Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The 80s gave us some of the most irresistible, inescapable songs ever put to tape. And today we're going all in on the neon decade, counting down my picks for the Top 8 catchiest 80s songs. These are the songs that you’re grateful when they get stuck in your head. On this episode, we have the story of Jonathan Cain, the broke and broken musician who lost his record deal, his girlfriend, and nearly his dog when it was hit by a speeding car. Desperate and ready to pack it in, he called home to his father to ask if he should give up on his music dreams. But his father’s 3 word response gave him the courage to keep going and became the title for the biggest rock song in history: Don't Stop Believin'. Plus, one of the most beloved music videos of all time almost never happened… Take On Me by a-ha. Two earlier versions of the song had already flopped, and almost no one on earth had heard them. But it turns out the third time is the charm… because the next release gave us one of the defining songs of the 80s and one of the greatest videos, but then decades later the band’s own video got blocked from YOUTUBE in the US by their old label. Plus, a song title that Tears For Fears stole from The Clash, and then when it became a hit, that singer from the ripped-off band only asked for 5 bucks for it. The stories are next on POR.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal
Honorary Producers
Holly Hammet, Remnarc, Kevin riley, Paul Moore II, CharleyAnne
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to the Professor of Rock Podcast
Apple: apple.co/445fVov
Spotify: spoti.fi/42JpfvU
Amazon: amzn.to/44b5D6m
iHeartRadio: bit.ly/444h8MO
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patreon: bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan
Merch Store: professor-of-rock-lsn-shop.fourthwall.com
Instagram: bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of_Rock
#classicrock #80smusic #vinylstory #onehitwonder
Hey Music Junkies Professor of rock Always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time. If you ever blew it your speakers when playing your music too loud. You’ll dig this channel of deep musical nostalgia Make sure to like share and comment Alright it’s time for another edition of our Show EARWORM the catchiest songs of all time that are not ANNOYING and you’re actually thankful when they get stuck in your head. today we celibrate 8 from the 80s! …Let’s jump in the time machie
First up at #8 I’ve got a two-for-one deal. Double the Hall and double the Oates. It’s Daryl Hall & John Oates with two hits from 1981: You Make My Dreams and I Can't Go for That (No Can Do). Parentheses song. Although both tracks came from different alums (Dreams came from Voices and Go For That came from Private Eyes), both were released as singles within 7 months of each other. Sandwiched between them was another Hall & Oates #1 hit single: Private Eyes.
But let’s get into You Make My Dreams. Daryl Hall remembers writing the song in his NYC apartment and said, “I had a Yamaha CP-30 piano, which is a very distinctive sounding electric piano. I started playing that riff, it just spoke to me. It just sounded really on point and aggressive and happy. And I just started singing, 'You make my dreams come true', over it. I wondered if it was too happy? Could I think of something a little more complicated?” Actually, Daryl strongly considered throwing out the song because he thought the lyrics sounded way too cliché. But the infectious, positive energy of the song ultimately won him over. I mean, how could it not? In fact, in a 2009 issue of Entertainment Weekly, Daryl listed You Make My Dreams as one of his Top 5 Hall & Oates songs.
As for “I Can't Go for That (No Can Do),” the song happened almost entirely by accident late one night at Electric Lady Studios. After formal recording sessions had wrapped, Daryl activated a primitive Roland CompuRhythm drum machine, selected the "Rock 1" preset, and began playing an impromptu bassline. The studio engineer heard Daryl playing and turned on the tape machine. The chords came together in about 10 minutes, and the song was on its way. The next day Daryl and his girlfriend Sara Allen wrote the lyrics. Released as a single in November 1981, I Can’t Go For That went to #1 on the Hot 100. But the song’s influence didn’t stop there. I Can’t Go For That’s killer groove also inspired one of the most successful songs in history… Michael Jackson’s 1983 chart-topping juggernaut Billie Jean.
