 · 20 min
What is it about Mondays that gets us all down? It’s as if that day casts a shadow over us all, shifting the mood of the universe for a full 24 hours. With that in mind, one of the most talented yet volatile bands of the Rock Era, the Mamas and the Papas, created Monday Monday, a song that unintentionally summed up their brief but brilliant run and gifted us with a breathtaking classic. Monday Monday was written in 20 minutes, and nobody in the band liked it. Especially singer Denny Doherty... S…
Punchlines: Rock & Pop’s Biggest Musical Punchlines and Their Wildest Stories
Jul 29, 2026 · 33 min
In the music business, there’s a thin line between iconic and ironic. Some artists spend decades building a legacy, only to watch the internet reduce it to a dumpster fire. While others were the first to strike the match. Coming up, we're counting down the musicians and their songs who became everybody's favorite joke — whether they meant to or not. It’s our latest edition of Punchlines, and this episode has a few musicians who weren’t afraid to throw the first punch… including the genre-bending…
FROM THE VAULT: How Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” Became a Haunting Masterpiece and a Point of Contention
Jul 28, 2026 · 23 min
All eyes were on this legendary band after they released their megalithic fourth album Led Zeppelin IV. Championed by many as the greatest rock record ever written… Everyone was clamoring for a sequel. But they wouldn’t get it. Instead, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham took a sharp left turn into unexplored territory… kicking out a bold collection of songs that tapped into a diverse selection of genres: House of the Holy. The rock press eviscerated them for it. But time…
Top 10 Songs of 1981: The Untold Stories Behind Journey, Devo, Blondie & Pat Benatar
Jul 27, 2026 · 32 min
Coming up… It’s nostalgia overload in a trip back to a perfect year in music. Including the provocative hit Whip It by Devo that sparked controversy so intense, actress Lily Tomlin refused to host a major late-night show unless the band was CUT. Plus, legendary guitarist Neal Schon was told his guitar solo for Who's Cryin' Now was too complex… he was told to simplify it. So he played the dumbest lead he could think of... it made the song a classic. Then there’s the famous TV theme song Beleive I…
Greatest #3 Hits of the 1970s: Bill Withers, Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner & More
Jul 25, 2026 · 38 min
Today we’ve got 10 tracks that were going for the gold but came up just short… bringing home the bronze instead. That’s right, it’s another edition of our #3 Hits Countdown, but this time we are counting down the greatest #3s of the 1970s songs that peaked at just two spots from the top on the Hot 100. On this episode you’ll hear the story of Navy veteran Bill Withers, who spent years installing toilet facilities inside commercial airplanes for $3.50 an hour. And when he scored a record deal he…
The Doors’ “The End”: Why Jim Morrison Got Fired Over Rock’s Most Controversial Song
Jul 24, 2026 · 22 min
Coming up next… a song that was so offensive, the Doors were fired on the spot for performing it. Here’s what happened: Jim Morrison, was playing one of The Doors's new songs "The End" as the house band for one of California’s most happening clubs... when Jim suddenly went off on a creative tangent that hearkened back to a story from Greek mythology. But the audience had no idea what was going on… Jim Morrison took a song that was already about death, birth, freedom, madness and a bunch of other…
Top 8 Catchiest ’80s Songs: “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Take On Me,” & More
Jul 22, 2026 · 35 min
The 80s gave us some of the most irresistible, inescapable songs ever put to tape. And today we're going all in on the neon decade, counting down my picks for the Top 8 catchiest 80s songs. These are the songs that you’re grateful when they get stuck in your head. On this episode, we have the story of Jonathan Cain, the broke and broken musician who lost his record deal, his girlfriend, and nearly his dog when it was hit by a speeding car. Desperate and ready to pack it in, he called home to his…
FROM THE VAULT: John Oates Details How "Out of Touch" Became Hall & Oates’ Final #1 Hit
Jul 21, 2026 · 18 min
