Professor of Rock

Sadly this legendary band went down in flames. Lynyrd Skynyrd's famous album cover even predicted it. And so did one of their songs… Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote That Smell in 1977…It was an eerily prophetic rocker that warned them there would be hell to pay. They created their album cover with Fire and Flames around them! Truly, no one worked harder than Frontman Ronnie Van Zant and the wild boys of Lynyrd Skynyrd, but then again no one partied harder either… and it was nearly to the point of self-destruction. Their trail of carnage included knock-down drag-out brawls, punched-out teeth, furniture flying out of fifth-story windows, cutting and maiming their guitarist hands the night before a big show and one time when the lead singer tried to throw a roadie out of a plane… mid-flight. I mean come on… that’s insane. Blacklisted from hotels and airlines alike, it all came to a tragic conclusion on October 20, 1977. After that day, this band would never be the same again. The story of two classic hits from their 70s classic album Street Survivors: the 70s hits, What’s Your Name and That Smell….Brace yourself, this one’s as crazy. as rock and roll gets… The story is coming up… NEXT on Professor of Rock.
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Okay, it’s that time of year again. We’re gearing up for the Rock and Roll Hame of Fame’s class of 2026. And AS PER usual The Rock Hall is going to snub some of the best rock bands and musicians of all time. Hey, it’s what they do. So today, I want to make the case for some extremely talented artists who deserve to get in and see if we can create a groundswell for some of the most deserving musicians of all-time. That’s right, I’m counting down my Top 8 acts who the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has consistently ignored and neglected for decades. I want to give them some love and at the end of the video, I’ve got an important Call to Action that I need your help with, so we can get the #1 band into the Hall of Fame. So let’s get right to it.

Sign the Professor of Rock's petition to get Boston inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. https://c.org/TTyvqVjTzJ
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Up next an interview with an icon of 60s rock and roll, Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits. Peter was only 15 years old when he became the singer behind Herman’s Hermits, who would go on to garner 18 hits, including an amazing 11 songs that hit the top 10 and several that went to #1. In fact, before Peter got to his 18th birthday he and Herman’s Hermits finished ahead of the Beatles on the Billboard year-end survey for top groups. It was on the strength of two big hits that kept his band in the top ten for 6 months! Including today’s song “I’m Henry the Eighth, I Am” that was actually from the year 1910… It caught on because it was so easy to sing and so easy to remember…It’s because the band repeated the same verse three times because they only knew the one verse, even though the song had numerous verses…it made “I’m Henry the Eighth, I Am” one of the most famous novelty songs ever… and the story of Mr’s Brown, You’ve got a lovely Daughter...The story is coming straight from the icon next on Professor of Rock.

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Coming up next, an interview with a man who is on a shortlist of the greatest singers in music history but he never gets his due. Mickey Thomas of Jefferson Starship and Starship... He’s had numerous hits, and his voice is so gritty, and his range is so high that he can go toe to toe with anybody. And up next, we cover his greatest hits, including the song that put him on the map. But it was a total accident. He was invited to sing backup for a famous guitarist on a song he’d written, but during the session, the famous producer said let’s have this rookie background singer try a take… The take was so amazing that it blew everyone away, and luckily, the engineer was recording. Even the famous gutiarst was like it’s your son,g brother. Soon after it flew up the charts but barely missed #1… and then decades later after it was used in a big movie, it finally hit #1. The song was Fooled Around and Fell in Love by Elvin Bishop.

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Today, we're shining a light on eight 80s classics that deserve way more recognition, but I'm not talking about hidden gems here. A lot of these were huge songs, but they were quietly great four decades later; these songs don't get the headlines. like the overplayed ones. So what happened? In most cases, they've been overshadowed by bigger hits from their band. But make no mistake, these are top-tier tracks. All timers. Including an awe-inspiring song On the Turning Away that emerged from one of rock's nastiest legal battles... probably one of the most notorious conflicts of the 80s. Then there's the perfectionist Lindsey Buckingham, who brought in one of rock's legendary drummers to record on his track... only to reject every single take and "roboticize" him by looping just 4 seconds of his drumming through the entire song. And I've also got the story of the Duran Duran music video that nearly got the band lynched by four thousand Buddhist monks... and then almost killed the guitarist when he contracted a tropical virus in a lagoon filled with elephants. From synth-pop gems to guitar-driven anthems, these are the quietly great songs that shaped the 80s. We give ‘em their due today.
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