
How Heartbreak Inspired the #1 Hit “Separate Lives” by Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
16/1/2026 | 20 mins.
It was 40 years ago that today’s song Separate Lives hit #1. And it’s definitely one of the most heart-wrenching duets ever recorded, and to this day, even though it was a #1 hit sung by Phil Collins, one of the biggest artists ever... it doesn’t get the credit or the plays it should. And it has an amazing story behind it. 40 years ago Phil Collins was arguably the biggest artist on the planet. He was right there with Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince and he didn’t have a lot in common with them... He looked more like your dad’s accountant, but he had one of the greatest voices ever, and from 1984 to about 1991 he had a hit every single week on the charts and in 1986 he could’ve whispered on a record and it would be a hit. Well he wrote most of his hits, but he sang a duet with an up and comer named Marilyn Martin that cut to the bone… Separate lives was a big hit from the movie white nights and the reason it was so heart wrenching is because it really happened. It was written by Stephen Bishop who had quite a few hits and actually the biggest hit he wrote, he didn’t sing and the biggest hit that he sang he didn’t write! find out what those songs were in our interview coming up… Plus find out the famous actress who ripped his heart out that that inspired Separate lives and find out why Phil Colins’s duet partner Marilyn Martin quit music to be a real estate agent! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

FROM THE VAULT: How The Beatles’ "Norwegian Wood" Revolutionized Rock and Sparked Controversy
14/1/2026 | 23 mins.
Coming up…A story of scorned passion…revenge, and arson. It sounds like a film noir thriller, but it was actually an innocent 2-minute song called Norwegian Wood by a little band called the Beatles! The song was based on a cheating husband (John Lennon) whose finished masterpiece managed to offend one of the most influential artists of the Rock Era and change the landscape of popular music for generations to come. It was from the greatest band ever that some critics then and now called the first boy band bashing them over their first few hits like She Loves You Ya Ya Ya… Well, this was the song that turned them into popular music’s Michaelangelos! They set the course for music and decades later everyone is still trying to match them. There’s only one band that could create such a storm of melodrama. Including Paul McCartney taking some credit and George Harrison’s latter feud with Lennon over a writing credit. Find out all the details 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.

The Final Countdown of the ’90s: Top 10 Songs from 1999
13/1/2026 | 34 mins.
Hey Music Junkies Professor of Rock always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of a all time. Make sure to subscribe to the channels Well we are truly getting to the end of our yearly countdowns If Can find 10 great top 40 songs in a year end countdown, I will cover it but it’s getting harder and harder. So let’s get into the final year of the 90s…1999! Let’s get into it. … According to the Billboard Magazine’s Year End Survey, the 10th biggest song of the year for 1999 was “Living la Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin….But, we’re kicking off our countdown of the Top 10 Songs of ’99 with, “What It’s Like” by Everlast at #10: This was Everlast's first solo single after leaving the group, House Of Pain. Being in that band became an arduous task that Everlast hated. He compared it to the feeling you have when you wake up early on Monday morning and have to go to school. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Faith No More’s “Epic”: A Rivalry, A Genre Shift, and a Goldfish Controversy
12/1/2026 | 20 mins.
History tells us that Nirvana saved rock and roll in 1991 with Smells Like Teen Spirit, but that’s the history that was written by the media… what if I told you that there were a couple of moments that happened before Nevermind and Teen Spirit that moved the needle but didn’t get the hype? We’re going to cover one of those moments today that happened a couple of years before Nirvana, and it’s a crazy story. It involves code words and mystery lyrics, a decades-long feud with a rival band that came from stealing this band’s dance moves, and a controversial music video that gave every animal rights activist a coronary. All of this is connected to Epic, one of the most influential songs you’ve heard. And it is part of an alternative history that has been buried. Today’s song Epic came right after today’s band Faith No More fired their singer… a new singer came right in and wrote the lyrics to this band’s killer riff. and this band knew it was a hit but the record label didn’t care… they chose the band’s first single and when it flopped they let this group pick the next single…it not only ignited this band’s fortunes, some argue it invented a new genre but so many styles we’re represented here they had everything in this song… even the kitchen sink…the story is 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.

Ranking the Most Iconic Saturday Morning Cartoon Themes of the 1980s
11/1/2026 | 32 mins.
So In the past we’ve counting down the greatest television theme songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. We’ve covered movie scores and the best jingles. And through it all, I’ve had thousands of requests for Saturday Morning Cartoons or cartoon themes. Well On this episode, we’re counting down the greatest cartoon theme songs of the 80s. And we've got some crazy stories to tell. Like, did the J Geils Band secretly lift their risqué chart-topper Centerfold from a kids cartoon… about tiny blue creatures? We’ll also solve the bizarre internet rumor that’s persisted for decades, claiming the dignified host of Inside the Actors Studio was the secret mastermind behind the ThunderCats themes ever. How did that even start? And wait until you hear how Arnold Schwarzenegger indirectly launched one of the biggest action figure lines of the decade and one of the most iconic cartoon themes in history. Plus, a hit songwriter wrote one of the catchiest songs of all time… Everyone knew it would be a #1 smash, but it became a kids' TV song and never got released as a single. He missed a #1 hit, but decades later it’s more famous than any of the #1 hits from the year it came out.. Can you guess it from its first second? From bouncing bears to pizza-loving reptiles, we're covering it all. 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.



Professor of Rock