Let's run it back! Coming up, an interview with one of the 80s great hitmakers. The most successful duo of the rock era, Daryl Hall and John Oates Everything they touched turned to Gold and Platinum. Here, John Oates tells the story of a number-one hit from the mid-80s that came at the crossroads of Analog and digital… Out of Touch, it was their final #1 hit after ruling the neon decade with 11 hits, and this one was one of their biggest and they almost gave it away. To put it all in perspective…
Top Songs of 1972: Neil Young, Harry Nilsson, America & Gilbert O'Sullivan
Jul 20, 2026 · 35 min
Coming up… We took a little break from this show but due to popular demand, we’re back. We take the time machine back to the 70s in a year full of classics, where Neil Young, one of rock's most cantankerous icons, had serious back issues but altered his style to create his lone #1 single, Heart of Gold. Instead of celebrating the song’s success, Neil decided to defy commercialism and purposefully write music that wouldn’t chart. Then America was accused of intentionally imitating this same notor…
The 7 Catchiest Songs of the ’70s: “September,” “Come and Get Your Love,” “Long Cool Woman” & More
Jul 18, 2026 · 33 min
To me the definition of great hit song is one that is so catchy and undeniable that whenever it comes on you feel like your 20 feet tall and invincible. It’s a song that you are grateful when it get stuck in your head because it never gets old. Today we’re gonna celebrate the 7 catchiest songs of the 70s that are sonic masterworks… including the tale of a struggling songwriter who was surviving on food stamps. But when her phone rang out of nowhere and Earth, Wind and Fire's Maurice White asked…
Rock’s Biggest Betrayals: Supertramp, Iron Maiden, Badfinger & the Worst Backstabbing in Music History
Jul 16, 2026 · 27 min
The music industry has never had a shortage of shady handshake deals. What many have learned is to have a lawyer look over it and get it in writing. So many musicians were pushed out, had their royalties stolen, & screwed over every which way but loose... Today we have some of the biggest backstabbing stories in rock history. Including Supertramp co-founder Roger Hodgson, who walked away from his band with a gentleman's agreement. He had written a lot of hits, and his co-singer promised not to p…
FROM THE VAULT: How Led Zeppelin’s “Hey Hey What Can I Do” Became a Lost Classic for Decades
Jul 15, 2026 · 23 min
How Led Zeppelin threw this song away is beyond me. Next we break down a classic rock hidden gem Hey Hey What Can I Do which was the B side to the 45 of Immigrant song Written by the world’s biggest rock band Sadly, it never made it onto its intended album, Led Zeppelin 3 or any of the six that followed. And yet it has been hailed as a top-notch tune, living for decades as a holy grail rarity. A status reinforced by the fact that Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham never pl…
Remembering Bonnie Tyler: The Story Behind “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and Her Legendary Voice
Jul 14, 2026 · 22 min
I am heartbroken to hear the news about Bonnie Tyler’s passing. Bonnie died in a hospital in Portugal, where she was being treated for an illness, according to a statement, which was posted on her official social media channel. Bonnie was a force to be reckoned with, one of the distinct and emotional voices of the last 50 years. She will continue to blow the minds of listeners for the next 500 years with songs that are not only powerhouses of the last half century but standards of their times li…
Top 10 Forgotten Classics of 1986
Jul 14, 2026 · 36 min
I was thinking the other day, it’s hard to believe that the year 1986 was 40 Years ago. Talk about a Phenomenal year for music. There were so many classic Hits that a lot of them missed out on hitting #1, but they deserved to be. Today we are going to fix that, as we take the time machine back and put it right, with 10 songs that are #1 in our hearts. Including the making of the Dream Academy classic Life in a Northern Town, mentored by one of rock’s greatest lyricists, and produced by a guitar…
The Most Addictive Songs of the ’60s: The Association, Simon & Garfunkel, The Troggs & More
Jul 11, 2026 · 37 min
Today we cover a decade that produced some of the catchiest, most enduring songs ever recorded — tracks so deeply embedded in our psyches that you can hum them just by hearing their song titles… without even trying. We have a brand new show today about the most addictive songs ever. But these are the Songs we love having stuck in our head… and they have some incredible stories, including one legendary athlete who was so furious about being immortalized in Simon and Garfunkel's Mrs. Robinson, one…
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