3 things to learn from Grammy winning songs that almost failed to exist

In my professional career, I’ve long believed that creativity doesn’t strike.

It evolves.

It took me years to learn this. When I was young, I thought genius struck lucky souls like bolts crashing from the heavens.

I started playing guitar in middle school and idolized rock gods like Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin). I would spend hours learning their songs by ear. I kid you not, 20 years ago I could play nearly every song in Nirvana’s catalog from memory.

I read stories about how Kurt Cobain wrote “Smells Like Teen Spirit” after a single night of inspiration. Apparently someone wrote “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit” on a wall, meaning Kurt smelled like the popular girl’s deodorant, “Teen Spirit.” Kurt didn’t get the reference to the brand, and was inspired to write a generation’s rock anthem. It seemed like instant brilliance, but years later I realized how much Kurt obsessed over his work.*

I also remember reading how Jimmy Page sat down and wrote “Stairway to Heaven” in one night. OK, it turned out that Jimmy may have been awfully inspired by another band’s tune for that one.

In creative work there is a perception that great creativity oozes from some people’s pores like last night’s booze. People think that we creatives don’t have to try to create clever work.

It’s just not true.

Yes, some people are more creative. I am far more creative than my wife—she knows it, and I know it. But creativity swings and misses often, mine included. When I was in advertising, I worked with some brilliant creative minds who were great at throwing out insane ideas, but just not good when it came time to working an idea to fit a campaign, budget or brand.

That part was boring to them. But the boring part is where good work becomes great.

Today we’re sticking with this music rhythm, and I’m going to share a few stories you have never heard.

This is how two Grammy winning songs would not have existed without a process that ground through the boring part of creativity.

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, “If We Were Vampires”

I’ve seen Jason Isbell live 5 or 6 times. My favorite show remains the 2014 NYE show in Louisville, Ky.

Jason Isbell has long been a favorite songwriter of mine. He is one of the best songwriters of our time, and I make no exaggeration when I say his album “Southeastern” is one of the greatest country albums ever written (I’m hesitant to call it country for fear you’ll think of pop country—but just trust me and give it a full spin).

In 2016 Isbell was writing for an album that would come to be known as “The Nashville Sound.” He did most of the writing solo from his bedroom in his house in Franklin, Tennessee. Towards the end of the album’s songwriting process, his wife asked how the album was going (it is worth noting his wife is the very talented songwriter, Amanda Shires).

As she came in the room, Isbell was not working—he was watching the reality show “Hoarders.” Amanda was familiar with the work he’d created so far, so it was a bit of loaded question. “It’s going OK—I’m pretty well done with it,” Isbell told her. She then pressed him to tell her if he was proud of it, and if he really felt it was complete. Upon reflecting on it, he said he wasn’t happy with it as a body of work just yet. Amanda suggested turning off the TV and seeing what he could come up with.

What happened next blows my mind, because Isbell went from watching absolute garbage TV to writing one of the most complex, beautiful love songs I’ve ever heard.

In a matter of minutes, he wrote “If We Were Vampires.” 

I have thought often of the talent it takes to turn that kind of writing ability on—and there is talent here that few can match. But there was also a revision process that brought the song to life (more on that shortly).

The album was produced by the best producer of our era, David Cobb. “The Nashville Sound” earned Isbell his first CMA Award nomination (Album of the Year) and won a Grammy as an album. Most notably here, "If We Were Vampires" won the Grammy for Best American Roots Song.

Brandi Carlile, “The Joke”

I saw Brandi live for the first time this summer and it was the best live show I have ever seen.

If you’re picking up on a trend with my passion for Brandi’s work, you’re paying attention. I absolutely love Brandi Carlile (actually, meeting her is literally on my bucket list so if you just happen to be sitting on that friendship…). I read her book, “Broken Horses” last year and it was so inspiring to see how she worked her tail off for years and years before “making it.”

Brandi’s breakthrough album was “The Story.” The title track from that album is a love power ballad that has been covered far and wide, from Grey’s Anatomy to LeAnn Rimes to Dolly Parton. The vocal range is among the best you’ll ever hear.

It’s critical to set the next example up by saying that this album absolutely blew Brandi’s band up, and the success of the song “The Story” weighed on Brandi at times. It felt like she’d never top it. Even with the fandom for the album, though, the song and album didn’t win a single award.

A decade after “The Story,” Brandi was working on a new album with the same David Cobb. They had a robust nine song collection, and Brandi felt pretty good about the album.

