When
it comes to name dropping,
no one could do it better than Theodore "Ted" McCarty, Eng '33.
Chuck Berry, George Harrison and Jimi Hendrix are just a few. All three
were musicians indebted to McCarty’s instrumental genius.
While other engineering grads were solving logistical challenges of American
industry, building breathtaking bridges or erecting innovative buildings,
McCarty was helping to mold the sounds of rock 'n' roll. His talent begat
musical styles that have both inspired and incited generations of young
people.
As president of the Gibson Guitar Co. during its golden period, he collaborated
with renowned guitarist Les Paul in the early '50s to develop the solid-body
guitar into the Les Paul model, arguably the most famous electric guitar
in history. Though Ted never played it, his fingerprints are all over
the instrument that transformed rock 'n' roll as well as country-Western
music. McCarty died in April at the age of 91.
The innovative craftsman steered Gibson from 1948 to 1966. During his
watch, Gibson's production ballooned from 5,000 instruments a year to
more than 100,000. In turn, the number of employees at the Michigan-based
firm leapt from 150 to 1,200 in 18 years.
"He was an engineer and an accountant, and he turned Gibson around,"
acclaimed guitar designer Paul Reed Smith told a reporter from McCarty's
hometown paper in Twin Falls, Idaho. "It's fair to say that without
him, our industry and the music would be different."
Different indeed.
The solid-body guitar, once a gimmick instrument, became a signature sound
after McCarty, with Les Paul's endorsement and design assistance, crafted
a beautiful mahogany and maple guitar capable of high amplification and
noise-free operation. Later versions of the Gibson Les Paul powered the
blues-rock sound of the late '60s and the Southern rock of the late '70s.
Today, the Les Paul provides distinctive sounds for every genre of rock,
from alternative to metal.
Next page | Shocking
the industry
