4th Nov 2009 - Kelly Groucutt Died - Who?

Hi,
I hope today finds you well.

Kelly Groucutt was the bassist with the band ELO, and he died in February this year.
I was a massive fan of the band, got to see them a few times, and felt like listening to a few songs the other day.

I searched on youtube and found a few to listen to, and saw some comments that were saying RIP Kelly. So I searched some more and found that he had died in February of a heart attack at 63.

His story has classic success techniques, so it's worth sharing.
He taught himself to play the bass, and worked in various bands around Birmingham. ELO band leader Jeff Lynne and drummer Bev Bevan were from Birmingham and had seen Groucutt a few times.
In 1974 after watching a gig, they went backstage and asked if he wanted to join ELO!

At that time the band had some success in the UK, but were more successful in the US.
Groucutt had to make a decision there and then, so rang his wife who said 'yes'. He didn't even have a passport, so that had to be rushed through, and within a few days he was learning ELO songs on a plane to the USA.

He said he had never played to more than a few hundred people, but his first ELO gig was in Detroit to many thousands!

He was with the band when they went into stellar success, with Out Of The Blue and Discovery, albums which went multi platinum in countries around the world. As well as bassing you can hear his voice as an integral part of the sound.

In 1983 he demanded that he should be getting more of the royalties the success had brought, but Jeff Lynne told him that he had been taken on as a salaried employer. Groucutt sued, and got an out of court settlement, but was out of the band. Coincidentally or not, the band never had the same level of success, and Groucutt formed various bands with other ex ELO members to play the songs live.

He had another tour booked this year.
You can spot the key success elements -

- He taught himself the skills to follow his chosen path.
- You may call it luck that he was offered a place in the band, but it only happened because he was in a gigging band.
- He could have said no, but grabbed the opportunity.
- After the dizzy heights the band got to, he still enjoyed the lower levels, talking to fans, signing autgraphs, having a thoroughly good time.

ELO really were one of the biggest bands in the 1970s, overlooked often by pop history, but they got me into music, and the late Kelly Groucutt's route to success leaves many great lessons.

It's the kind of thing I write about in my motivation book 'Transform Your Life in 21 Days!'
You can grab it for $5 by clicking my picture at the bottom of this page:
http://www.transformyourlifenow.com

Ok, I'm off to have a session on my 2 string bass.

'Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. If you know anyone else who you think would enjoy the Great Gordino Newsletter, please pass it on to them!

My book - Transform Your Life In 21 Days:
http://www.transformyourlifenow.com