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Professor of Rock: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Gamut Podcast Network
The ultimate rock music history podcast for fans of the greatest era of music. If you’ve ever wondered about the true stories behind your favorite songs, or wanted to hear directly from the legends who made them, Professor of Rock is your new go-to podcast. Hosted by music historian and superfan Adam Reader, this show brings the golden era of music back to life with exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes stories, and deep dives into the songs that shaped our lives. This podcast uncovers how timeless tracks were made, the creative breakthroughs, the near-breakups, and the powerful moments that defined music history. Each episode is a masterclass in rock culture and nostalgia—whether it's a chart-topping ‘80s anthem, a one-hit wonder with a wild backstory, or a candid conversation with the legends themselves. Hear the Stories. Relive the Music.
Latest Episodes
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- Today20 min
Greatest Opening Lyrics in Rock History: The Ramones, Pink Floyd, U2 & Jackson Browne
There is something about an opening lyric that can make or break a song. And as a lyricist, when you get it right, it launches your song into the stratosphere. For today’s show, we’re paying homage to some of the most gripping opening lines of the rock era… written by master wordsmiths. We’ll tell the stories of their songs and where their inspiration came from… including Jackson Browne who found his muse when his car broke down in the desert and had to hitchhike home. Roger Waters who was haunted by a bandmate’s ghost. There’s also the Ramones who copy-catted one of the first boy bands and their bubblegum hit with one of the best rockers of the time. And U2's Bono who couldn’t stand to sing his own iconic opening lyric... thinking it was cheesy We’ve got some killer stories coming up… NEXT on the 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.
- 2 days ago35 min
Songs That Saved My Life: A Personal Countdown Featuring Bob Marley, Simon & Garfunkel, and AC/DC
Coming up, i’m going to share a countdown that is very personal to me. Several weeks ago I had a miracle in my life. I was on the verge of death from Hypoxia caused by severe pneumonia. I wasn’t getting enough oxygen to my brain and my oxygen level got all the way down to 40% and my Heart rate was 190. As I rushed to the hospital, I’ve spent weeks healing and today I want to count down the song that have helped me heal, motivated my recovery and lifted me in my darkest hour. Including 1 that literally saved my life… and they all have remarkable stories. Including the story of Bob Marley, whose home had just been shot up. But as he sat quietly at a window watching a few little birds land on the sill, he found an enduring message of comfort. Also, we’re covering the Paul Simon who handed off his most personal composition to Art Garfunkel because he believed his voice was meant to carry it… But resentment over the song’s success eventually broke them apart. Could they ever fix their friendship? And then there’s AC/DC, the band that spent most of the 80s unraveling — addiction, firings, divorces, and no real hits. But in the 90s they emerged with a riff so unstoppable that it single-handedly reset their entire legacy. Let’s get started.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- 3 days ago33 min
Top 10 Songs of 1980 That Should Have Hit #1: The Biggest Chart Injustices
Coming up next we rewrite history with 10 Songs that should’ve been #1 from the year 1980 and there are so many classics today that came up short of the top spot including a singer won a record amount of grammies as a rookie and he wrote the song while tripping on acid and when you find out who it is, you’ll be shocked because he doesn’t fit the profile. Plus the Singer who’s told me the story behind his biggest hit but then when I put out the interview he chastised me for releasing it because he didn’t like the he looked in the interview so I had to take it down… Find out the artist and the song… Plus the rookie artist who put out a song that Didn’t sound like ANYTHING on RADIO! but even though he became an icon it was his only hit in america and he grew to HATE IT… But then another legendary artist made him realize he was being a huge baby…and then there’s the legendary artist who had her most famous hit… It became here signature song even though she had a ton of classic hits. But then decades later she refused to play it in concert and told her fans she’d never play it again. Find out why 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.
- 4 days ago20 min
FROM THE VAULT: Steven Tyler Wrote “Dream On” at 14 – The Song That Almost Didn’t Happen
Let's run it back! Coming up legendary singer Steven Tyler of Aerosmith wrote one of rock’s greatest masterpieces at the age of 14. A 14-year-old kid! Not only that… This 70s classic is a pretty heavy song for a 14-year-old to understand let alone write. The 70s hard rock classic Dream On is the one that put the screaming demon and the Boston boys on the top of rock royalty. But when Tyler brought the bonafide rock classic to his band, guitarist Joe Perry didn’t want to cut it because he felt it was too soft for their sound even though the song builds and then explodes! Many obstacles stood in the way of this song becoming a hit from a run-in with a gangster who pulled a gun on the band to it failing on its first release to Steven Tyler blowing out his vocal cords on one big performance. The song is sung by Steven Tyler in an entirely different way than any song he’d sing thereafter. the story is coming up... This classic VAULT episode 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.
- 6 days ago21 min
Def Leppard, The Byrds & Metallica: The Surprising Bible Stories Behind Classic Rock Hits
Treat yourself to Ka'chava. Go to https://www.kachava.com/ and use code POR for 15% off your first order.Def Leppard, the Byrds, Sting... They all took song from the Bible! Inspiration for a hit song can come from anywhere. Here on the channel, we’ve discussed a lot of unexpected song origins. And today we’re continuing that trend with an episode about songs whose lyrics were lifted from The Good Book... the Bible. And you’re gonna be shocked. It’s a counter-intuitive episode where we explore the spiritual side of rock. But these aren’t tracks that you’ll find in a hymn book at church… well, actually, one of them you will. But not in the way that you think. You’ll see. We’ve also got a #1 protest song by The Byrds that traces its origins back thousands of years. As well as the story of Metallica's heavy metal drummer who was obsessed with the movie The Ten Commandments. We’ve got some surprise revelations coming up in this one, as well as exclusive commentary straight from the artists. It’s all happening NEXT on the 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.
