In the music business, there’s a thin line between iconic and ironic. Some artists spend decades building a legacy, only to watch the internet reduce it to a dumpster fire. While others were the first to strike the match. Coming up, we're counting down the musicians and their songs who became everybody's favorite joke — whether they meant to or not. It’s our latest edition of Punchlines, and this episode has a few musicians who weren’t afraid to throw the first punch… including the genre-bending rocker Kid Rock, who was at the center of a Waffle House beat-down. The incident ended with him being arrested after he tried to flee the scene in his tour bus and flashed a “Jr. Police Badge” when the cop pulled him over. There’s also the female pop star Paula Abdul who conquered the charts, survived tabloid chaos, and racked up 6 consecutive #1s with a little help from a cheesy animated cat. Plus, a famous Radio Personality who tried to make a mockery of the famous comedy band Steel Panther, but this band of jokesters turned the tables on him and made him the punchline. These stories and more are stealing the headlines next on POR. Let’s get into it.

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All eyes were on this legendary band after they released their megalithic fourth album Led Zeppelin IV. Championed by many as the greatest rock record ever written… Everyone was clamoring for a sequel. But they wouldn’t get it. Instead, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham took a sharp left turn into unexplored territory… kicking out a bold collection of songs that tapped into a diverse selection of genres: House of the Holy. The rock press eviscerated them for it. But time would prove that they knew what they were doing. An essential entry into the compendium of rock, House of the Holy also boasts today’s featured song, No Quarter. And I’m telling you, we’re zeroing in on a haunting masterpiece. Written by the band’s most underrated member. This foreboding track is a work of sheer genius and will engulf your soul. It was also part of a cut-throat moment when two of the members reunited, leaving him out while naming their project after his song! Find out next on Professor of Rock.

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Coming up… It’s nostalgia overload in a trip back to a perfect year in music. Including the provocative hit Whip It by Devo that sparked controversy so intense, actress Lily Tomlin refused to host a major late-night show unless the band was CUT. Plus, legendary guitarist Neal Schon was told his guitar solo for Who's Cryin' Now was too complex… he was told to simplify it. So he played the dumbest lead he could think of... it made the song a classic. Then there’s the famous TV theme song Beleive It or Not from a beloved comedy-drama whose lead character’s name was changed to dodge a link to the infamous man who tried to take out our leader.… Plus the #1 hit Rapture by Blondie that has gotten away with the mother of all profanities for 45 years and the rock icon Pat Benatar who erased her biggest hit from existence over one lyric line. And a Dan Fogelberg's deeply moving tribute to his father written just before he passed away. …

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Today we’ve got 10 tracks that were going for the gold but came up just short… bringing home the bronze instead. That’s right, it’s another edition of our #3 Hits Countdown, but this time we are counting down the greatest #3s of the 1970s songs that peaked at just two spots from the top on the Hot 100. On this episode you’ll hear the story of Navy veteran Bill Withers, who spent years installing toilet facilities inside commercial airplanes for $3.50 an hour. And when he scored a record deal he refused to quit his day job. It wasn’t until his debut single Ain't No Sunshine sold a million copies, and his label gave him a gold-plated toilet seat, that he changed his mind. Then there’s Fleetwood Mac's John McVie, who spent nearly 4 decades performing the song Don't Stop live — night after night — without ever realizing his ex-wife had written it about their divorce. And finally… The tale of a hotshot rookie band Foreigner who got a slot at a highly coveted rock festival, but they ran out of songs. 50K fans were screaming for an encore, so they took a brand new idea they’d been tinkering with that was totally unfinished…They weren’t even sure it was a song yet, but they ad-libbed it, and the crowd went insane, so they knew what their next single was gonna be… Let’s do it.

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Coming up next… a song that was so offensive, the Doors were fired on the spot for performing it. Here’s what happened: Jim Morrison, was playing one of The Doors's new songs "The End" as the house band for one of California’s most happening clubs... when Jim suddenly went off on a creative tangent that hearkened back to a story from Greek mythology. But the audience had no idea what was going on… Jim Morrison took a song that was already about death, birth, freedom, madness and a bunch of other words I can’t say on here plus, whatever else you can think of and put some relish on it. He screamed out a profanity-laced desire that would shock every generation thereafter who would hear the story or the song. and that’s not all. There are some insane stories that go with this epic 12-minute song… including how Morrison was fired for performing it and how he got buck-naked and hosed down a recording studio with a fire extinguisher. And there’s plenty more where that came from… It’s all coming up NEXT on the Professor of Rock. 

