Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles

Latest Episodes:

Five Years Late, Six Times Platinum: The Wild Ride of AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

In 1976, an exhausted AC/DC wrote "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" between tour stops, built around a line Angus Young lifted from a cartoon villain's business card. What followed was stranger than the song itself: an Illinois couple harassed for years because their real phone number matched the lyrics, a U.S. label that shelved the album for nearly five years and almost dropped the band, and a chart-topping American release that landed over a year after Bon Scott's death — competing directly with AC/DC's own new record at the time. In this episode of the Behind The Song podcast, Janda traces Bon Scott's wild backstory, the humor and heartbreak in his lyrics, and how this scrappy, nearly-buried album became a platinum classic on two different timelines.

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Us and Them: The Band Divorce Behind Pink Floyd's The Wall Aug 12, 2026

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It started with literal spit! Roger Waters, spitting on a fan mid-concert in 1977. That moment was the inspiration behind one of rock's most ambitious concept albums, Pink Floyd’s The Wall. In this episode of the Behind The Song podcast, Janda dives into the chaotic making of the album, the four-city stage show too expensive to take anywhere else, and the courtroom battle over who actually got to be Pink Floyd — including the pettiest lawsuit workaround in rock history, involving an inflatable pig!

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Grateful Dead fans and the "Days Between" Aug 05, 2026

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Every year from August 1st to August 9th, Deadheads mark the “Days Between" — the span between Jerry Garcia's birth and death. In this bonus episode of the Behind The Song podcast, Janda digs into how a deep-cut song title that was only played 41 times by the band became the name of what has evolved into a high holy week for an entire community of Grateful Dead fans.

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Don Henley: The Boys Of Summer and the Eagles’ Long Goodbye Jul 29, 2026

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Don Henley's “The Boys Of Summer” is a song with lyrical roots that trace back to the poet Dylan Thomas, but it got its musical start from a demo Mike Campbell played for Tom Petty -- who passed on it! In an updated episode of the Behind The Song podcast, Janda takes a look at how “The Boys OF Summer” fits into the Eagles' story as the band winds down its farewell tour. With Henley hinting this could be the Eagles' final year, this song about looking back has never felt more timely.

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Rush Fifty Something: A Night To Remember in Chicago Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

Janda recaps night one of Rush's Fifty Something tour in Chicago on July 16, 2026— a show few fans thought they'd ever see after Neil Peart's passing in 2020. The episode covers drummer Anika Nilles winning over skeptics with a show-stopping "Tom Sawyer," the emotional Peart tributes, a full 2112 suite, a surprise nod to founding drummer John Rutsey, and the joy of watching Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson carry the band's legacy forward.

Part concert review, part love letter to five decades of Rush fandom — a reminder of why live music still hits like magic.

Spoiler alert: full setlist and show details discussed.

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Unpacking The Rolling Stones’ Foreign Tongues Jul 15, 2026

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Sixty-plus years in, the Rolling Stones return with Foreign Tongues — fourteen tracks featuring Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood, and a surprise turn from The Cure's Robert Smith, plus previously unheard drumming from the late Charlie Watts. Janda goes track by track through the record, digging into its riffs, ballads, and covers, and makes the case for why it's the Stones' best album in years.

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Tadpole In A Jar: Unpacking Led Zeppelin's "Dancing Days" Jul 08, 2026

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In 1972, Led Zeppelin traded the studio for Mick Jagger’s driveway and the Rolling Stones' recording truck, after a detoured trip to Bombay reshaped their sound. Join Janda on the new episode of Behind The Song as she dives into the making of "Dancing Days," from its Eastern-tinged riff to the lyric that's baffled fans for 50 years: the lion standing alone with a tadpole in a jar. Plus: the critics who hated the Houses Of The Holy album, the tour that broke box office records anyway, and the unlikely afterlife this song had in 90’s.

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Remembering Clive Davis: The Hitmaker Who Rocked Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of the Behind The Song podcast, Janda remembers the legendary Clive Davis, the music icon who almost single-handedly dragged the music industry into the rock revolution. He was a lawyer with no musical training whatsoever but with truly magic ears when it came to signing the cream of rock’s crop: from Janis Joplin to Aerosmith, The Grateful Dead to Springsteen, Santana to Billy Joel. Hear the story of how his legacy unfolded in this episode!

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Three Classic Albums That Radiate Summer Heat Jun 24, 2026

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Roll the windows down and crank the volume up! In the new bonus episode of Behind The Song Janda tracks the arc of a summer day through three classic albums that vibe with the season in very different ways. From Van Halen to the Eagles to Chicago, these albums rock your glorious summer days and nights.

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Baby I Love Your Way: Peter Frampton, But Make It Live! Jun 17, 2026

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How did Peter Frampton go from an industry underdog to an absolute stadium-packing global phenomenon? In the new episode of Behind The Song, Janda tracks the incredible "grind-it-out" story behind the 1976 double-album smash, Frampton Comes Alive! Did you know there was a real-life muse behind “Baby I Love Your Way,” one of the hit songs he wrote in a single day while sitting on a beach in the Bahamas? Listen to the story in this episode!

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