From Professor of Rock.
Oh man, this one is going to be something else. Today we’re counting down 6 songs that became pop culture punchlines… These tracks that got mocked, misunderstood, and in some cases, flat-out destroyed. I’m talking about one musical legend, Isaac Hayes, whose biggest song, the Theme from Shaft, was parodied in pop culture more times than you can count, including by the Cookie Monster. But if that wasn’t enough, he also completely rewrote that song so he could collaborate with Mr. Potato Head to sell French Fries. Then there’s was the hard rock frontman Jani Lane, who was excited to release his band Warrant’s sophomore album that would show his more serious side and poetic lyrics, but the head of the label wanted a hit song so this Jani wrote Cherry Pie, the dumbest song he could think of, on a pizza box in 15 minutes as a big joke. The only problem is the CEO loved it, and it became a massive hit. It got so bad that Jani went on record saying he’d rather be dead than be known for that song. On top of that, we’ve got Rod Stewart disco disasters, some seriously cringeworthy musical performances by Corey Feldman, and the 13-year-old Rebecca Black, who wrote the viral song Friday that was universally cited as the worst thing to ever happen to music. Let’s go.
Go to this exclusive web address to try ZipRecruiter FOR FREE: https://www.ziprecruiter.com/rock
———————————————————————————————————————–
Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal
Honorary Producers
Kimberley Rumburg, Brent Gephart, Glenn Beardmore, Jennifer Selvidge, Carl Curcuruto, Thomas Williams
———————————————————————————————————————–
Subscribe to the Professor of Rock Podcast
Apple: https://apple.co/445fVov
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/42JpfvU
Amazon: https://amzn.to/44b5D6m
iHeartRadio: https://bit.ly/444h8MO
———————————————————————————————————————–
Patreon: http://bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan
Merch Store: https://professor-of-rock-lsn-shop.fourthwall.com/
Instagram: https://bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of_Rock
#classicrock #80smusic #vinylstory #80srock
Hey Music Junkies, we’ve got part 2 of the songs that have become punchlines, starting off with #6 with one of my favorite Hair metal bands ever… Warrant with Cherry Pie. Warrant formed in Los Angeles in 1984 and spent years reshuffling their line-up and clawing through the Hollywood club circuit. The real turning point for the band happened when they recruited Jani Lane in 1986. Lane was a powerhouse vocalist and prolific songwriter out of Ohio who had been performing with the band Plain Jane. Lane brought a polished, melodic edge to the band, plus a theatrical frontman persona. By the time Warrant signed with Columbia Records in 1988, they were a finely tuned hit machine. And their double-platinum debut, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich proved it. They scored 3 top 30 hits on the Hot 100. Down Boys went to #27, Sometimes She Cries reached #20, and Heaven ascended to #2. But despite the big-time success of their debut, the lead-up to their sophomore effort was hampered by a creative tug-of-war with their label.
So here’s what happened. Jani Lane wanted Warrant’s 1990 follow-up to be darker and more musically complex. Originally titled Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the album was supposed to showcase Jani’s growth as a serious lyricist. But the corporate machine had very different plans. Columbia Records president Donny Ienner famously rejected the completed album… demanding a "big anthem" in the vein of Aerosmith’s Love in an Elevator or Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me. Jani was pissed. So to show the label just what a stupid idea that was, he went home and wrote the lyrics to a song called "Cherry Pie”. Said Lane, “I wrote it on a pizza box—literally—in about 15 minutes. I was frustrated because the label told me they didn’t hear a ‘hit.’ I thought, ‘You want a hit? I’ll give you a hit.’” Cherry Pie was exactly what the label had asked for, but Jani thought that once Donny Ienner heard the song he’d realize just how dumb it was.
But things didn’t go according to plan. In fact, Ienner loved. And he loved it so much that he had Warrant change the name of the album from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Cherry Pie. The stories of Shaft, Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice, Do Ya Think I’m Sexy by Rod Stewart, Friday by Rebecca Black and Corey Feldman. Songs that’ have become PUNCHLINES.
