Professor of Rock
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. Only on Professor of Rock.
Episodes
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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...
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The Best Songs of 1964: Counting Down the Hits That Deserved #1 Over The Beatles
We’re rewriting history again today as we revisit a year when one band completely took over and overshadowed many classic songs that deserved better. Today we put those songs where they belong at #1. Including The Drifters Under the Boardwalk, a song that was recorded just a day after an iconic...
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10 Forgotten Hits of the ’80s: A Countdown Featuring Van Halen, Billy Joel, Saga, and John Mellencamp
I know you are gonna love this episode! Because i’m gonna give you some familiar songs that were hits that I guarantee you haven’t heard in ages. Radio and streaming playlists are filled with the same songs we hear over and over again. So I just spent about 6 hours going through every chart from...
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Jeopardy!, Family Feud & More: Countdown of the Top 10 Greatest Game Show Theme Songs
Every now and again I have an idea for a show, and as I put it together I’m blown away by the stories behind the songs and the fact that they’ve never been shared before. That’s this episode in a nutshell. Today, we’re counting down the Top 10 songs that soundtracked your favorite TV game shows....
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Top 10 ’80s Rock Songs That Deserved to Hit #1: Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, The B-52s & More
Thank you Zocdoc, for sponsoring today's video. Your health matters and taking care of yourself shouldn't be complicated. Go to https://zocdoc.com/professorofrock to get started. Coming up next, we rewrite history and put it right. 10 songs that deserved to be #1 and were better than the songs…
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FROM THE VAULT: How Paul McCartney Turned a Robbery in Nigeria into Band on the Run, His Greatest Solo Album
Ah, man - this is one of my favorites! Former Beatle Paul McCartney was trying to establish his band Wings when he flew to Nigeria to record Band on the Run. 2 key members quite right before and then when they arrived equipment in the studio was dismal and one day when Paul and Linda were walking...
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Rock’s Biggest Meltdowns Countdown: Ozzy Osbourne, Samantha Fox, Keith Moon, and More
Coming up, we’ve got rockstars going off the rails. And yeah, rock stars have always lived by their own rules — but some of them have been known to take things just a little too far from time to time… leaving a trail of wreckage in their wake. Today we’re counting down the most spectacularly...
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The Stories Behind Iconic Hits: Guns N’ Roses, Boyz II Men, The KLF, and Metallica
Well, we took a couple of months off from this show, but due to overwhelming feedback, we did another episode… We brought it back at least one more time… It’s outdated… Time in a Bottle show… the songs that take you right back to the moment you first heard them. They sound exactly like the moment...
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The Greatest Animated Movie Songs: Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, and More
Alright, in the past we’ve tried our hand at soundtrack hits, movie scores, television themes, and even cartoon theme songs. But on this episode of POR, we’re trying something new and diving into the world of animated movie songs… tracks that were sung by popular artists and rockstars from the...
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FROM THE VAULT: How The B-52s’ Rock Lobster Inspired John Lennon’s Return to Music
Back with the B-52s! Coming Up... a song that missed the top 40 in the early 80s but has since then Rock Lobster by the B-52s has become a modern day standard and a major influence after it was released. Cindy Wilson tells the story of how it helped John Lennon come out of retirement and how she...
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1977’s Greatest Rock Hits: The Stories Behind “Go Your Own Way,” “Walk This Way” & More
Coming up…a year in music that needs some tweaking. It was the best of times, but today we’ll make it even better as well as select the 10 songs that should’ve been #1, including the greatest opening 20 seconds of a song in the history of our planet. And I know I won’t get a single argument from...
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6 Bands That Should Have Been Bigger: The Stories Behind EMF, Tonic & Derek and the Dominos
Today we’re returning to a show that we haven’t done in a long time. It’s a variation on our Bottled Lightning series called One and Done… stories about bands who should have been so much bigger, but for them, lightning only struck once. And after one big album or a short time in the spotlight,...
