More than 1,680 guitar players turned out, tuned up and took part in what organizers say was a world record rendition of Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water — a song that was the first many of them ever learned.
Some came from as far away as California and Germany on Jun. 3 to take part in a Kansas City, Missouri, USA radio station's effort to break a Guinness world record for the most people playing the same song simultaneously. The record had been 1,323 people playing the same song in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1994.
"It was cool to see little kids playing, people who had been playing for their whole lives, like older people, and then I'm sure there were people like me who just picked up the song a couple days before," said Autumn McPherson, of Winfield, Kansas, USA, a senior at the University of Kansas.
Photo: AP
Preliminary numbers show 1,683 people played the popular early 1970s guitar riff at Community America Ballpark.
"I thought it was going to be kind of cheesy," said Hannah Koch, of Prairie Village, Kansas, who came clad in an elf costume. "But after I got here, I got caught up in the excitement of it."
Tanna Guthrie, a morning show host for KYYS (99.7 FM), came up with the idea for the record attempt. She said her station will send participant sign-up lists, photos, videos and copies of media coverage to Guinness seeking official recognition of a record.
One of the participants, John Cardona of Hanford, California, said he brought felt-tip pens so he could get others to sign his guitar.(AP)
一千六百八十多位吉他手齊聚一堂飆音，參加深紫色合唱團的《Smoke on the Water》演奏大會，主辦單位稱這場大會為打破世界紀錄的盛事。這首歌是許多吉他手入門初學的歌曲。
有些吉他手甚至從加州和德國遠道而來，參加美國密蘇里州堪薩斯市一家電台六月三日的這場盛事，準備打破最多人同時演奏同一首歌的金氏世界紀錄。先前的紀錄為在加拿大卑詩省的溫哥華所創下的一千三百二十三人。
家住堪薩斯州溫菲爾德市的堪薩斯大學大四生奧登．麥克菲爾森說︰「看到小朋友和年長者等彈了一輩子吉他的人一起彈奏真是酷極了，但我確信也有跟我一樣前幾天才開始惡補這首歌的人。」
初步估計有一千六百八十三名吉他手在美國人棒球場齊彈這首風行於一九七○年代初期的歌曲。
「我原本覺得有點庸俗，」打扮成精靈、來自堪薩斯市普萊瑞村的漢娜．科赫說︰「但我抵達現場後，也感染了那份興奮之情。」
KYYS電台（FM99.7）的晨間節目主持人坦娜．古絲芮是這項破紀錄活動的發起人。她說電台將會寄出參加者簽署名單、照片、影帶與媒體報導影本給金氏紀錄，以尋求正式認可。
來自加州漢福市的參加者約翰．卡度納說他還自備了簽字筆，好讓別人在他的吉他上頭簽名。（美聯社/翻譯︰賴美君）
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