Saturday, August 08, 2009

Stand By Me


Using just a simple laptop, some microphones, and a lot of frequent flyer miles, Playing For Change has created a moving, international rendition of Ben E. King's classic Stand By Me.

Starting out as a simple bass-vocal-guitar recording by a street musician in Santa Monica, California named Roger Ridley. In New Orleans, Louisiana, Grandpa Elliot added vocals and harmonica while Washboard Chaz contributed his own unique percussion.

Additional performances were added across Europe, Africa, and South America, with each musician listening to the previous performances through headphones.

There are no 'celebrities' here. These are all street musicians, unknown to each other, separated by great distances but united in song. Playing For Change: Songs Around the World is available as a CD/DVD combo on Amazon.com.

1 comment:

Bonez said...

Markoni ~ Thank you so much for this great post and once again bringing Playing for Change to the attention of Bonez visitors. I think that the name is so neat because many of these people are really playing for change ... pocket change ... daily around the world. Their talents are remarkable and their life stories are probably even more so. The team at Playing for Change are creating a beautiful collection of pieces that show the world's Unity and common goal for a higher good. I cannot fathom how anyone could listen to this and watch this video without being moved at their core ... the spirit. Thank you so much for this post!