Playing for Change, my favorite music project is turning 20 this year!
Last edited Mon Jan 31, 2022, 12:45 PM - Edit history (2)
So hard to believe it's been this long. For those unfamiliar, it all started out when Mark Johnson was walking around Santa Monica, CA and heard a street musician, the now late Roger Ridley, busking with a crowd gathered round. Soon an idea was born to bring these types of musicians together to remotely jam, using what they do "playing for change" as a catalyst to grow the project. Playing for Change soon had another meaning, using the project to raise funds to build schools in underserved, impoverished villages around the world, making sure girls, as well as boys, receive an education, too.
Mark and crew began traveling the world, recording street buskers, amateur and local club musicians, artists popular in their own locales, choirs and quartets adding their own contributions to popular songs; some playing and singing songs not in their own languages, but also incorporating their cultures and languages into the music. Where else can you listen to a group of Brazilians sing an Indian folk song, both in their own language and breaking into an Indian dialect for the chorus? Or musicians from Bali to Spain to the U.S. and so many destinations in between, just have a jam session (one of my favorites, BTW), 75 Cuban musicians located around the world, all playing and singing, Guantanmera, which I posted here last week?
Because of the goal of the project, soon artists like Bono, Keb'Mo and Keith Richards began participating. These days there's a long list of famous artists who have contributed their time and music to the project: Taj Mahal, members of The Doors and the Grateful Dead, Dr. John, Jimmy Buffet, David Crosby, The Band, Ringo Starr and too many more to name.
If you've not heard of it yet or checked it out, I so strongly recommend it. Aside from the awesome goals of the project, the thread that runs throughout can be found in the huge glowing smiles and unbridled joy evidenced in their videos. It's enough to lift even the lowest spirits and get people boogieing in their seats or up in their feet. It's just so hard to express how excited I've been and have remained through the evolution of the project and how much it's served to lift me up when I needed it.
Their website:
https://playingforchange.com/
CD's and DVDs are available to support the cause, as well as annual membership.
Their YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/playingchange
To get a sense for the small beginnings, and the growth and evolution of the project, I suggest sorting the videos by the oldest video added (they started adding videos to YT about 12 or so years ago.) Most of the first videos made were songs well known on the charts of the western world and soon expanded to include exuberant world music, as well.
Enjoy the journey!
An early example:
ETA: turn off the CC that comes on by default so you can see where are the artists are from and/or located when they recorded.
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I can't believe it, either. I remember driving back to work from my lunch break and hearing about it on NPR. Have been completely hooked ever since.
Now that I'm retired, I listen to them a lot when I'm working here at home. 