Professor of Rock

Behind the platinum records and the sold-out arenas, the music world hides a shadowy world of surveillance, syndicate deals, and criminal acts that most fans don’t know about. Today we're pulling back the curtain on some dark true crime stories on our latest edition of Rock and Roll True Crime. Including Mariah Carey, one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, who was imprisoned inside a $22 million fortress rigged with hidden cameras, armed guards, and recording devices held by 1 of the most powerful men in the business. He would punish her more by sabotaging her career. Then there’s the group of obsessive Lynyrd Skynyrd fans who broke into a cemetery under cover of darkness, smashed open a marble mausoleum, and tried to pry open a rock star’s casket to settle an urban legend about a t-shirt. Plus the Allman Brothers Band, the Southern rock icons who got so tangled up with a ruthless criminal syndicate their lead singer had to take the witness stand to testify against their road manager. It tore the band apart. And finally, Dave Navarro, the rock star who came face to face with his mother's killer after a decade of trying to capture him. It’s all coming up next. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fame is a fickle beast. One minute you're on top of the world, and the next you're the butt of the joke. It’s a fine line between icon and punchline. That said, it’s time for another Punchline countdown, and this time we’ve got some scorchers. Including four men from Color Me Badd in oversized suits who many felt looked like generic brand knock-offs of pre-existing pop icons… They’d top the charts with some seriously smooth pop hits… but within a couple of years no one could take them seriously. Then there’s David Hasselhoff, the leather-clad heartthrob who could do it all… He rocked out on the hood of the 80s most famous talking car. Then suspended in a bucket crane, he performed high above the Berlin Wall. He even rode a flying motorcycle. Plus there's Richard Marx, the singer who wasn’t afraid to punch back if you talked smack about him. He routinely took it to Twitter trolls. And even hunted down a small-time blogger who made a negative comment about him in a blog post. You won’t believe what happened!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Man, we’ve really got the good, the bad, and the ugly on today’s episode. Today we're queuing up another rock sibling rivalry countdown…last time we had Donnie Vs Marie and Eddie Van Halen vs Alex, but this time we’re going even harder with The Kinks and Heart, plus 4 other bands that had explosive family dynamics. Including the all-time war of words over the 60s sound that changed rock forever… Decades later, these legendary brothers are still bickering over who should get credit for inventing it. But even with their intense fighting, they’ve also had each other’s backs, like when they were banned from touring in America for 10 years and when a contemporary artist called one of the biggest rock hits Gross and Offensive . You gotta hear their reaction; it’s hilarious… There's also the Scottish siblings whose creative sessions got so intense growing up, their own mother had to hide the kitchen knives to keep them from stabbing each other. Plus we’ve got stories of sour siblings quitting mid-concert, a band takeover by a devious cousin, and two rock goddess sisters who always got along… except for this one time. Let’s get started.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're bringing back this absolute CLASSIC! Up next an exclusive interview with 70s Legend Peter Frampton the singer write guitarist who had failed as a solo artists for years. He procrastinated and only had a few days to write an album that's songs would eventually become part of Frampton Comes Alive which for many years was the biggest selling album ever until the 80s. At the time He felt his songs were good but for some reason they just weren’t going anywhere. He partied and frittered away his time to record and was left with only a few days to create an entire album. He did and it would pay off big time. Up next, the story of Show Me The Way and he talks about his time working with George Harrison’s. Peter also tells us the story of how he learned to use a very cool effect on his guitar to take one of these songs to classic rock legend and how he went from zero to hero virtually overnight next on Professor of Rock.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up… an interview with hard rock singer Mark Slaughter on his band, Slaughter's biggest hit: Fly to the Angels. It’s one of the most gut-wrenching songs of its time that came from very tragic circumstances. Mark had come off tour and called up his friend to get his old girlfriend’s number. He was looking forward to seeing here after being out on the road. His friend called the next day, but instead of giving him her this girl's number, he conveyed the sad news that she had just passed away. Fly to the Angels came to Mark when he attended her funeral. Up next, it's a powerful story from Mark Slaughter on a song that became a classic on Professor of Rock.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today I have a new show for ya all. Ya know, sometimes the music industry can seem more like a blood sport than an art form. For every legendary band forged in brotherhood, there's a back-alley betrayal that left someone burning in the wreckage. On today’s episode, we’re counting down the stories they don't put in the liner notes… tales of betrayal and backstabbing. We’re calling this one double-cross!, and we’re featuring one of rock's most iconic guitarists, Dave Mustaine, who couldn’t hold his liquor. So as he lay passed out drunk, his Metallica bandmates packed his bags and bought him a one-way bus ticket out of the band. By the time he sobered up, he’d been replaced. Plus, The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, who made his bandmates sit and watch him in the studio as he re-recorded all of their parts for their sophomore album. Also, one of rock's greatest icons, David Bowie, fired his band mid-concert, but made them play the rest of the show before sending them on their way. And finally, the female singer Martha Wash, who laid down a perfect vocal on a song, but later the song became a hit, and when she saw the music video, a fashion model was lip-syncing her voice and got all the credit for it! Let’s get into it.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Let's run it back! It was Pearl Jam against the world when they were working on their follow up album to Ten that sold more copies that even Nirvana Nevermind in the early 90s. But as Eddie Vedder and co prepared for VS. their sophomore offering, they were tired of fame. They had planned on ten doing so well and they refused to do promotion of the album in terms of music videos etc… The album still hit #1. The signature song from the record called Daughter would actually start out with a different name and lyrics but Eddie Vedder really sunk his teeth into its message about child abuse and learning disabilities.. which had never been covered in a massive single before. Up next the story fo a 90s masterpiece.