Professor of Rock

Today’s story is one of the saddest in rock history. Creedence Clearwater Revival was a band that had as much potential as any who ever recorded a song… They were like a powerful Comet of Rock blazing so fast and bright they just as quickly imploded. CCR had an incredible 14 huge hits in a little over 2 years. They were on a Beatles-like trajectory. In fact, they outdid the Beatles in terms of hits before the demise of the...

On this day in 1985, Live Aid made music history.

To mark the anniversary of perhaps the most iconic concert ever staged—simultaneously in London and Philadelphia—we’re revisiting one of Adam’s all-time favorite episodes: an unforgettable interview with Thomas Dolby.

Thomas was on stage that day, performing with none other than David Bowie. His firsthand stories bring you right into the heart of Live Aid.

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Coming up, it’s an episode that isn’t for the faint of heart. Today, we’re getting spooky as we explore the most cursed songs of the rock era and beyond. There are some really unbelievable stories here. One song, Kashmir, was born deep in the desert, built around an ancient-sounding riff. And it terrified Jimmy Page because he thought he was possessed when he was writing it. There’s also the killer karaoke track My Way tha...

Coming up next, its 2 of the 3 principles of one of Rock’s Greatest trios on a few of the greatest songs of the 80s. And some all-time Myths are busted in this episode, include the oft reported story that the drummer hated one of the bands’ biggest hits… It’s a TOTAL LIE. He didn’t hate it, in fact, he says the song had a perfect demo one that the band tried to recreate hundreds of times. But in the end, they just overdubb...

Up next, Nuno Bettencourt, who may have taken over as the GOAT of all guitarists, tells the story of Extreme's biggest hit, More Than Words… Nuno and Extreme were hard rock and could outplay just about anyone in their day, but it was a heartfelt ballad that took them to the top of the charts. It’s the story of a song the label didn’t want to release, and this guitar hero nearly quit the band in protest! More Than Words sou...

Coming up, we’re counting down the most distinctive, unique, one-of-a-kind voices of the rock era: “Female singer edition.” The list includes Alanis Morissette, a Canadian pop princess who burned her past to the ground and turned the ashes into one of rock’s most fearless records. There’s also a rock siren, Dolores O'Riordan, who started out quieter than a mouse. In fact, when she auditioned for a band, 9 guys mocked her a...

On July 8, 1954, Elvis Presley's debut single, “That’s All Right,” was played for the first time on Memphis radio, marking a pivotal moment in his career and the beginning of a musical revolution. Just three years later, in 1957, his hit “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts, further cementing his status as the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

Enjoy this POR classic from 2022 celebrating the one and ...

Coming up, we're telling the story of 11 songs that truly defined one of the most pivotal years in the Rock Era, starting with The Beatles, a band so big they controlled the top 5 spots on the charts, a record that no one has ever come close to. Plus, there was the songwriter Wayne Cochran who told an epic and sad story behind what inspired his massive hit Last Kiss that moved everyone who heard it. Then, decades later, ev...

COMING UP next, the Bee Gees were the biggest band of the 70s with 8 #1 hits in under 4 years… they were everywhere until they weren’t. What a difference a few months make. One month they were on top of the world, a few months later, they couldn’t get radio to play their music. They had to hide out… in fact, in the early 80s, the Bee Gees wrote for other people because their brand was extinct. They disappeared from th...

In music, trends come and go, chart-toppers rise and fall—but every once in a while, an artist or a band does something that is completely untouchable. I’m talking about milestones that will never be shattered. For today’s episode, we’re tipping our hat to the Guinness Book of World Records and counting down the Top 10 greatest music records That Will Never Be Broken. From the Elton John that sold a record 33 million ...

There’s No Teaser Today…We have a very special episode of Professor of Rock today covering a legendary singer-songwriter who we lost. To me, it was one of the most devastating losses ever. And it got very little fanfare. There weren’t a bunch of tributes, it wasn’t front page news, it wasn’t covered in the media almost at all. But it should have been. To me, he not only wrote some of the most beloved songs of the 70s and 8...

The incredible story of What a Fool Believes. We have interviews with both Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald who both wrote it. It became a huge hit for the Doobie Brothers but divided fans when Michael McDonald took over for an ailing Tom Johnston and it changed the Doobies sound. We also have guitarist Skunk Baxter who brought Michael over from Steely Dan where he sang back up. a great story of a hit that...

So many so-called one-hit wonders have a quirky, unexpected charm—sometimes playful, sometimes totally bizarre, but always endearing. They’re like musical mysteries or fun trivia sparks, making us wonder what could’ve been if the artists had kept it going. We call these songs bottled lightning… Artists that had that one blazing firework that took over the world and we count down the 5 craziest listening in a bottle classic...

ON THIS DAY in 1967, The Beatles began a 15-week reign at #1 on the US album chart with their iconic album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

FROM THE VAULT: In 1967, a brilliant concept album was recorded that shattered the boundaries of song arrangement, and forever changed the art of recorded music. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Maybe Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo...

Today, we are taking the time machine back to a shocking hit from the 70s: School's Out. It was from Alice Cooper, a rock star who defined the words SHOCK and AWE, and caused some real trouble with teachers across America. There are some insane stories behind this one…from CREEPY urban legends like the band getting their name from the ghost of a 16th-century witch, to schools getting shut down for playing this song. Plus, ...

You requested it, so here it is. It was the dawn of a new decade with some of the most intriguing music of the rock era, and some of the most interesting stories... including Nothing Compares 2 U, an incredible song that hit #1, and Sinead O'Connor was livid when it did. She was so pissed, she made a blatant decision right then and there to do everything in her power to be a one hit wonder even though she could’ve had doze...

Coming up—we’re counting down the songs we’re not supposed to like… Some call them guilty pleasures, others call them bad. Some call them cheese. But when nobody’s looking, most of us sing every word when they come on. I’m gonna get REBUKED FOR THIS but here it goes…One track, To Be With You, is a ballad from a band of shredders that sounds like a camp counselor campfire song that somehow hit #1. Then, there’s the song I W...

Coming up next, one of the greatest producers of the 70s and '80s, Bill Szymczyk, gives us the lowdown on working with one of the greatest bands of the rock era: Eagles… He got recruited to help the band when their sound was softer and more acoustic, and they wanted to rock, so he helped take them to the next level, where they not only became legends but also one of the biggest bands ever. And this interview is a treat…He ...

Oh man, we got a great one for you next… Brand new interviews and insights on the biggest selling #1 hit of the 80s: We Are the World. And the group USA For Africa was only together for a couple of hours… They put the super in supergroup… The greatest supergroup ever assembled, and I got many of those legends telling the story today. A group that had so many legendary singers, some had to sit out singing lead. So many grea...