By Danielle DeLonge
July 28, 2011
Growing up, music was always an important part of my life. Learning to play piano and stick with lessons no matter how much I disliked them had something to do with this, I imagine (thanks, Dad!), but for me, I often found the stories behind the bands whose music I played to be much more fascinating than the actual songs they produced. As an adult, I’m still struck by how relevant music lessons are, particularly in the world of business, and how much we can learn from “successful” mistakes.
For example, when the Van Halen we all know and love was just getting started, front man David Lee Roth was much more than just a lead singer. He was the impetus behind the band’s initial success, not just because of his voice and ability to jump up in the air and land in the splits, but also because of the marketing campaign he insisted the band put together.
Before Van Halen was one of the best-selling artists of all time, they were just another band from Pasadena, Calif., playing gigs at high school parties and trying to get noticed. Roth knew they had competition, and wanted to make sure the band did whatever they could to stand out. Friday nights would often find them going from high school parking lot to high school parking lot while football games were going on, putting fliers on cars that highlighted where they’d be playing next. According to Roth, as a result, they were pulling in thousands of people per show before they ever got a record deal.
Roth understood both the importance of being able to put on a good show and the significance of a well-executed marketing campaign. With his help, the band got signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1978 without ever giving a demo tape to a record company executive, and went on to have a number three album in the Billboard charts only a few years later. A decade into their existence, they were finally getting noticed.
And then, as star talent sometimes does, Roth had what we in business might call a “disagreement with management,” and left the band.
Now, if you’re a manger or CEO, you can imagine how devastating this might be. Here you’ve been working so hard for so long, and then, just when you get to the point where you’re finally successful—you find yourself without a lead singer. Or your best sales person. Or your marketing/finance/operations guru, etc. So what should you do?
The boys in Van Halen mourned for a bit, I would imagine, but then they wizened up and attracted a new lead singer. This time, they went on to have a number three song on the Billboard charts. “Why Can’t This Be Love” debuted in 1986 on the album 5150 and helped the band retain its hard-earned spot in the heart of fans.