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You gotta see this! Back by popular demand, it’s time for another sabotage countdown. In the past, we’ve told stories of bands that undercut rivals on stage, acts that have tried to tank their most popular song, and even bands who have accidentally sabotaged their careers. We’ve got all that and more this time around. Including the story of singer Shirley Manson who cussed a fan out in the middle of a concert over bouncing a beachball… at the next show, 100s of fans came to the jilted fan’s rescue. Find out what happened. Plus, the famous songwriter who wrote a hit song for Kelly Clarkson… problem is he wrote the exact same song with different lyrics for Beyonce too. Both came out at the same time, so this Kelly Clarkson did everything she could to sabotage her own song, but it was still a hit. And then there was Blind Melon's frontman who stripped off all his clothes onstage and took a wiz on concertgoers. Not exactly the best way to win over a crowd.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You know, a great TV theme song is more than just an earworm. The best of the best rewire your brain so that, decades later, hearing it, you’re teleported straight back to the year you first heard it. We’ve had a lot of fun with this TV theme song series, covering tracks from all across the rock era. Today, we’re at it again, counting down the Top 10 picks for the best modern themes… We’ve got the Duffer brothers who stole an indie song off Bandcamp to use as the music for their series Stranger Things that they pitched to the biggest streamer in Hollywood… It not only got their show greenlit, but it became the biggest show of its time. But what happened to the band that wrote the song? Find out. Plus, the band Alabama 3, who sold their song for 500 bucks to The Sopranos, a TV show that became one of HBO’s biggest ever. They regretted it when the Theme song made Millions. And finally, a singer forgot that he had a meeting with a TV producer about writing the Big Bang Theory theme song. He only had 15 mins before the meeting was going to start, so he wrote a song in 5 minutes and recorded it in less time than that. It became so big it made more money than the #1 band's entire catalog combined! Let’s do it.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up, the stories of 11 songs that defined the sound of another great year in music. Maybe the greatest year in music history. 1983. So many classics that will take you back to the good old days, including the massive hit by a band that nobody could pronounce. Plus 6 former criminals who formed the band Madness and had one of the most famous one-hit wonders ever, Our House, yet in the UK they had 30 huge hits. Plus, the controversial music video for a bizarre remake of Puttin On the Ritz from the Great American Songbook that is now banned for its use of blackface, plus the song that was rejected by record execs for not having any hooks…the bewildered songwriter screamed back at them, the whole song is the hook; he was right, and the song hit #1…So many great songs today… Let’s get into it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we’re firing up the hot take machine and taking on the worst opinions from those who I’ve never really seen eye to eye with … “ the so-called music Critic.” On this episode, we’re going to break down the most insufferable takes from institutional gatekeepers, and all around pretentious, smug, and out-of-touch pundits… whom sometimes I wonder if they really even enjoy music. I’ve got a few things to say in response to this critical garbage. Stay tuned for the story of Led Zeppelin, a band that dominated the 70s, but had critics from one particular magazine trying to undercut them every step of the way. Plus, you won’t believe it. There is a prominent British music personality who has dismissed an entire decade of music for being too jingly jangly and ripped The Beatles, a band that changed the entire face of music overnight. Also, there is Pearl Jam, the ultimate anti-corporate rockers, who some reviewers accused of manufacturing a derivative record just to pick the pockets of teenagers. And Eric Clapton, the guitarist who went from being ranked the 2nd greatest guitarist ever to the 35th best, just because his views weren’t PC enough for the magazine making the list. You’re not gonna believe some of this crap. Let’s get into it.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Let's run it back! It’s a song with a storied history and a bittersweet legacy. But you’d never know just listening to it. That’s because this is one of those happy-go-lucky pop tunes we were all singing along with back in the 80s. However, in the studio and behind the scenes… it was a different story. Walk Like An Egyptian by the Bangles. This song was actually the catalyst for this band’s breakup. It all fell apart when their producer forced each member to audition to sing on the song… their own song! With four musicians and just three verses… I’m sure you can do the math. Someone was getting the shaft. And then there was the music video, which has this iconic moment, that all of us remember. Susanna Hoffs and the iconic eye roll that made every boy a man... A moment that turned one of the singers into America’s sweetheart and left the others out in the cold. With the press and fans calling her the band’s lead singer, things got ugly fast. Stick around to find out if there is any way this divisive track could have a happy ending. The story’s coming up… NEXT on the Professor of Rock.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up, we're taking an in-depth look at one of rock's most entertaining topics… The “crazy ex” song… as in crazy ex-girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, wives, whatever….we’ve all been there… or at least know someone who has. If you’ve ever had someone take a baseball bat to a windshield or go completely scorched earth on you for reasons you’re still trying to understand, this countdown is for you. We’ve got the story of Axl Rose, who showed up at his girlfriend’s door at 4 AM, threatening to take his own life right there if she didn’t marry him. What a proposal! Then there’s Justin Timberlake, who made a music video about him breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home and doing some pretty messed-up stuff. An MTV host called him an "American Psycho,” you know, like the movie. And he pretty much fessed up to it. Also, there’s the popstar Lisa Lopes, who burned down her boyfriend’s million-dollar mansion because he didn’t shoes… For real? You can’t even make this stuff up. Let’s get started.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.