By Jeremy Stinson // Contributing Writer
“[Les Paul] would have been 100 years old this year, and that was the perfect excuse to take his life story on the road,” says Jeff Salmon of Les Paul Foundation.
Les Paul’s Big Sound Experience visited MTSU Wednesday and Thursday giving students an opportunity to immerse themselves within the life of Les Paul. This exhibit is a 53-foot bus-turned-museum traveling the country to celebrate the life of Paul. MTSU students, faculty and the public were invited to this event free of charge located in the parking lot behind John Bragg Media and Entertainment Building.
Paul was an inventor and musician who can be credited to helping form rock ‘n’ roll. He was a pioneer in overdubbing, phasing effects and multi-track recording who also happened to be an experienced guitar player. Rolling Stone has Paul ranked at No. 18 on their list of greatest guitarists. He sold millions of records with his wife, Mary Ford, and is the only person to be in both the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of fame.
“You can be tone deaf come in here and be motivated by what the guy accomplished in his life,” Salmon said. “Math student or designer, I don’t care what it is. He will show you how to break out of the mold.”
Students were given an opportunity to learn about Paul’s life in what is described as a musical playground. One feature was the ability to create your own multi-track mix by adding and subtracting effects into his song “Brazil.”
The exhibit emphasized on curiosity, persistence and perseverance. It showed the story of a curious boy maturing into a successful pioneer in the music industry, leaving an everlasting impact.
“Curiosity led me to the two most important parts of my career: music and electronics,” Paul said in a quote highlighted on one of the exhibits.
The purpose was simple: To explain that Paul was simply not a name signed on a guitar, but was an American inventor, guitarist and rock ‘n’ roll innovator.
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