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 a Radio Ban Kept Howard Jones’ No One Is to Blame from Hitting #1 May 19, 2022

Show notes

In a year of blockbuster albums songs and artists the English synth domino Howard Jones Quietly released his sophomore album Dream into Action after several successive singles, he released his synth-pop masterwork…No One Is To Blame, which should’ve hit #1 but 1 radio station refused to play it. Up next this 80s icon tells why and how he wrote a standard due to an off-the-cuff comment. HoJo then had the inclination to re-record with a famous drummer in a long-shot bid to bring his music to the masses … NEXT on the Professor of Rock.

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Narada Michael Walden on Producing Whitney Houston & Prince’s Legendary Basketball Skills May 18, 2022

Show notes

Coming up: 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 in with a powerhouse confidence he’d never seen and recorded the #1 80s smash How Will I Know in 1 take beginning a legendary career few have equaled.. then he retells a story of when another legend named Prince challenged him and others in a game of basketball and with 7 inch heels and a puffy shirt schooled every one on the court. It’s a can't miss on professor of rock.

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Rupert Holmes on the Story Behind Him – The 80s Hit About Infidelity May 13, 2022

Show notes

Rupert Holmes tells the story behind the top ten hit HIM from 1980 after hitting #1 at the end of 1979 and early 1980, with Escape the Pina Colada song .

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Wang Chung on Turning Down Michael Jackson to Record Dance Hall Days May 11, 2022

Show notes

Coming up. A combination of two interviews with the co leads of 80s synth band Wang Chung, Jack Hues and Nick Feldman who wrote several hits that defined the era. Here we find out that their 1984 hit Dance Hall Days was well desired. The biggest icon on the planet at that moment Michael Jackson wanted to record the song, but wanted to change the lyrics. This 80s group declined and instead of being on one of the biggest albums of all time in Thriller it became this band’s debut hit single… the story is coming up on professor of rock

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How Stevie Nicks’ Landslide Saved Her Career and Led to Fleetwood Mac May 09, 2022

Show notes

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were lovers who had been trying to make it in music for years. After some fiery arguments, years of failures and poverty, Stevie decided to quit music for good. One night she put all that pain into a song she called Landslide. Almost over night after writing that classic she and Lindsey met Fleetwood Mac and they were asked to join up. They recorded the white album with song of their own to add and the rest is history. How Landslide changed all of that.

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Breaking Down the Top 10 Songs from This Week in 1970 May 07, 2022

Show notes

Coming up, we’re going to go behind the Top 10 songs of this VERY same week from the year 1970. 52 years ago. This top 10 has one of the greatest most revered tracks gracing its ranks. Will The Beatles be crowned #1? Not if the Jackson 5, The Guess Who or solo John Lennon have anything to say about it. Plus, we have some surprise underdogs and one of the most successful one hit wonders of all time looking to make their mark. Find out how it all shakes down, next on our latest edition of the Hit Song Redux!

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Cy Curnin of The Fixx on the Chilling Relevance of Stand or Fall and Red Skies May 04, 2022

Show notes

Coming up a british new wave paragon of the 80s Cy Curnin of the Fixx takes us behind his band’s haunting first album. Released in 1982, the 2 biggest singles form the record Stand or Fall and Red Skies not only became their first charting hits in America, they captured the atmosphere of the cold war 80s in eerie fashion. The song still resonate today and have the ability of hypnotizing you as a listener. Find out what inspired the music and why they are more relevant today then they were back then.

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The Story Behind Donnie Iris’ Ah! Leah! – An 80s Classic That Endures May 03, 2022

Show notes

This nerdy 80s rocker gave me some much needed motivation as I stood at the highest diving platform at the massive community pool trying to get the nerve to the impossible. With a beautiful lifeguard looking on and the bullies razzing me, it was dive or die. The soundtrack of this conquering day in my life was Ah Leah by Donnie Iris. the 80s classic that should’ve been a #1 hit. Up next I tell the story of both sides of the equation… the diving board and the charts...

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How Nena’s 99 Luftballons Became an Unlikely Cold War Anthem May 02, 2022

Show notes

To many in the US, today’s international artist is simply known as the “balloon chick.” That’s in no small part thanks to her #2 US hit about lighter-than-air party favors. And though this song is only a small part of Nena's career, she doesn’t mind the label One Hit Wonder. Because believe it or not, 99 Luftballoons is a masterful anthem speaking out against Cold War fear and paranoia. It’s the ultimate pop contradiction song, a light-hearted ditty with a heavyweight message.and Nena took it all the way to the top of the charts in 1984 and decades later it still resonates

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How George Harrison Inspired Led Zeppelin to Write The Rain Song Apr 30, 2022

Show notes

Known to many as hard and heavy rockers, Led Zeppelin has written some of the greatest pulse-pounding classics of the past half-century. But at one point they were actually called out by George Harrison for rocking too much. Challenged to bring it down a few notches, guitar virtuoso Jimmy Page composed a sonic soundscape so lush and surreal that one of rock’s premiere producers said it defied classification.WHEN Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bohnam wrote the 70s album track the rain song, they put the greatest poets on notice.

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