Largest guitar ensemble-Concordstock sets world
record
CONCORD, CA, USA--On Tuesday night at Todos Santos
Plaza in Concord, 2,052 people came from all over to play
Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" simultaneously, setting
the new world record for "largest guitar ensemble." Photo:
The record-breaking performance was part of Concordstock,
a bevy of events all summer to celebrate 20 years of music
in Concord. Photo
by Contra Costa Times (enlarge
photo)
"We got 2,052 and it's all documented," said Jim
Ocean, producer of Concord's "Music in the Park" program.
Country
Joe McDonald, a Bay Area 60's iconic musician, led
the crowd in "This Land is Your Land" by Woodie Guthrie. The
Berkeley musician says he chose “This Land is Your Land,”
because he needed a simple tune to lead an expected crew of
more than 2,000 guitar-toting guests in song.
“It’s socially significant but not considered
radical,” McDonald
said in an interview about the Woody Guthrie song that was
written more than 65 years ago. “It’s a song that most people
know,” McDonald said, adding that some consider the ditty
to be the “unofficial national anthem of the Untied States
of America.”
An enthusiastic crowd filled with professional
musicians and novices alike sang and loudly strummed along.
The previous world record for the "largest
guitar ensemble": 1,802 people played Deep Purple's "Smoke
on the Water" in June 2007 in Leinfelden, Germany.
