Coming up, we’re going to have fun with the stories of songs that were denied the coveted position of reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, settling for #2. I always call them the bridesmaids. Well, today they really are the bridesmaid to the bride, as in the greatest female #2 hits of the 70s, with some of your favorite singers ever. Including the legendary Linda Ronstadt, who had 21 Big hits in her career, and most people are shocked when they realize they were all written by someone else, and most were cover songs! Then there’s the story of a Crystal Gayle song that was inspired by an unfortunate incident where a beloved pet was nearly blinded in one eye from a rock thrown by a garbage man. That incident inspired a song that brought Crystal out of the shadow of her legendary sister. Then there was the song Fire that was written especially for a comeback for ELVIS, but he passed away before he could record it. And it was almost buried forever until the Pointer Sisters turned it from a male perspective to a sensual female smash. And finally Karen Carpenter, who turned a jingle written for a bank commercial into an all-time standard…and then 3 years later she did the same thing with a song written for a toddler’s TV show… It’s coming 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.

It began with a simple remark during a lover’s quarrel—and became one of the most iconic anthems in rock history. Ronnie Van Zant didn’t think much of it at first, until one night he laid on his back in the studio and wrote the lyrics in minutes.

The song eventually stretched to 17 minutes and was nearly cut from the album after the label pushed back. But “Free Bird” went on to become a symbol of freedom and a must-play at rock shows for decades.

This is the origin and legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Southern rock masterpiece, created by a band both blessed and cursed—and forever legendary.

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.

Coming up an interview with a legend about a song that came into his head from the sound of his tires rolling over a bridge. He was on his way to record with his famous band, they were expecting him to bring them a song for their new album but he didn’t have one well as soon as the he heard it in his head he kept humming it over and over until he ran into the studio and yelled at the band to grab their instruments and he wrote the song from the tune in his head in like 3 minutes...

We also talk about the supergroup that he joined years later that after several hits the record label paid his band Millions to not release another album and his reaction to that is priceless…

A FUN interview is 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.