The Soulsville Foundation Welcomes Exclusive Les Paul Thru the Lens Gallery Exhibit to Memphis

The Stax Museum will Host the Traveling Gallery of Rare Photos Commemorating the Life of the Father of Modern Music

Opens November 1,2022 Through December 30, 2022

Memphis, Tennessee – October 24, 2022 – Les Paul Thru the Lens, an exclusive traveling gallery of photos highlighting the life and career of Les Paul, the inventor, musician, and icon, will open at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, Tennessee beginning November 1, 2022 and running through December 30, 2022. Guests of the museum will be treated to this exclusive photography exhibit featuring rare photos that chronicle the life of Les Paul. From his celebrity friends to the earliest part of his life, fans will have a chance to walk through Les’ amazing life through remarkable photos during this limited engagement presented by the Soulsville Foundation.

The exhibit features 24 gallery-framed black-and-white photographs including Les’ life from a small child to his later career. It includes rare personal family photos, Les behind-the-scenes, famous friends, and photos of the man with a larger than life sense of humor and amazing curiosity. Guests can follow along while viewing each photograph with the web-initiated storylines. From Les’ time inventing in his famous Hollywood garage studio to his popular reality TV show and appearances with Mary Ford, the exhibit provides fans with the opportunity to see Les like never before.

The Stax Museum is located at 926 E. McLemore Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38106.  The Soulsville Foundation also operates the Stax Music Academy and The Soulsville Charter School, all at the original site of Stax Records in a neighborhood known as Soulsville USA. The 501(c)3 non-profit organization’s mission is perpetuate the soul of Stax Records by preserving its rich cultural legacy, educating youth to be prepared for life success, and inspiring future artists to achieve their dreams.

The exhibit will be held in the museum’s changing gallery and entry is included in the museum’s regular admission. Hours are 10-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, closed Mondays.

Prior to Les Paul Thru the Lens opening in Memphis, the gallery was exhibited at the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York; Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California, the National Association of Music Manufacturers (NAMM) Convention in Anaheim, California and the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. This will be the exclusive showing for the city of Memphis.

The Les Paul Thru the Lens traveling exhibit is now taking reservations for the 2023 touring schedule. Venues or partners who wish to host the exhibit can email the contact listed at the bottom of this announcement.

“Les was an icon. His inventions paved the way for musicians all over the globe. His curiosity gave us the most important inventions in the music industry which are still used today. Since we want to celebrate him all year long we created the “Les Paul through the Lens” gallery exhibit. Guests will have the opportunity to find out more about Les through beautifully displayed photographs depicting important people and moments in his life. We hope you love it as much as we do.” – Michael Braunstein, Executive Director of the Les Paul Foundation

About The Stax Museum
The Stax Museum of American Soul Music, located at the original site of Stax Records in the Memphis neighborhood known as Soulsville USA, interprets the unique story of Stax Records, as well as that of various other American soul music record labels. A site on the United States Civil Rights Trail, the Stax Museum features interactive exhibits, films, music, and more than 3,000 artifacts including stage costumes, instruments, vintage recording equipment, photographs, records, and personal items that belonged to star such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, and the Staple Singers. It also houses permanent exhibits such as a recreation of the original Stax recording studio, a dance floor, a circa-1906 country chapel, and Isaac Hayes’ 1972 Peacock-blue, gold-trimmed, fur-lined Cadillac Eldorado.  For more information please visit https://staxmuseum.com/.

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About The Les Paul Foundation
The mission of the Les Paul Foundation is to honor and share the life, spirit and legacy of Les Paul by supporting music education, engineering and innovation as well as medical research. The Les Paul Foundation is an approved IRC 501(c)3 organization that awards grants to organizations that share Les Paul’s legacy through music, music engineering and sound programs that serve youth. The Foundation also provides grants for medical research related to hearing loss. The Les Paul Foundation supports public exhibits which display Les Paul’s life achievements, events that engage fans and students and music releases and related launches which share the genius of Les Paul.  For more information go to www.les-paul.com

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PRESS CONTACT
Caroline Galloway
440-591-3807
caroline@m2mpr.com