Music

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. Only on Professor of Rock.

Latest Episodes:

FROM THE VAULT: How a Session Guitarist Transformed Steely Dan’s "Reelin’ in the Years" into a 70s Classic Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

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 heart out so he wrote a “get even” song that was missing one little thing... it lacked vibrancy and passion. So, the duo followed a deep gut feeling that they needed to bring in a musician that would provide the spark they desperately needed. Up next the story of a hired gun who stepped into a recording studio in Santa Monica to pull a song out of the doldrums and turn it into one of the greatest guitar tracks of all time, one that Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin called his favorite ever and one that became a 70s classic from their 1973 classic album Can’t Buy a Thrill NEXT on Professor of Rock.

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Top 10 Underrated Hits of 1986: Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Sting & More Sep 30, 2026

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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 song about an American symbol of liberty, but there is a bizarre connection with a book that is titled… The Satanic Bible. Plus Tarzan Boy, a song that was sung by a singer who was NOT the person singing in their heavily played music video... and fans are still confused today. Who really sang the hit? You’ll find out. Plus the broadcast from an illegal satellite dish that inspired a song called Russians that many argue Stopped Nuclear War with 1 question. Plus the bitter Van Halen feud between Sammy Hagar and Alex Van Halen about the legacy of the band. Sammy says Alex is erasing his legacy of 4 #1 albums and a dozen massive hits, while Alex recently called Sammy an idiot. We cover the song they recorded together that can’t be denied. We’re counting down the Top 10 In-Betweeners of ’86, songs that peaked between #11 & #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. But they're just as good as the song that hit #1.

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Top 8 Feel-Good Songs We Secretly Love—The Carpenters, Air Supply, The Osmonds & More Sep 28, 2026

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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 counting down my picks for the Top 8 feel-good songs that are deemed uncool… but that we secretly love and put on blast when no one is around. For this one, we’ve got the most squeaky-clean family pop group in music history, The Osmonds, who were so fed up with their wholesome image, they snuck off to a basement studio without telling their label and wrote one of the heaviest rock songs of the decade, and it actually influenced proto-metal! And Ozzy and Lemmy loved it. Then, there’s a soft rock duo, Air Supply, that was handed a song they didn't write for a Greatest Hits album that they didn't want to record. But it became a massive hit, and Brad Pitt loved it so much he handpicked it to sing in a big movie. Then there’s Karen Carpenter, who walked into her recording session without knowing the lyrics. Her bandmate scribbled the words on a napkin and handed it to her on the spot. Even though she had a hard time reading the handwritten lyrics, she sang it that one time, and that unrehearsed performance became one of the most heartbreaking vocals in pop history. Let’s get into it.

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The Weirdest and Wildest Songs of the ’50s — Wanda Jackson, “Purple People Eater” & More Sep 26, 2026

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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 Weirdest and Wickedest songs the 50s ever produced. First… the sweet, childlike duet Tonight You Belong to Me that was recorded as a family keepsake somehow became one of the most chilling songs on the internet thanks to a dark urban legend about girls forced to sing it by a lunatic. It racked up millions of views on social media… even though the real story behind the record is stranger than any ghost story.

Then… a female rock pioneer Wanda Jackson recorded a sensually charged song laced with references to nuclear devastation that American radio banned outright and many felt it was truly offensive to one particular country… only to watch it become one of the biggest hits ever in that exact country! And finally… the song Purple People Eater that its writer dismissed as the worst thing ever written was rescued from obscurity by a group of record label employees who couldn’t stop playing it in the lunchroom. Plus the story of Rock Around the Clock by BIll Haley and his Comets....Let’s go.

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Remembering Duncan Sheik: A Lost Interview About “Barely Breathing” and His Greatest Songs Sep 25, 2026

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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 was written about a manipulative girlfriend, and Duncan captured his pain perfectly. It’s really one of the more complex pop songs of its time, and Duncan truly had a gift as a songwriter. Coming up, a lost interview that I did with Duncan Sheik many years ago… it’s never been shown or seen. In fact, it was one of my first interviews ever, and I was told it had been accidentally deleted by the channel that my first show was on.

I got my start about 12 years ago on a local ABC affiliate, and their camera guys who normally captured local news stories would sometimes shoot my interviews. This happened at the last second. Somebody called me about 30 mins before the interview was filmed and asked, "Can you run over here and do an interview with Duncan Shiek?" So I raced over and did it. I found Duncan to be a great dude, passionate and articulate, and in this interview we talk about his best songs, including Barely Breathing, She Runs Away, Half Life, and the two musicals that he scored, including the Tony Award-winning Spring Awakening and American Psycho.