- 1 weeks ago29 min
Time in a Bottle Countdown: 10 Forgotten ’90s Hits from Sophie B. Hawkins, Sir Mix-a-Lot & More
Coming up, it’s the closest thing we have to a time machine. It’s our latest Time in a Bottle countdown where we feature 10 tracks that take you back to the exact moment they came out on radio. Along the way, we’ll tell the story of how Sophie B Hawkins accidentally wrote her signature song when her hand slipped on a piano. That same song went on to make history as the first song title with profanity to become a massive hit on the charts. We’ll also cover Sir Mix A Lot, whose music video was banned from MTV for celebrating full-figured women. So he stalked an MTV network executive at a restaurant, and railed on him until he convinced him to air the video. And then there’s Shakespears Sister that should have been a sisterhood after they scored a big time hit, but their creative partnership came to an embarrassing end when one of the member had her publicist fire the other on national television. And finally, we have Jon Secada, who sang backup for a legend for years until he stepped into the spotlight and amazingly outsold his iconic mentor. 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.
- 1 weeks ago38 min
Huey Lewis on His Greatest Hits, Hearing Loss, and Being Snubbed by the Rock Hall of Fame
Coming up next… So about a month ago, I did an interview LIVE at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland at the RAB Fall meetings in front of owners of Radio stations and some voting members of the Rock Hall and employees RAB stands for Radio Advertising Bureau, and I was there representing my syndicated radio show Classic Rock U when is growing steadily. It think were somewhere between 35 and 40 station including WNCX FM in Cleveland. I was given the opportunity to interview someone of my choice, and I chose my good buddy Huey Lewis From 1984 to 1988 nobody was bigger. he had so many classic hits like The Heart of Rock and Roll, Heart and Soul, Jacobs Ladder, I Want a New Drug, Stuck With You, The power of Love, Hip to Be Square and a dozen more. Huey Tells the story of all of them here in some of the best stories you’ll hear on this channel. Now, anyone who has watched this show knows that I’ve had some pretty big disagreements with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame about some glaring omissions over the years, including Boston, INXS, Styx, and Huey Lewis, among others. Well, I got a chance to share my opinion on stage at this event in front of the Rock Hall. I was polite, but I pointed out that Huey is part of a short list of artists who’ve had back-to-back multi-platinum albums with at least 4 top-ten hits, and every one of these artists is in the Rock Hall with the exception of Mr Lewis. It’s time to change that. So hopefully this put a bug in their ear. Anyway, this interview was filmed by the Rock Hall, and it’s a fun walkthrough of Huey’s amazing career, including where he is now, having to walk away from music because of his diagnosis of Ménière's disease, which has taken his hearing, and sadly he can’t even hear music anymore. But Huey is a fighter, and it was so great to not only interview him, but I had a chance to walk through the Rock Hall with him… He had never been there. We took some pics and even got a chance to walk on a replica Saturday Night Live Stage because the Hall of Fame was celebrating 50 years of SNL Music. And I got to introduce him as the musical guest…. We also checked out a bunch of other rock memorabilia. It was a great time. So here’s the interview… Hopefully the Rock Hall listens to reason and inducts Huey... It’s about time.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- 1 weeks ago34 min
1974’s Greatest Hits Countdown: Ray Stevens, John Denver, and the Wildest Stories Behind the Songs
Today we are visiting one of the most gloriously weird and wondrous years in music history — the charts were packed with streakers, gangsters, and some passive-aggressive jealousy. We celebrate this crazy year with 10 songs that sound exactly like the moment they came out in the 70s and when you hear them you’ll be transported to the exact moment they ruled radio and the stories are even better. We’ll tell the story of how a folk icon sat alone at his desk one evening, unable to shake the thought of his girlfriend cheating on him with another man. He wrote what sounded like a mellow tune but if you listen closer, it is the most dangerous song of his career and in the end he got a #1 hit and she went to prison. Then there’s the comedian songwriter who read a magazine blurb about the national craze of streaking during his flight. He rushed home and wrote the most iconic streaking song in history. And then there’s the songwriter who took his song to the Beach Boys for help, but watched the sessions dissolve into chaos after Brian Wilson kept sneaking in at night trying remix his master tape. He gave up and recorded it himself, then disappeared to the South Pacific for two months while it climbed to #1. 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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About Professor of Rock
The ultimate rock music history podcast for fans of the greatest era of music. If you’ve ever wondered about the true stories behind your favorite songs, or wanted to hear directly from the legends who made them, Professor of Rock is your new go-to podcast. Hosted by music historian and superfan Adam Reader, this show brings the golden era of music back to life with exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes stories, and deep dives into the songs that shaped our lives. This podcast uncovers how timeless tracks were made, the creative breakthroughs, the near-breakups, and the powerful moments that defined music history. Each episode is a masterclass in rock culture and nostalgia—whether it's a chart-topping ‘80s anthem, a one-hit wonder with a wild backstory, or a candid conversation with the legends themselves. Hear the Stories. Relive the Music.
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