Professor of Rock

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 ...

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 d...

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...

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 Call...

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 ...

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 greate...

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, Wh...

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'...

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...

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,...

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 B...

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...

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...

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...

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 sel...

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 th...

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 toile...

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 Morr...

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 ...