More than 2,000 guitarists appear to set record

[July 03, 2008]  CONCORD, Calif. (AP) -- More than 2,000 guitar-players performing "This Land is Your Land" in a Bay Area park appear to have strummed their way into the record books.

Led by 1960s folk singer Country Joe McDonald, 2,052 electric and acoustic guitar pickers played the Woody Guthrie classic at Todos Santos Park in Concord on Tuesday night.

McDonald kept the racket going for more than six minutes, as children and adults repeated the song's chorus.

Organizers believe the rendition was good enough to beat the Guinness World Record for guitar-ensemble playing. The previous mark was set in Germany in 2007, when 1,802 people played "Smoke on the Water."

The record is not official until Guinness verifies it, which could take about a month.

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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/

[Associated Press]

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