“Playing For Change was born out of the idea that we have to inspire each other as a human race, and that music is the best way to do that,” says Mark Johnson, the program’s creator. And by combining music technology, wanderlust, and no small amount of guts, his organization has found a unique way to do just that.
For their debut “Song Around The World,” PFC recorded street musician Roger Ridley in California singing the classic “Stand By Me” and accompanying himself on guitar. The intrepid engineers then traveled to points around the globe overdubbing local musicians over Roger’s track; guerrilla recording sessions went down in New Orleans, Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Congo, and Barcelona, among other location. Finally, Mark and his team molded the stems together into a cohesive, uplifting ode to global unity.
“Stand By Me” was just the beginning for Mark and Playing For Change. The organization has gone on to record Song Around The World renditions of “One Love” and “Don’t Worry,” among other worldwide classics. To hear the recordings and see the videos, visit playingforchange.com.