But David felt she had more left in her to give.

“You know what we need? We need a song like ‘The Story.’ Yeah, that’s what we need. You just need a song that has a vocal performance like ‘The Story.’”

Brandi got mad. She felt insulted that David would even challenge her to do such a thing—to ask for her to try and beat “The Story,” a song that was her legacy and now 10 years old. She left the studio and sulked, all to realize David was doing his job and trying to piece together the best album possible. Brandi sat down and started writing, and finished the song with David Cobb’s help. Together they wrote “The Joke.”

It was a monster hit.

American Songwriter Magazine called it a "mind-blowing true masterpiece". The praise continued from NPR, Rolling Stone, and countless others. It charted on Billboard, and was nominated in four categories, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Brandi was nominated for six Grammy awards, which made her the most nominated woman of 2019's ceremony. "The Joke" won the Grammy awards for Best American Roots Song and Best American Roots Performance.

Cool story, Brad. But how does this relate to me?

As consumers, we sit back and digest creative work and think, “huh, that’s really good. I couldn’t do that.” What we don’t see is the process that creates work we find beautiful.

Jason Isbell wrote a Grammy winning song that almost didn’t exist because of a reality TV show marathon.

Brandi Carlile was ready to wrap an album before she was challenged to do better. Despite her initial anger, she worked her ass off creating a song that went on to clean house at the Grammy awards.

Funny enough, all of these tales of great country and Americana music reminds me of a quote from a Macklemore song:

These artists aren’t examples of only creative genius—they have become adept at practicing the process of creating and grinding hard. That Jason Isbell album without “If We Were Vampires” is not the same album—it’s not even close. Brandi’s album, titled “By the Way, I Forgive You,” would be a really good album without “The Joke,” but the song that she ground out at the end made it one of the best of the decade if not the entire millennium.

I don’t care if you’re working on your startup’s financial model, a new loyalty program or a marketing campaign, you have to realize that greatness isn’t achieved from genius. What separates you from a mediocre outcome and the greats is the process and a willingness to take feedback.

Too often we see projects launch and become instant successes, so it makes us feel like failures when it doesn’t happen to us. What we forget are the years of work and repetition those viral hits and success stories had behind the scenes.

Zac Brown Band was hailed as a first-album “overnight success” when it launched in 2008. Guess what? It wasn’t even their first album (sample here). The record label effectively erased the true first album from existence to take credit for an already rising star. This happens all the time in music, and thanks to revisionist history in startup world, we see our share of it as well.

Genius work doesn’t exist. But a great process will make you and your team look like geniuses.

3 ways to make your creative process rock

1) Get the right people involved

Surely you noticed the trend of David Cobb in these stories, right? Guess who else he’s worked with? Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, John Prine, Bruce Springsteen, Dolly Parton, Whisky Myers, Miranda Lambert, Chris Cornell, Shooter Jennings and oh for Pete’s sake just look at the list if you’re not yet convinced. If you’re not working with people who will tell you when your album—or whatever—isn’t get enough yet, you’re not working with the right people.

2) Have the humility to say “I’m wrong.”

Having great people only works if you’re willing to be vulnerable. When your team tells you the work isn’t good enough and you need to do more—listen. Jason Isbell could have shrugged off the suggestion to do more. He felt the job was 90% done right. By thinking through the feedback, he created a song that actually made the album and it reset the expectation for “done.”

3) Remember—the work is not you

Brandi Carlile’s name is on the band, but she’ll be the first to tell you the work is actually from her and her two sidekicks, the Hanseroth twins. She has had to separate herself from the band, which bears her name (or in other words, “Brandi Carlile” represents a band not just here). Through moments like the one told here with the creation of “The Joke,” you can see how she (eventually) separated her emotions from the work, and realized she needed to do more to make the work better. It’s critical you do the same at work if you want to go to the next level and to be a rockstar.

Share something fresh on LinkedIn. The world needs more posts that aren’t about AI.

Who I’m listening to: Turnpike Troubadors, as well as the great artists mentioned here

What I’m reading: “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” (my god it’s long)

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Note: I’m re-telling Jason’s story from a podcast I heard after the album came out. I’ve told the story as close as I can remember it—sorry if it’s off a bit. The gist is there, and I do solidly remember he was watching “Hoarders.” I read Brandi’s book last year and have re-told it from memory and minor amounts of research. At the end of the day, I’m huge fans of each and have done my best to honor their work.

*You, too, friends can obsess over Kurt Cobain with this book. Unreal biography.