Guitarists Hope To 'Smoke' World Record Mass Performance Of DEEP PURPLE Song

James A. Fussell of The Kansas City Star reports: This Sunday (June 3) thousands of guitarists — including local rockers, hobbyists, parents, teens, senior citizens, people from other states, other countries and, yes, even kindergartners — will try to break the record for the world's largest ensemble performance of the same song.

The effort is a promotion of radio station KYYS (99.7 on the FM dial),which hopes to sign up 2,000 players for the assault on the recognized record of 1,322, which was set in 1994 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The attempt, which is free to the public, will be witnessed by several political officials, videotaped, then sent to Guinness for validation.

The effort is the brainchild of Tanna Guthrie, one of the station's morning hosts. The attempt at the record will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at Community America Ballpark in Wyandotte County.

"We have people coming in from London, Sarajevo, from California, Minnesota, Nebraska and Michigan," Guthrie said. "After we play we're going to turn it into a huge jam session — everybody play what you want. Wouldn't that be nuts?"

She got the idea in late February after reading a story about a planned attempt at Harrods department store in London that got called off.

"I thought, 'We could do that in Kansas City!'" she said.

If she can get enough guitarists, that is. Guthrie is aiming for 2,000 because she knows a certain number will not show up. She chose DEEP PURPLE's "Smoke on the Water" with its iconic chord progression because it's one of the first songs guitarists learn.

Read more at The Kansas City Star.