Amanda Righetti

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Playing for Change: Stand By Me




Got it off Teck.

This cover of Stand By Me was recorded by completely unknown artists in a street virtual studio all around the world. It all started with a base track—vocals and guitar—recorded on the streets of Santa Monica, California, by a street musician called Roger Ridley. The base track was then taken to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Grandpa Elliott—a blind singer from the French Quarter—added vocals and harmonica while listening to Ridley's base track on headphones. In the same city, Washboard Chaz's added some metal percussion to it.

And from there, it just gets rock 'n' rolling bananas: The producers took the resulting mix all through Europe, Africa, and South America, adding new tracks with multiple instruments and vocals that were assembled in the final version you are seeing in this video. All done with a simple laptop and some microphones.

From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", comes the first of many "songs around the world" being released independently. Featured is a cover of the Ben E. King classic by musicians around the world adding their part to the song as it travelled the globe.

Order the CD/DVD Playing For Change "Songs Around The World" now at amazon.com!

The Playing For Change "Songs Around The World" CD/DVD is now available at your neighborhood Starbucks and everywhere music is sold.

Order the "Stand By Me," "Don't Worry," "One Love," and "War/No More Trouble" videos and the new Songs Around The World album now at itunes!

Sign up at playingforchange.com for updates and exclusive content. You can also buy cool stuff in our new online store!

Join the Playing for Change Online Street Team at ufanz.com/teams/playingforchange.

Join the Movement to help build schools, connect students, and inspire communities in need through music.

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