In fact, Duncan, who admitted he didn’t even like Broadway music before he started, became a master of the genre, composing for 12 musicals, including Because of Wynn Dixie, Alice by Heart, The Secret Life of Bees, and many more. Duncan passed away on September 17th from heart failure. He is survived by his wife, Nora, and daughter. Rest in peace. I’m really grateful I found this interview. Again, I was told it had been deleted, so when I heard the news, I reached out one more time to see if there was a possibility it was somehow moved or I had made a backup, and my editor spent over a day searching for it and found it. Here it is.

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The Greatest Hits of 1974 That Should’ve Been #1 — Elton John, Steely Dan, Chaka Khan & More Sep 22, 2026

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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 upset about the cadence a song was written in that he recorded it with an EXAGGERATED AMERICAN ACCENT, and it made the song a classic. Plus the song Longfellow Serenade that stole its idea from a 19th century poem to seduce an older woman, and it ended up becoming a classic.

Plus, the cocky college student from Steely Dan who hit on his professor’s pregnant wife and actually got her number, but instead of having an affair, he turned it into his biggest hit on the charts. And the Lynyrd Skynyrd rock icon who ominously predicted his demise, proclaiming that he wouldn’t make it to age 30. His prediction came true when he tragically passed away less than 3 months before his 30th birthday. Then there’s the mysterious man Tony Burrows, who recorded vocals for 5 different bands and strangely enough, each of those songs became a one hit wonder.

But we start with the bold teenager Chaka Khan who told the biggest music Icon of his time that the song he gave to her rookie band to record was Trash and he needed to give them something BETTER…

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Countdown: The Greatest Songs That Were Never Released as Singles — The Beatles, Nirvana & More Sep 21, 2026

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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 that’s become the most-streamed song in the Beatles catalog… despite being purposely passed over back in the day. It ended up bettering every massive hit the Beatles have ever released, and they had dozens of #1 hits…Then there’s Kurt Cobain, who wrote a harrowing tale about living homeless under a bridge to explain his song's haunting origins… but it turns out the story was totally fabricated and debunked by his bandmate after he passed. Plus the song that you won’t get through without collapsing in complete devastation. The most soul-crushing song in history. Plus the Smashing Pumpkins song that got its bizarre title from a Japanese translation blunder. It was deemed too long and too strange for radio, but has since become one of their most essential songs. And that’s where we’re starting the countdown. Let’s get into it.

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The Craziest Guinness World Records in Music History | Foo Fighters, Muse & More Sep 19, 2026

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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 decades Coming up, it’s a countdown that centers on Guinness World Records but for music. And for this episode we’re bringing you six larger than life stories. Including rock band who destroyed the most guitars on a single tour…It’s over 140 by the band Muse. and a band who played 8 concerts in 8 different cities throughout 3 different states in just 24 hours but we start out with the rock band that I mentioned previously who caused an actually earthquake with their insane rock show. can you guess the band? Let’s do it.

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FROM THE VAULT: The Grateful Dead’s 'Touch of Grey': The One Hit Wonder Who Played to 25 Million Fans Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

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 serious jeopardy. Jerry recovered, and the Grateful Dead made a miraculous comeback with their first album in 6 years In the Dark which led to their one and only hit song, Touch of Grey! Most are shocked when They realize this all time group only had one hit. They’ve played live to the most people in rock history over 25 million but only had 1 top 40 hit. Coming up... the making of the unlikely anthem by the psychedelic road warriors from Palo Alto, and the unheralded author Robert Hunter who was an indispensable part of the group, even though he never performed with them.

The story is NEXT.. on Professor of Rock.

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80s TV Theme Songs: Unsolved Mysteries, Moonlighting, Bosom Buddies & More Sep 16, 2026

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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 others.

That episode had some great stories, like how The A-Team ripped off Cream’s epic rock classic Sunshine of Your Love, but CREAM LOVED IT, and how the Cheers theme started off in a musical. But we’ve got a whole new line-up of classic 80s themes… including Unsolved Mysteries that scarred a generation of kids and had parents writing and calling, begging the show to change the song because it was so disturbing. Plus, there’s the famous TV actor Alan Thicke, who almost nobody knows was a secret TV THEME song master. When nobody was looking, he wrote 40 TV songs, including 3 of the biggest ever, and he even sang one. Plus the hit TV song for Moonlighting that a respected artist got talked into leaving off his new album because his producer thought it wasn’t on point with the other tracks…

He lost out on over a million in sales! But we kick off the episode with a TV show that would never get made today because of its so-called politically incorrect premise, it starred a rookie actor named Tom Hanks, who would become the biggest box office draw of the late 80s and 90s, and it used one of the biggest hits of the late 70s as its TV theme until the rights got too expensive, and so they commissioned a SHODDY CHEESEBALL COVER of it that many misunderstood as the real deal…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGqJqWwyvno

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