Notable Performances and Uses
In 1994, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1,322 guitarists gathered to play the world-famous riff all at the same time for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. On Sunday 3 June 2007, in Kansas City this record was topped with 1,721 guitarists and just 20 days later in the German city of Leinfelden-Echterdingen by the group 'Party Blues In Bb' with over 1,800 other people involved. The record was again topped on 1 May 2009, in Wrocław, Poland, when 6,346 guitar players, joined by current Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse, performed the song during the Thanks Jimi Festival.
The iconic nature of the song has led to its inclusion in several music-related video games. A cover version of "Smoke on the Water" is one of the playable songs for the PlayStation 2 game Guitar Hero, and the same cover version is a downloadable track in Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360. It is also featured in Guitar Hero: Smash Hits and Rock Band 3 as a master track. It is a playable song in the PlayStation 2 game SingStar Rocks! and in the Japan-only Nintendo DS rhythm game Daigasso! Band Brothers. It is also available on Wii's Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 as a minigame, without Verse 3. The song also appears in Konami Guitar Freaks 4th Mix. The song is playable in the online game Stick Dudes Gone Wild: Rock Band.
In March 2011, "Smoke on the Water" was selected by departing German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg for performance as part of his official military farewell ceremony.
On 16 September 2012 at the Sunflower Jam charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice performed the song alongside guitarist Brian May of Queen, bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, and vocalists Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper.
Read more about this topic: Smoke On The Water
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