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:

How Johnny Cash Made Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” His Own—and Changed Trent Reznor’s Mind Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

Up next: he’s an American institution… Even people who hate Country Music the genre he’s most tied to Love him. Johnny Cash the man in black… he’s the kind of Legend that legends are measured by. By the end of his long career, Johnny Cash had won every award a musician could dream of and had wealth only a few have attained. But when he was staring at his own mortality… when he was knocking on death’s door, he asked a question….does any of it matter? One of his final songs, a cover Nine Inch Nails' Hurt asks that question... The cover of Trent Reznor’s song that first appeared on his rock album The Downward Spiral. When Johnny Cash covered Hurt for his the Man Comes Around album Trent Reznor Originally hated it. But after seeing the amazing music video he changed his mind… He actually said that from that point forward it was Johnny’s song. The story of the classic from Cash’s American Recordings is next...

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Interview with Thomas Dolby: Playing Live Aid With David Bowie and Writing for Michael Jackson Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

My favorite thing in the world is when I do an interview that Leaves me Speechless. Where it blows my mind like "Did that really just happen?" Well this is one those interviews, from an 80s new wave virtuoso named Thomas Dolby….A true renaissance man who was discovered by legendary producer Mutt Lange when he was busking on the street. He would go onto help revolutionize the future.. he was the secret sauce behind huge 80s records by everyone from Def Leppard to Foreigner. Today he tells us about getting the call to play keyboards with David Bowie at Live Aid and how they rehearsed an exact setlist and then Bowie changed the Opening song seconds before they walked on stage. He got play Heroes in front of 100s of millions of people. We also hear how Michael Jackson invited him to his house right after Thriller and asked him to write him a song This is a can’t miss next on professor of rock.

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Interview with John Oates: The Story Behind Hall & Oates’ “You Make My Dreams” and the Vanished Synth Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

Up next John Oates of rock duo Daryl Hall and John Oates or Hall and Oates tells the story of the feel-good 80s classic You Make My Dreams. the song came as a result of a happy accident… John Oates was jamming with a friend…He was playing the delta blues… His friend was playing western swing and they combined it and he started singing what would become the iconic chorus… later the end result didn't sound anything like the blues or western swing it pretty much sounded like the 80s. Honestly, if someone asked me to define the 80s with one song this one would be a candidate… also they quit making the instrument they recorded the iconic riff with so it took them years to find the exact synth to duplicate the song live when their’s was destroyed … the story is up next.

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The Story Behind Journey’s "Separate Ways" – Inspiration, Legacy & Revival Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain from one of America’s most popular rock bands Journey watched their bandmates guitarist Neal Schon and bassist Ross Valory go through caustic divorces. The palpable stress that affected the musicians became the inspiration for one of the band’s greatest hits. Separate Ways, Worlds Apart has become their signature rock song. It’s one of the toughest song for any singer to take on and Steve Perry knocks it out of the park. As perfect of a rock song as it is... It also has some baggage. It has one of the cheesiest music videos ever put to film. Even the band admits it. but this song just had major pop culture renaissance 40 years after its peak. on Stranger Things It’s all coming up NEXT including an interviews with band member Neal Schon on Professor of Rock.”

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The Story Behind John Mellencamp’s Fight for “Jack and Diane” Mar 04, 2023

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John Mellencamp was hellbent on making his record label eat their words… His label was focused on grooming him to be the next Neil Diamond, they said his album which included the 80s classic Jack and Diane and Hurts So Good was complete garbage. Back then John Mellencamp started out as Johnny Cougar, then it was John Cougar and then John Cougar Mellencamp, by the time he got his first #1 hit he had changed his name 3 times…but the 80s ditty Jack and Diane gave him what he’d always wanted…His real identity. But it was a fight to even get the label to release American Fool. That’s when he told them to shove it. He’d take it somewhere else. Well, they did release it and it made him the king of 80s heartland rock. the story of his only #1 hit Jack and Diane is NEXT on the Professor of Rock.

