Good Tuesday morning to you. I hope this week is proving to be a rock ‘n roll week for you. I enjoy so much helping people become RockStars in their world. Do you ever wish that you could have someone promote your vision, your dream, or your business? This is part of every artist’s dream: to inspire someone so much that he or she starts to promote that dream for a second run.
Today in our lessons from Rock ‘n Roll, I’m going to tell the story of a band who remade a song and that song become a number one hit in United Kingdom and made it to Number 34 in the United States in 1984. It was a great song. I remember it when I was in high school, but didn’t hear it much on radio.
Then, four years later, a DJ in Atlanta named Bobby Stark decided it was a good song and started playing it at a club. It started to get more radio play and when A&M Records re-released “Red, Red Wine” in October 1988, it became a Number One hit in the United States. I’d bet you are all now singing the song. We all know the line “Red, red wine you make me feel so fine / you keep me rocking all of the time.” That song is the only song to my knowledge to make the top 40 charts more than once with the same recording in two different years.
So what’s our lesson from this? Would you like to have your dream promoted by someone? Would you like it to be something that inspires more people a second time? I’m sure your answer is probably “Yes!” So what can we do to have that happen for us?
Well you probably would never have heard of Bobby Stark if he hadn’t done just that – promoted someone else’s work a second time. Did Bobby start playing that song again to get fame for himself? No, he did not; he just thought the song deserved a second chance. So he started to play it himself, getting people to fall in love with it all over again. In return his name is also remembered.
So this is what I recommend to you: if you find something that you enjoy, tell others about it so they can also benefit from it. They say imitation is the highest form of praise and I believe that could also be said of groups who remake another group’s song. In fact, that was the case with “Red, Red Wine.” It was remade by a number of artists – and still had two times as a hit from just one of those recordings. This happened because someone thought they deserved to be heard again – promoted again.
My point is this: it’s true you want to promote yourself, but you also want to promote others who have made a difference to you. In fact, promoting others is often more powerful self-promotion. You may be asking “How will that help me?” Well, think of the laws of life. Call it Karma; call it reaping what you sow; doing for others and others will do for you; you have to give in this world to receive. I’m sure you’re familiar with all the adages. You do for others, and others will do for you. You have to give in this world to get.
If you read through many of my blogs, you’ve probably noticed I’m always telling you about other people who have inspired me. That is my way of promoting what they have done for me. I’m re-telling you rock ‘n roll stories this week to share with you how they have taught me lessons. Thus the name of this week’s group of blogs: my lessons from rock ‘n roll. They are lessons I have learned. And, while they’re not necessarily the lessons that those who wrote and performed the songs got from them, that doesn’t make them less meaningful. I hope you find little gems like this in life that inspire you.
So you have heard two of my lessons from Rock ‘n Roll so far this week. What great rock stories have given you a great lesson in life? Is there an artist in your world whose work you like so much that you tell all your friends? If you found the greatest burger in your town would you tell everyone? Do you share good experiences with others so they can share them? Do you want others to promote you in this way? Well, ask yourself this question: “How many people am I promoting?”
I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach, telling you it’s time to Live the life you always wanted, Love what you do and those in your world, let me help you become the RockStar in your world.
