COMING up next, we are taking the time machines back to the Summer of Love, the birth of psychedelia, and the year when music truly became art. With 11 of the greatest songs of that magical time, including a scruffy 16-year-old kid Alex Chilton, who won a high school talent show and got to record a short 2-minute song, The Letter… It ended up hitting #1 and outdoing the Beatles. Then there was the revolutionary song For What It's Worth that came from the rookie band Buffalo Springfield that took us decades to realize was a supergroup who spawned many legendary bands. Then there was RESPECT, a song that was written by Otis Redding from his perspective as a man wanting some appreciation from his woman, but then Aretha Franklin covered it, changing the song’s gender and making it an all time female anthem and then there was the #1 band The Beatles who had 2 prolific writers, Paul McCartney and John Lennon, who each wrote a masterpiece, Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever, and were in competition to see who would’s song would be the hit.. so they released them on the same single. It became the greatest double-sided hit ever. Legendary guests and stories next on the Top 11 Songs of 1967 on Professor of Rock.

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Coming up next, the fascinating story of the 80s mega-hit Never Gonna Give You Up that topped the charts in at least 25 countries. And it almost never happened. When Rick Astley was searching for his first hit, he got picked up by one of the world's premier production teams. Only instead of letting him record an album, they had him doing chores around the studio… assigning him to make tea for the crew. But when they finally gave Rick a chance, he made the most of it and created a catchy ditty that came from an argument with his girlfriend. But when he showed Never Gonna Give You Up to his famous production team, they absolutely HATED IT and refused to release it. It was only by chance that it started to get airplay. But when it did, it stormed the charts, and nobody even knew who this mystery man was. It led to 3 massive hits and then Rick up and vanished… But then, decades later, today's Never Gonna Give You Up was resurrected and became the mother of all pop culture tracks, it became the biggest prank song in history. The story next.

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Coming up, we’re moving into the shadows of the '80s to uncover the most chilling, emotionally gripping performances of the decade. They were the songs that ruled the radio dial and haunted our souls with 10 iconic vocal performances from the decade’s best. As we count down the most haunting songs of the 80s, including post-punk icon Siouxie Sioux, who gave her voice to the fall of an entire civilization… Stevie Nicks, who had faced so much pain and drama in her band that a 15-minute, 16-verse epic still couldn’t contain it all… And then there was Aimee Mann who was abducted as a child and after a detective finally rescued her she struggled to speak off and on for years, but it fueled her songs including a haunting 1985 song Voices Carry that became here biggest hit and then one haunting vocal that was the final recording of a beloved legend Karen Carpenter who left us far too soon. It’s the Top 10 Most Haunting Female Vocals of the 80s—NEXT, on Professor of Rock.

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Some songs are just BLESSED…seriously, it just seems like certain songs are touched by the hand of God where the miraculous and unexplained happens… Well that’s exactly what today’s song was and still is. Life in a Northern Town.. It was a mind blowing song in 1986 that didn’t sound like anything on radio. And it was meant to be. Today’s singer Nick Laird Clowes tells us how he was mentored by both Paul Simon and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd… In fact, Gilmour produced today’s hit song: Life in a Northern Town. and the real magic happened when they were in the studio and turned down everything in the chorus except for the vocals and they both looked at each other and knew it would be a smash. It would become one of the most nostalgic and haunting songs of the 80s, and even more incredible, he wrote it on his dead hero’s guitar. This interview is mind-blowing and shows the true power of music and why we‘ve lost something in all of the technology and mathematical approach to music. One of the best rock storytellers I’ve ever witnessed.. This interview is a beautiful example of the magical muse that transpires when a song is born and raised in greatness... on Professor of Rock.

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Up next.. the story of Juke Box Hero, an all-time classic rock song from both its iconic singer, Lou Gramm, and guitarist Mick Jones, who both wrote it. It's one of the '80s greatest anthems. They each had a great song and pretty much combined it into one with dual experiences… Mick said it came from a fan who stood in the rain for 5 hours to get tickets to their sold-out show. Lou Gramm said it came from his own experience standing outside a sold-out concert hall, and being unable to see Hendrix perform. Many rock singers have called it the most challenging song to perform in history… Most can’t hit the notes, but boy, did Lou do it, even if he had to fight a legendary producer tooth and nail to get it just right. Juke Box Hero became a #1 rock song and sold a million copies twice, 25 years apart! The story is next.

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Songwriters have stated many times that you never know where or when a clever lyric is going to strike. It’s also that way for a guitarist. A catchy riff can come at any time and from any place. You’ll hear what I mean when we talk about some of the best solos of the 70s. For instance, Ritchie Blackmore

improvised a solo to impress a journalist who was doing an exposé while riding on a tour bus; he dared him to do it, and this Ritchie came up with it right there. But was it classical music or rock? Another giant solo busted out when two genius musicians were on the verge of a bitter breakup. And another that came from Lynyrd Skynyrd's bassist… And finally, David Gilmour's extended solo on Comfortably Numb that may not only be the best solo of the 70s, but possibly the greatest solo ever, where a genius was sculpting emotion out of thin air, topping off a historic song that has since become one of the greatest songs in rock history. It’s the countdown of the Top 10 Guitar Solos of the 70s, NEXT on Professor of Rock!

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FROM THE VAULT: When you listen to the modern day standard "Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac, you may not immediately hear the sadness. You may not recognize that it is song about a failing relationship.

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FROM THE VAULT: Hey Music Junkies, the Professor of Rock, always here to celebrate the greatest artists and songs of all time; If you love music, you’ll want to subscribe below and hit the bell so you always get our daily content. You’ll also want to check us out on Patreon as we’ve added a bunch of exclusives and benefits there. Today we're discussing 5 forgotten songs from the 90s that will take you back to the good old days. Including exclusive commentary from the the artist. including Emerson Hart from Tonic, the Popoff brothers from the band LIT and Vinnie Dombroski from Sponge. As well as songs by Garbage and Ephraim Lewis.

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