Two heads, they say, are better than one. This old saying has proven to be true, over the years. There is enough proof from different scenarios and experiences.

Music fans have definitely witnessed how true the saying is over a period, when some of their favourite music groups, worked together to produce singles, EPs, albums and entertained them with performances of a lifetime.

Unfortunately, many groups are unable to stand the test of time. Members of music groups may have had successful solo careers after parting ways, but it certainly does not erase the pain of seeing Destiny’s Child, The Everly Brothers, UB-40 and others around the world, split.

In Ghana, sensational groups that have hit the rocks include VIP, 4x4, Wutah, Praye and Akyeame. Apart from death which acted as the dissolvent of groups like The Manhattans, other varied reasons contribute to the splits.

Kofi Otchere Darko (KOD), seasoned Artiste Manager and CEO of 1957 clothing line, revealed other causes of groups parting ways. He joined, for the first time, George Quaye, host of Showbiz A-Z, on Joy FM, where he made informed submissions, citing ‘industry elements’ as one of the key reasons why groups part ways.

Every industry has its wings - stakeholders, record companies, managers, sponsors, bloggers, and fans, to mention a few. KOD, who is also former Manager of defunct music groups Wutah and Praye, believes that industry members sometimes do influence the splits that groups suffer.

These persons within the industry, other than the musicians themselves, do incite competition within groups, by suggesting to a particular member, how better they think they’d be if they tried a solo career.

He cited scenarios of possible conversations between a music industry stakeholder and a member of a group, saying “…you’ve gone out, you’ve done your own solo thing, someone featured you and you shined on it, so on your own, you can actually do it."

Even though KOD believes there is nothing wrong with dropping solo projects and staying closely knit as a group, he opined that there is danger in such influences because, sometimes, the particular member of the group, who tries a solo project, fails to return to jelling, once they find success with their solo project.

As a buttress to KOD’s submission, Ken Addy, popularly known as Uncle Ken, related the experience of The Commodores, a group that hit the rocks, not only because Lionel Richie felt he had been with his counterpart for too long, but also because “some of these record companies fish out the talent, talk to them and get them to do solo projects. And in Lionel’s case the solo project worked."

He went on to cite Kool & The Gang as another example, “the front man left to do a solo project, and it was the same record company people who got him to do it”.

One vital take-home point however, from Uncle Ken’s submission was that parting ways is not always a bad thing. He referenced Lionel Richie’s successful solo career as well as the successful solo careers of Paul, John and George of the 1962 group The Beatles, which hit the rocks because the fourth member, Ringo felt left out.

As is usual of uncles, Uncle Ken wrapped up his comments with an advice for members of groups who wish to go solo: “If you are going to leave a group to pursue a solo career, then you must know that you’re going to make it, otherwise you’ll become a laughing stock."