Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Coming up on today’s episode, we're back at it again. We’re counting down the most dangerously alluring song about females in rock history … These songs were written about real women who did a real number on some of the most famous rockstars ever. We’re gonna tell the story about a notorious woman known only as “Wildcat” who made a surprise late-night call to Chris Isaak. He knew she was trouble but told her to come over anyway. But before she arrived at his door, he picked up his guitar and wrote one of the most seductive songs of its time. But when she got there, he was more enamored with the song than her, and he was grateful she’d inspired him to write what would become his biggest hit. Then there’s the volatile couple Ian Astubry of The Cult and Renee Beach. They kept a pet goldfish on their tour bus and were so obsessive about it that they pissed off the other band they were touring with… To get revenge, they pulled off the most epic goldfish prank in history. And finally, there’s the iconic 70s femme fatale song Killer Queen that may or may not have actually been written about a man. Will get both sides of the story next!
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Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal
Honorary Producers
Kimberley Rumburg, Brent Gephart, Glenn Beardmore, Jennifer Selvidge, Carl Curcuruto, Thomas Williams
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Subscribe to the Professor of Rock Podcast
Apple: apple.co/445fVov
Spotify: spoti.fi/42JpfvU
Amazon: amzn.to/44b5D6m
iHeartRadio: bit.ly/444h8MO
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Patreon: bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan
Merch Store: professor-of-rock-lsn-shop.fourthwall.com
Instagram: bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of_Rock
#classicrock #80smusic #vinylstory #80srock
Hey Music Junkies, Professor of Rock always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time. If you remember watching The Muppet Show with a special celebrity guest each week. You’ll dig this channel of deep musical nostalgia. Make sure to like, share, and comment to keep the music alive. Alright, let’s get into this countdown of the greatest songs inspired by rock’s most seductive women. Starting off this femme fatale countdown at #5, we have Chris Isaak with Wicked Game… Sometime around 4 in the morning back in 1988, Chris Isaak's phone rang. On the other end was a woman he knew well. She was, by his own description, a "wildcat" who was nothing but trouble. That was her nickname. Said Isaak, “I remember that a girl had called me and said, 'I want to come over and talk to you,' and 'talk' was a euphemism.
And she said, 'I want to come over and talk to you until you're no longer able to stand up.' And I said, 'Okay, you're coming over.' And as soon as I hung up, I thought, 'Oh, my. I know she's gonna be trouble. She's always been trouble. She's a wildcat. And here I am, I'm going to get killed, but I'm doing this.’” In the interim, the line “world's on fire and no one can save me but you” came into his head. And so while he waited for Wildcat to show up, Chris wrote the all-time seduction song Wicked Game. And by the time she came over, he had just put the finishing touch on the song that would not only become his biggest hit but a song that would define the times. Said Chris, “I think she was probably upset because I was more excited by the song. I was like, 'Yes, you're gorgeous, baby. But listen to this song!’" This femme fatale had accidentally inspired a masterpiece, and then been upstaged by it. Isaak has never revealed who the girl was. But I guess the mystery suits the song.
When "Wicked Game" was released in 1989, the initial response was brutal. The single completely missed the charts. The parent album, Heart Shaped World, limped to #149 on the Billboard 200 and then faded from view. It was a full-on commercial failure. But then director David Lynch featured the song in his 1990 film Wild at Heart, and radio finally picked it up from there. The song's second life was nothing short of spectacular. It ascended to #6 on the Hot 100 in early 1991. The album rode that wave right back up the charts, peaking at #7 on both sides of the Atlantic and eventually going double platinum in the US. So although Chris Isaak’s ‘Wildcat’ remains a mystery, there is another femme fatale connected to Wicked Game… in the music video. The iconic black-and-white clip was shot on Kamoamoa Beach in Hawaii, inside Volcanoes National Park.
Fashion photographer Herb Ritts directed it, and the finished product is one of the most visually striking videos in MTV history… Isaak and Danish supermodel Helena Christensen
Coming up on today’s episode, we're back at it again. We’re counting down the most dangerously alluring song about females in rock history … These songs were written about real women who did a real number on some of the most famous rockstars ever. We’re gonna tell the story about a notorious woman known only as “Wildcat” who made a surprise late-night call to Chris Isaak. He knew she was trouble but told her to come over anyway. But before she arrived at his door, he picked up his guitar and wrote one of the most seductive songs of its time. But when she got there, he was more enamored with the song than her, and he was grateful she’d inspired him to write what would become his biggest hit. Then there’s the volatile couple Ian Astubry of The Cult and Renee Beach. They kept a pet goldfish on their tour bus and were so obsessive about it that they pissed off the other band they were touring with… To get revenge, they pulled off the most epic goldfish prank in history. And finally, there’s the iconic 70s femme fatale song Killer Queen that may or may not have actually been written about a man. Will get both sides of the story next!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: 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 #80srock
Hey Music Junkies, Professor of Rock always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time. If you remember watching The Muppet Show with a special celebrity guest each week. You’ll dig this channel of deep musical nostalgia. Make sure to like, share, and comment to keep the music alive. Alright, let’s get into this countdown of the greatest songs inspired by rock’s most seductive women. Starting off this femme fatale countdown at #5, we have Chris Isaak with Wicked Game… Sometime around 4 in the morning back in 1988, Chris Isaak's phone rang. On the other end was a woman he knew well. She was, by his own description, a "wildcat" who was nothing but trouble. That was her nickname. Said Isaak, “I remember that a girl had called me and said, 'I want to come over and talk to you,' and 'talk' was a euphemism.
And she said, 'I want to come over and talk to you until you're no longer able to stand up.' And I said, 'Okay, you're coming over.' And as soon as I hung up, I thought, 'Oh, my. I know she's gonna be trouble. She's always been trouble. She's a wildcat. And here I am, I'm going to get killed, but I'm doing this.’” In the interim, the line “world's on fire and no one can save me but you” came into his head. And so while he waited for Wildcat to show up, Chris wrote the all-time seduction song Wicked Game. And by the time she came over, he had just put the finishing touch on the song that would not only become his biggest hit but a song that would define the times. Said Chris, “I think she was probably upset because I was more excited by the song. I was like, 'Yes, you're gorgeous, baby. But listen to this song!’" This femme fatale had accidentally inspired a masterpiece, and then been upstaged by it. Isaak has never revealed who the girl was. But I guess the mystery suits the song.
When "Wicked Game" was released in 1989, the initial response was brutal. The single completely missed the charts. The parent album, Heart Shaped World, limped to #149 on the Billboard 200 and then faded from view. It was a full-on commercial failure. But then director David Lynch featured the song in his 1990 film Wild at Heart, and radio finally picked it up from there. The song's second life was nothing short of spectacular. It ascended to #6 on the Hot 100 in early 1991. The album rode that wave right back up the charts, peaking at #7 on both sides of the Atlantic and eventually going double platinum in the US. So although Chris Isaak’s ‘Wildcat’ remains a mystery, there is another femme fatale connected to Wicked Game… in the music video. The iconic black-and-white clip was shot on Kamoamoa Beach in Hawaii, inside Volcanoes National Park.
Fashion photographer Herb Ritts directed it, and the finished product is one of the most visually striking videos in MTV history… Isaak and Danish supermodel Helena Christensen
