Professor of Rock

Coming up, it’s time for a POR throwback. Back in the early days of the channel, we had our regular series #1 in Our Hearts where we honored songs that were so unbelievably great, they should've been #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. But for whatever reason, whether it was lack of radio play or marketing, or maybe the label just wasn’t behind the track… these songs came up short. Well, now we are going to zero in on a specific year and look at the top 10 songs that didn’t quite make it to #1, and we’re going to give. Today we're heading back to the late 70s. Let’s see if you can guess the year. It was the year that rock made a huge comeback and decimated Disco on the strength of several big hits, including Sultans of Swing that was inspired by the most self-delusional band in town. This band played in an empty pub, and it inspired a Dire Straits’ breakout hit. Then there’s the two-hit wonder Nicolette Larson, who found her biggest hit in a dusty cassette tape that was being stepped on as it sat on the floor of a rock legend's truck. And finally, there’s the Toto keyboardist who wrote an iconic hit on his piano in his apartment… he couldn’t stop messing with the catchy tune until he figured it out. It took him three days, and his neighbors were banging on the door for him to stop. He even got evicted due to the noise.” But in the end, it paid off, going top 5 and making his band a household name. Let’s get into it.

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Let's run it back!
Up next two principals from the classic Reggae group UB40, original singer Ali Campbell and toaster the late Astro tell us the compelling story of a song that took 5 years to get to #1! Red Red Wine was originally composed and sung by Neil Diamond. In 1983 Red Red Wine went to the top of the charts in the UK but stalled at #34 in America then 5 years later a DJ played it by accident confusing this band with another one and people started requesting it. Other stations followed suit and it went viral before the internet. Word of mouth took it to #1. Now all these years later UB40 has broken up into two different bands using the same name! Ali’s brother took over the other group and they’re rivals. Find out the story of the song and the latest from this legendary group who had another #1 hit in the 90s with the Elvis cover, Can’t Help Falling in Love next on Professor of Rock.
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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the worlds of rock and roll and history’s most beloved sci-fi franchise collided in ways nobody ever expected. That’s right, on this episode of Professor of Rock, we’re counting down the greatest rock meets Star Wars stories around. And from the casting room to the recording booth, popular musicians and Star Wars have a surprisingly in-depth history. Including members of NSYNC who got their greatest wish... to be cast as Lightsaber-wielding JEDIs. They went out and filmed and were excited to see themselves in Star Wars but were crestfallen when George Lucas cut them out of the film after fan backlash. Plus, the iconic future front-woman Terri Nunn was almost cast as Princess Leia. She made it to the final round of auditions, impressed the director, but was turned away because Harrison Ford didn’t like her. So she had to settle for music stardom instead. Then there is Joseph Williams, the son of one of the greatest composers in Hollywood history and the replacement singer for one of the biggest rock bands of the 80s. He penned the lyrics to two of The Return of the Jedi’s original songs… only to have them later replaced in the 1997 Special Editions. And finally, the King of Pop personally lobbied George Lucas for a role in the most anticipated film of a generation… But he got nixed too. But he dodged a bullet…

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Coming up next, Kenny Loggins, the Co-Captain of Yacht Rock and the King of the Movie Soundtrack, tells the story of his first big movie hit from Caddyshack, I’m Alright! First, this legendary singer-songwriter was told by a big-time movie producer his movie song would be used for a dancing puppet, which he thought would be lame… Secondly, during the recording of the song, this singer invited another famous rocker to do background vocals, but he forgot to give him credit when the song became famous, which started a decades-long rivalry. Lastly, to make matters worse, they had a mediocre drummer who could only play a basic beat… It actually made this song the classic it is. An entertaining story of the song everyone knows next in Professor of Rock.

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Let's take it back with this POR Classic!
Celebrating the power of Summer, Donna Summer, one of the most influential artists of any era and my Top 5 Donna Summer Songs. Many know her as the Queen of Disco, but she was so much more than that, inspiring artists from every genre including New Wave, R&B, and Dance pop. Featuring appearences from Peter Hook formerly of New Order, Narada Michael Walden producer/songwriter behind some of Whitney Houston's biggest hits, and Limahl former lead singer of Kajagoogoo.
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