[214] Singer/songwriter Barry Gibb to speak, perform at Oct. 28 MTSU lecture

Bee Gees’ legend highlights Recording Industry speakers’ series this fall 

MURFREESBORO — MTSU welcomes legendary singer/songwriter Barry Gibb to Tucker Theatre at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, as part of the Department of Recording Industry Chair's Speakers Series.  

The event is free and open to the public, and seats will be available on a first-come basis. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.

Gibb, one of the founding members of the Bee Gees, is the world’s most successful songwriter after Paul McCartney, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, and has a career spanning more than 50 years.

Gibb accepted an invitation to visit the school from sound engineer and MTSU assistant professor John Merchant, who toured with Gibb for years as part of his concert sound production team. At Monday’s lecture, Gibb will answer questions from department chair Beverly Keel and perform, Merchant said.

“Unlike the arena shows earlier this year in Australia and England, he will be performing with just him on guitar and his keyboardist Doug Emery,” Merchant said. “This is the first time he’s performed solo and spoken with a live audience ... ever. The fact that it's happening here is a big deal.”

College of Mass Communication Dean Ken Paulson will also make a presentation to Gibb on behalf of the college and the university. Gibb’s appearance will wrap up a month in which several guest speakers from throughout the music industry have shared their insights with MTSU students.

“This will be a once-in-a-lifetime event for our students, faculty and community,” Keel said. “I've been hearing from people across the country who are traveling in for this. In fact, one Florida professor said, ‘Do you realize how momentous this is?’ We are so grateful to Mr. Gibb for sharing his experiences and insights with MTSU.”

Gibb and his brothers have been topping the charts since the 1960s, becoming the only group in pop history to write, produce and record six straight No.1 hits. The Bee Gees had 16 Grammy nominations and nine Grammy wins.

Gibb also has had No. 1 songs in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s 1990s and 2000s and is the only songwriter in history to write four successive U.S. No.1 hits: The Bee Gees' “Stayin' Alive” in 1978, replaced by youngest Gibb brother Andy’s single, “Love Is Thicker Than Water,” followed by the Bee Gees' seven-week run for “Night Fever” and Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You.” The Bee Gees’ and Elliman’s singles all originated with one of the top-selling albums of all time, the film soundtrack from “Saturday Night Fever.”