Coming up, it’s one of the most instantly recognizable and impossible to resist songs of the rock era. Take on Me by A-ha. It's music video ain’t chopped liver either… maybe the definitive video of 80s MTV . Take On Me is a song that rises high above its genre and era. But it would be a long and rocky road for this band to get there. Morten Harkett and his band A-ha would rise to global fame but it started clear back in the late 70s when their keyboardist came up with one of the catchiest hooks of all time. Only the band thought it was too catchy nicknaming it the Juicy Fruit song because it was so over the top catchy. For a while wanted nothing to do with it… then in the 80s they put it out and it Failed. How could the catchiest song ever not be a hit. It’s inching up to 2 billion plays on Youtube alone. Find out how they turned it around next on Professor of Rock.

Thank you to this Episodes Sponsor, Zenni
GET ZENNI Glasses HERE: https://imp.i279709.net/vn5gLd
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal

Honorary Producers
Yvonne Fus, John Corsale, Auqaman 7801, Jeffrey Thorn, Junal Garnett, Farah Khemili, Samuel Cohen, and Joseph Putynkowski

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check out my Hand Picked Selection Below

Professor's Store

- Van Halen OU812 Vinyl Album https://amzn.to/3tLsII2
- The 80s Collection https://amzn.to/3mAekOq
- 100 Best Selling Albums https://amzn.to/3h3qZX9
- Ultimate History of 80s Teen Movie https://amzn.to/3ifjdKQ
- 80s to 90s VHS Video Cover Art https://amzn.to/2QXzmIX
- Totally Awesome 80s A Lexicon https://amzn.to/3h4ilrk
- Best In Ear Headphones (I Use These Every Day) https://amzn.to/2ZcTlIl
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check Out The Professor of Rock Merch Store -http://bit.ly/ProfessorMerch
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check Out Patron Benefits
http://bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan

Help out the Channel by purchasing your albums through our links! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you, thank you for your support.

Click here for Premium Content: https://bit.ly/SignUpForPremiumContent

https://bit.ly/Facebook_Professor_of_...

https://bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of...

#newwave #80smusic #vinylstory

Hey Music Junkies, Professor of Rock Always here to celebrate the greatest artists and songs of all time. If you remember the beautiful transaction back in the day of trading your hard-earned dollars for a physical product whether vinyl, eight-track, cassette, or compact disc, you’ll dig this channel of musical nostalgia. We invite you to be a part of this by subscribing below right now and clicking the bell to take a time machine back to the good old days every day…

So it’s time for another edition of our series The New Standards. This show takes an in-depth look into songs that transcend genre, decade, and fads - songs that are monumental touchstones in our culture and society. On previous episodes, we have covered Careless Whisper by George Michael and Wham!, Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper, and Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears.

Today we are covering what may be the catchiest song in the history of all pop music. The first time you heard it… it was forever tattooed on your brain for eternity. It’s undeniable. It’s an 80s high that knocks you off your feet… it’s Norway’s most recognizable band, A-ha, and their perfect 1985 pop hit “Take On Me. Although the title of the song may be grammatically incorrect, there’s no doubt it is one of the most beloved songs from the New Wave era. However, its rise to fame wouldn’t be easy. In fact, this iconic song would have to wait the better part of a decade before finally becoming a hit.

A-Ha is comprised of lead singer Morten Harket, keyboardist Magne “Mags” Furuholmen, and guitarist Pal Waaktaar-Savoy. But the band would start as a duo, going back to when Magne and Pal were just 12 and 13 in the mid-70s. Before meeting Morten, the two played in several bands throughout their teens and were heavily influenced by 60 psychedelia, particularly The Doors and Jimi Hendrix.

However in 1977, at the age of 15, Mags wrote a riff that would transform the young band from 60s psychedelic to 80s synth-pop. That hook was the beginning of Take On Me. Mags knew right away that he had written something incredible. Pal however had his reservations, thinking it was too cheesy and too poppy. In fact, it was so catchy that the two used to call it the ‘Juicy Fruit Song' because it reminded them of over-the-top American commercials, like Juicy Fruit gum, that were selling the ‘good life’.