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FROM THE VAULT: Narada Michael Walden on Producing Whitney Houston & Prince’s Legendary Basketball Skills
Let's run it back with this classic! Legendary producer Narada Michael Walden tells us two stories that will make you laugh with joy! One of the most successful producers ever tells us how he was in the middle of working with Aretha Franklin when a 19 year old rookie name Whitney Houston walked…
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Top 10 Worst Celebrity Music Projects: Corey Feldman, Hulk Hogan, Eddie Murphy & More
Okay, okay. I’ve been meaning to do this episode for years. And well, I just can’t put it off any longer. Today, I’m counting down my Top 10 picks for the dumbest and cheesiest celebrity music projects that no one asked for… Songs and albums spearheaded by actors and famous personalities who just...
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Top 10 Greatest Cover Songs of All Time: Joe Cocker, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley & More
A great cover song takes a track you thought you knew, turns it inside out, and makes you forget it ever belonged to anyone else. Today we're counting down the Top 10 greatest covers ever recorded and telling the jaw-dropping stories behind them… including one about Joe Cocker, who walked out…
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7 Songs That Saved Lives: The Incredible Stories of Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, and Soul Asylum
Go to https://buyraycon.com/professorofrockBC to get 30% off. Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring! We need this show right now. I have always believed that music is the universal language, it is the thread that weaves our entire civilization together. Songs serve as hallmarks of our history and as…
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The Greatest Hits of 1973 That Never Made #1: A Classic Rock Countdown
Coming up… It’s time to rewrite history and give the greatest songs of 1973 their real due. These Top 10 hits missed the #1 spot on the charts, but as you’ll see, they were all actually better than the songs that did hit #1. Let’s put it right. So many classics here. Including the song that a...
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Halloween Countdown: The Darkest True Crime Stories in Rock History
Watch at your own peril….this one is spooky and creepy…Rock has always flirted with the dark side — but some stories go too far beyond the music. Today we're pulling back the curtain on the most harrowing true crime stories the rock world has ever produced. It’s our latest countdown of Rock True...
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Pete Byrne’s Final Interview: How Naked Eyes Created Two ’80s New Wave Classics
It’s been a horrible year in terms of losing legends in music, and sadly we just lost another one. The compelling singer who gifted us with several 80s classics from our youth. Pete Byrne, the singer from the new wave band Naked Eyes. Pete passed away from a stroke brought on by a brief illness....
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FROM THE VAULT: How a Session Guitarist Transformed Steely Dan’s "Reelin’ in the Years" into a 70s Classic
Let's take it back! Two of most cerebral rockers and known perfectionists Donald Fagen and Walter Becker AKA Steely Dan, just knew they had a song for their debut album with Hit potential. It was called Reeling in the Years and was a bitter retort against Donald’s girlfriend who had ripped his...
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Top 10 Underrated Hits of 1986: Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Sting & More
Coming up… In 1986, these songs didn’t crack the Top 10; some may have thought they were also rans, but over time, they became bigger than songs that did, and some even bigger than the songs that made it to #1, including David Lee Roth, one of the most dynamic frontmen of the Rock Era, released a...
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Top 8 Feel-Good Songs We Secretly Love—The Carpenters, Air Supply, The Osmonds & More
I KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE THIS EPISODE. If you don’t, I’ll eat my Hat live on camera. So everyone has that “one” playlist. You know the one with all the cheesy songs you’re embarrassed to admit you love. The ones you sing to the top of your lungs when no one is looking. Well, today, we’re...
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The Weirdest and Wildest Songs of the ’50s — Wanda Jackson, “Purple People Eater” & More
The 1950s gave us the birth of rock and roll — and with it a collection of song stories so bizarre and completely unhinged that they sound made up. Behind the poodle skirts and the sock hops was a decade of scandals, accidents, and twists that will shock you. Today we're counting down the…
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Remembering Duncan Sheik: A Lost Interview About “Barely Breathing” and His Greatest Songs
Sadly, we lost a great artist recently. Duncan Sheik, the singer-songwriter who wrote one of the best songs of the late 90s and, statistically, the biggest one-hit wonder ever. Barely Breathing spent an all-time record 55 consecutive weeks on the Hot 100, and nobody has come close since. The song...