During the 1985 recording sessions for the "We Are the World" charity single, MJ approached Daryl and unexpectedly confessed that he had stolen Billie Jean’s iconic bassline from “I
The 80s gave us some of the most irresistible, inescapable songs ever put to tape. And today we're going all in on the neon decade, counting down my picks for the Top 8 catchiest 80s songs. These are the songs that you’re grateful when they get stuck in your head. On this episode, we have the story of Jonathan Cain, the broke and broken musician who lost his record deal, his girlfriend, and nearly his dog when it was hit by a speeding car. Desperate and ready to pack it in, he called home to his father to ask if he should give up on his music dreams. But his father’s 3 word response gave him the courage to keep going and became the title for the biggest rock song in history: Don't Stop Believin'. Plus, one of the most beloved music videos of all time almost never happened… Take On Me by a-ha. Two earlier versions of the song had already flopped, and almost no one on earth had heard them. But it turns out the third time is the charm… because the next release gave us one of the defining songs of the 80s and one of the greatest videos, but then decades later the band’s own video got blocked from YOUTUBE in the US by their old label. Plus, a song title that Tears For Fears stole from The Clash, and then when it became a hit, that singer from the ripped-off band only asked for 5 bucks for it. The stories are next on POR.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal
Honorary Producers
Holly Hammet, Remnarc, Kevin riley, Paul Moore II, CharleyAnne
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to the Professor of Rock Podcast
Apple: apple.co/445fVov
Spotify: spoti.fi/42JpfvU
Amazon: amzn.to/44b5D6m
iHeartRadio: bit.ly/444h8MO
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patreon: bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan
Merch Store: professor-of-rock-lsn-shop.fourthwall.com
Instagram: bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of_Rock
#classicrock #80smusic #vinylstory #onehitwonder
Hey Music Junkies Professor of rock Always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time. If you ever blew it your speakers when playing your music too loud. You’ll dig this channel of deep musical nostalgia Make sure to like share and comment Alright it’s time for another edition of our Show EARWORM the catchiest songs of all time that are not ANNOYING and you’re actually thankful when they get stuck in your head. today we celibrate 8 from the 80s! …Let’s jump in the time machie
First up at #8 I’ve got a two-for-one deal. Double the Hall and double the Oates. It’s Daryl Hall & John Oates with two hits from 1981: You Make My Dreams and I Can't Go for That (No Can Do). Parentheses song. Although both tracks came from different alums (Dreams came from Voices and Go For That came from Private Eyes), both were released as singles within 7 months of each other. Sandwiched between them was another Hall & Oates #1 hit single: Private Eyes.
But let’s get into You Make My Dreams. Daryl Hall remembers writing the song in his NYC apartment and said, “I had a Yamaha CP-30 piano, which is a very distinctive sounding electric piano. I started playing that riff, it just spoke to me. It just sounded really on point and aggressive and happy. And I just started singing, 'You make my dreams come true', over it. I wondered if it was too happy? Could I think of something a little more complicated?” Actually, Daryl strongly considered throwing out the song because he thought the lyrics sounded way too cliché. But the infectious, positive energy of the song ultimately won him over. I mean, how could it not? In fact, in a 2009 issue of Entertainment Weekly, Daryl listed You Make My Dreams as one of his Top 5 Hall & Oates songs.
As for “I Can't Go for That (No Can Do),” the song happened almost entirely by accident late one night at Electric Lady Studios. After formal recording sessions had wrapped, Daryl activated a primitive Roland CompuRhythm drum machine, selected the "Rock 1" preset, and began playing an impromptu bassline. The studio engineer heard Daryl playing and turned on the tape machine. The chords came together in about 10 minutes, and the song was on its way. The next day Daryl and his girlfriend Sara Allen wrote the lyrics. Released as a single in November 1981, I Can’t Go For That went to #1 on the Hot 100. But the song’s influence didn’t stop there. I Can’t Go For That’s killer groove also inspired one of the most successful songs in history… Michael Jackson’s 1983 chart-topping juggernaut Billie Jean.
During the 1985 recording sessions for the "We Are the World" charity single, MJ approached Daryl and unexpectedly confessed that he had stolen Billie Jean’s iconic bassline from “I
