Decatur Daily has an article with an Elkmont connection. Paul Compton, son of Gary Compton, is mentioned. If you would like to read the full article, pick up a hard copy today.
Highlights:
Jimmy Cantrell can’t help but brag a bit. In his 45 years of teaching at
Calhoun Community College, many of his students achieved national
success in the music industry.
There is Paul Compton, who signed country music superstar Luke Bryan to his first Nashville contract.
With
25 years in the music industry, Compton, president and founder of the
songwriter and artist management company Music Highway and the booking
company The Songwriter Agency, brings his knowledge to the classroom. Every
Tuesday, Compton travels from Nashville to downtown Decatur to teach
the publishing and practicum courses. Compton, who served on the music
department’s advisory committee, spoke yearly to the fine arts students
and helped Jimmy Cantrell develop the curriculum, but never intended to teach.
“Jimmy
deserves all the credit,” Compton said. “Last year, I contacted Jimmy
and threw out the idea that I could sit in on one of his classes and
work with the students. Of course, he took it one step further, which
Jimmy often does, and said, ‘Hey, what if you come down here and teach?’
He’s already hit me up to teach three more classes next semester. Of
course, I said yes.”
Compton
takes his role seriously. He knows the impact one teacher can have. For
Compton, a self-described jock, that teacher was Cantrell. After
graduating from Elkmont High School, where he played football,
basketball and baseball, Compton attended Calhoun and switched majors
from engineering to business before finally landing classes in the fine
arts department.
The son of
Gary Compton, who owns Elkmont’s The Red Caboose, which hosts
singer-songwriter nights, and Linda Compton, who played the piano in
church, Compton never considered music as a career. At Calhoun, Compton played in the jazz band and sang with the Calhoun Connection.
“Jimmy
was a big influence. He was probably the first person outside of my
family that came up beside me, put his arm around me and said, ‘You can
do this if you really want it. You’ve got what it takes.’ Hearing that
from someone outside of my family gave me a little extra push,” Compton
said.
Compton,
who worked for Murrah Music for 17 years and left in 2008 to start
Music Highway when a large corporation bought the independent company,
hopes to expose the students at Calhoun to that business. Students in
Compton’s practicum course will travel to Nashville to sit in on
recording sessions.
“I
come from Nashville to Decatur to bring 25 years of experience in the
music business as a professional and executive to the students. I want
them to understand what the real world is and give them a window into
the music industry,” Compton said.
Article Link: Keyed In