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How Huey Lewis’ “I Want a New Drug” Led to a Ghostbusters Lawsuit Mar 03, 2023

Show notes

THIS BAR band came out of nowhere in the eighties to take over radio… Huey Lewis and the News stole the spotlight... Especially in what may have been music's most competitive year…1984 where they snuck in for 1 week to take #1 with their album Sports when Prince, Van Halen Michael Jackson, and Duran Duran were battling it out up next this legendary artist tells the story of I Want a New Drug, a song he wrote in just minutes… he was driving and had the song..he quickly pulled over and ran into an office and screamed for a pen and paper and wrote it in about 90s seconds, then later it was part of a huge lawsuit when the film Ghostbusters asked him to write a song for their soundtrack and when he had to decline they allegedly asked another artist to write a song with a similar sound… The story is coming up next.

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Elton John’s 80s Comeback: The Hit That Revived His Career Mar 02, 2023

Show notes

Elton John and Bernie Taupin were one the most prolific songwriting teams of the Rock Era- So far they’ve collaborated on more than 300 songs. From 1973 through 1976 alone, the duo had a number-one song an average of every four weeks. But their addictions to alcohol & substance forced a dissolution of their partnership, and impeded their respective careers for 7 years… In fact, the 70s biggest superstar actually lost his passion at one point and began to flounder missing the top ten for 3 years and had 3 singles that didn’t even make the charts…but Elton and Bernie came back together and wrote an 80s classic that forged a massive comeback with I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues a love letter from Bernie to his then wife. but says he now regrets writing an iconic lyric from it. Find out which one next… on Professor of Rock.

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How a Drummer’s Mistake Created WAR’s Classic Hit “Low Rider” Mar 01, 2023

Show notes

One of the most famous openings in music history came from the drummer playing a mistake. Low Rider by WAR became a 70s classic due to this happy accident. He was accidentally playing on the upbeat and when he realized his mistake he was about to change course when all of a sudden everyone else started playing on top of his mistake and the singer stepped up to the mic and said a random phrase and a 70s classic was born. We get the story of this classic From a founding member of one of America’s greatest Funk bands. When this one comes on the radio, we all turn it up to 11 and jam out, best heard when cruising down the freeway. The cool, laid-back hit of 1975 next on Professor of Rock.

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Pink Floyd’s “High Hopes”: The Controversy Behind Their 90s Comeback Hit Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

Coming up. It was the most anticipated album of its time. Pink Floyd with David Gilmour at the helm hadn’t released a new album in over 6 years! An eternity in rock! It would be the 2nd record released by the band since they parted ways with Roger Waters. The Division Bell hit #1 in 21 countries and it was put out when the musical landscape had completely changed with grunge and hip hop as king… Roger Water Ripped the songs apart, criticizing the fact that David Gilmour’s wife Polly Samson had co-written the first single. Coming up a songwriter who helped with the mesmerizing first single High Hopes and also Take it Back with an interview with the co-writer. What would it be like to write a song with Pink Floyd? Well, we get that answer from an artist who co-wrote two songs with them along with the wisdom that David Gilmour passed on to him.

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How “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” Became the Most Played Song of the 20th Century Feb 25, 2023

Show notes

Many have called it the best record ever made. And the ultimate rock and pop record. It is the ultimate expression and illustration of a recording technique that hundreds of icons have tried to copy but never equaled. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling by the Righteous Brothers is the most played song in the history of the 20th century and it almost didn’t get played by radio. It was too long when Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield recorded it and Phil Spector produced it. It was almost 4 minutes long at a time when radio wouldn’t play anything over 3 minutes. Written by the legendary songwriting couple Barry Man and Cynthia Weil, the duo decided to fudge the numbers a little and wrote down 3:05 on the tape they sent to radio even though it was closer to 4 mins long. It got played and became a #1 smash. Up next in the mother of all song stories.. the last surviving member of the Righteous Brothers Bill Medley and hall of fame songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil tell the story of this 60s classic that was used in Top Gun!

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