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The Greatest Hits of 1974 That Should’ve Been #1 — Elton John, Steely Dan, Chaka Khan & More
Coming up, a grand year in music where once again a bunch of legendary Top 10 hits that missed the #1 spot on the charts were actually better than the songs that did. Today we’re rewriting history by putting them where they belong… at #1. We’ll spotlight a classic from an Elton John who got so...
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Countdown: The Greatest Songs That Were Never Released as Singles — The Beatles, Nirvana & More
Some of the best songs ever recorded were never released as singles. But today, they have become bigger than a lot of these legendary bands’ biggest hits. Today we're counting down the most beloved album cuts that became the band’s signature tracks, and for starters, we have an acoustic track...
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The Craziest Guinness World Records in Music History | Foo Fighters, Muse & More
You won’t believe this epsidoes. A Rock concert that was so loud and unruly it caused an earthquake from the Foo Fighters? An unfinished 80s instrumental song that sold half a billion copies from an imaginary band who scammed half the world, and a an icon that had a hit song for 7 straight…
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FROM THE VAULT: The Grateful Dead’s 'Touch of Grey': The One Hit Wonder Who Played to 25 Million Fans
Let's take it back with this classic! The Grateful Dead may have the most passionate & loyal following of the Rock Era. The Dead were jamming their way to the highest echelons of live music when In 1986, this legendary band’s front man Jerry Garcia nearly died, and the future of the group was in...
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80s TV Theme Songs: Unsolved Mysteries, Moonlighting, Bosom Buddies & More
You’re gonna love today's episode. Today We’re taking a trip back to the 80s for more of the best that television has to offer. It’s our latest edition of 80s TV Theme Songs. On previous shows have covered primetime juggernauts like Cheers, Family Ties, Knight Rider, The A-Team, and a bunch of...
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Countdown: Rock Hits That Got Bigger With Age—Eddie Money, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steely Dan & More
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...
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The Catchiest Songs of the ’60s: The Monkees, ? and the Mysterians, Steam & More
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...
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FROM THE VAULT: The Story Behind Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love – A Rock Revolution and Controversy
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...
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1990’s 10 Greatest Hits That Never Reached #1: Depeche Mode, Tom Petty & More
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…
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The 15 Most Controversial Songs of the ’80s: Inside the PMRC’s Filthy Fifteen
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…
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5 Biggest Double-Crosses in Rock History: The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Queensrÿche & More
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...
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FROM THE VAULT: How Metallica’s Enter Sandman Took Over Radio and Redefined Heavy Metal
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...
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#1 in Our Hearts: The Greatest Songs of 1988 That Should’ve Been #1
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...
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Top 10 Songs of 1975 That Should Have Hit #1: Styx, ELO, Bad Company & More
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...
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Young MC, Patty Smyth & Gary Numan: 3 Wild Stories Behind Their Biggest ’80s Hits
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...
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Top 5 Rock Meets Sci-Fi Stories: KISS, Michael Jackson, The Who, Sting & More
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...
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The Story Behind AC/DC’s “Big Balls” and the Wild Genius of Bon Scott
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...
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A Classic Rock Masterclass with Rick Beato | Full Interview
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...
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The Greatest #3 Hits of Rock’s Golden Era
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...
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FROM THE VAULT: Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun”: The Song That Almost Got Censored
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...
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The Catchiest Songs of the ’80s: Quiet Riot, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Cheers & More
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...
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The Greatest TV Themes of the ’50s & ’60s | The Twilight Zone, Bonanza & More
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.…
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38 Special’s Don Barnes on the Stories Behind “Hold On Loosely,” “Caught Up in You” & Their Biggest Hits
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…
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The 7 Catchiest Songs of the ’70s: Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC/DC & More
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…
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#1 in Our Hearts: The Greatest Songs of 1979 That Should’ve Hit #1
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...
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FROM THE VAULT: Red Red Wine: How a DJ's Mistake Turned UB40's Song Into a Chart-Topping Hit
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...
About this show
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. Only on Professor of Rock.
Hosted by
Gamut Podcast Network
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