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The 80s gave us some of the most irresistible, inescapable songs ever put to tape. And today we're going all in on the neon decade, counting down my picks for the Top 8 catchiest 80s songs. These are the songs that you’re grateful when they get stuck in your head. On this episode, we have the story of Jonathan Cain, the broke and broken musician who lost his record deal, his girlfriend, and nearly his dog when it was hit by a speeding car. Desperate and ready to pack it in, he called home to his father to ask if he should give up on his music dreams. But his father’s 3 word response gave him the courage to keep going and became the title for the biggest rock song in history: Don't Stop Believin'. Plus, one of the most beloved music videos of all time almost never happened… Take On Me by a-ha. Two earlier versions of the song had already flopped, and almost no one on earth had heard them. But it turns out the third time is the charm… because the next release gave us one of the defining songs of the 80s and one of the greatest videos, but then decades later the band’s own video got blocked from YOUTUBE in the US by their old label. Plus, a song title that Tears For Fears stole from The Clash, and then when it became a hit, that singer from the ripped-off band only asked for 5 bucks for it. The stories are next on POR.

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Let's run it back!

Coming up, an interview with one of the 80s great hitmakers. The most successful duo of the rock era, Daryl Hall and John Oates Everything they touched turned to Gold and Platinum. Here, John Oates tells the story of a number-one hit from the mid-80s that came at the crossroads of Analog and digital… Out of Touch, it was their final #1 hit after ruling the neon decade with 11 hits, and this one was one of their biggest and they almost gave it away. To put it all in perspective this song was actually a huge accident. Also on this same 1984 record, they had another hit where they spelled the chorus and if you were anything like me you were a little thrown by this… the story is next on Professor of Rock.

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Coming up… We took a little break from this show but due to popular demand, we’re back. We take the time machine back to the 70s in a year full of classics, where Neil Young, one of rock's most cantankerous icons, had serious back issues but altered his style to create his lone #1 single, Heart of Gold. Instead of celebrating the song’s success, Neil decided to defy commercialism and purposefully write music that wouldn’t chart. Then America was accused of intentionally imitating this same notorious curmudgeon’s song by critics and the artist alike. It got worse when their song, A Horse with No Name, replaced said song at #1. Then there’s Harry Nilsson, the former bank worker who argued with his producer about transforming Without You into one of the first power ballads. He tried to sabotage the song at every end but it still hit #1; Without You would end up being a curse when he lost his voice after singing it so many times. Plus, a story of Gilbert O’Sullivan, a 21-year-old kid who wrote one of the most introspective masterpieces ever that no one thought was a hit, after it became one of the best-selling singles of all time.

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To me the definition of great hit song is one that is so catchy and undeniable that whenever it comes on you feel like your 20 feet tall and invincible. It’s a song that you are grateful when it get stuck in your head because it never gets old. Today we’re gonna celebrate the 7 catchiest songs of the 70s that are sonic masterworks… including the tale of a struggling songwriter who was surviving on food stamps. But when her phone rang out of nowhere and Earth, Wind and Fire's Maurice White asked her to co-write his next album… she was saved from the brink. And the hit song September they wrote together is a guaranteed bad mood killer. Then there’s The Hollies, who released their biggest US hit after their frontman had already quit. Sitting at home, he had to watch their song climb the charts while another singer performed his parts on tour. Would he get back with the band? And finally… right in the middle of tracking the all-time feel-good classic Come and Get Your Love, the studio door swung open, and the drummer’s wife walked in and served divorce papers while he was behind the kit. But he didn’t slow down or even miss a beat. Find out what happened next on Professor of Rock. Let’s get started.

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The music industry has never had a shortage of shady handshake deals. What many have learned is to have a lawyer look over it and get it in writing. So many musicians were pushed out, had their royalties stolen, & screwed over every which way but loose... Today we have some of the biggest backstabbing stories in rock history. Including Supertramp co-founder Roger Hodgson, who walked away from his band with a gentleman's agreement. He had written a lot of hits, and his co-singer promised not to play his hit songs in exchange for the band name.… But then, when ticket sales plummeted, he reneged on the deal and toured under the name, played the hits, and then wouldn’t let the fans see a final reunion. Then there’s the Iron Maiden heavy guitarist who was fired from the band after his manager caught him listening to the Eagles on their tour bus. Plus the tragic story of Badfinger, a band of gifted songwriters who trusted the wrong guy. Too little too late they discovered their business manager had stolen all their money and bankrupted the band, and the damage was enough to end their lives… Victims of the biggest fraud in history. Let’s get into it.

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