Some of the 1,683 guitar players attempt a world record by playing the Deep Purple song Smoke

Kansas City, Kan. ? Lawrence residents Erin Runnels and Autumn McPherson woke up Sunday and felt like trying to break a world record.

The pair were among a reported 1,683 guitarists at Community America Ballpark in Wyandotte County who played “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple to try to earn a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

“I like playing guitar anyway. I might as well do it with a bunch of people and break a record, or at least try to,” said Runnels, who works at Natural Pet Food & Supply, 3025 W. Sixth St.

The army of acoustic and electric guitar players covered two-thirds of the stadium’s outfield, and at 12:17 p.m. started the song with the famous riff that many beginning rockers learn.

Remarkably, the tune that emanated from the legion of guitarists was pretty recognizable, Runnels said.

“It sounded good where I was. I don’t know what it sounded like out there. It seemed like people were with it,” she said.

Ed Drazick plays his guitar as he waits for traffic to ease after the performance of Smoke

Tanna Guthrie, a morning radio host for KYYS-FM in the Kansas City area, was one of the leaders behind the promotion. The guitarists seemed to break the record for most people to simultaneously perform the same song – currently listed as 1,322 people who played in 1994 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

From left, Joe Soddee, Roger Thomas and Dan Corbin kill some time as they jam together outside the Community America Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan. Organizers say 1,683 guitar players showed up to perform at the park Sunday to break the world record for the most people to simultaneously perform the same song.

European media reports do mention that on May 1 a reported 1,876 guitarists played “Hey Joe” by Jimi Hendrix in Wroclaw, Poland. Organizers of that event were also seeking approval for a world record from Guinness.

However, organizers of the Kansas event on Sunday celebrated and told participants they had set a new world record. Guitarists from as far away as Germany came to take part in the record-breaking attempt.

Members of the radio station KY’s Hippo House Band played a rendition of the song over the loudspeaker to keep the players on the field in sync. The song lasted for five minutes and ended in celebration as at least one guitarist jubilantly smashed his acoustic to pieces.

“It was cool to see little kids playing, people who had been playing for their whole lives, like older people, and then I’m sure there were people like me who just picked up the song a couple days before,” said McPherson, a Kansas University senior from Winfield.

One Overland Park family even had a new motto suggested to them from several fellow rockers: “A family that rocks together, stays together.”

Jeff and Karin Lindmark joined their daughters, Megan, 12, and Abigail, 10, on the field.

“I thought it was really fun. I always liked the song,” Megan Lindmark said.

“Smoke on the Water” was one of the first songs she learned to play, her dad said.

Hunter Sprong, 11, of Kansas City, Kan., now has something to tell his friends about his summer.

“I just went and broke a world’s record,” he said.

Others also felt like they couldn’t miss out on the opportunity.

“A world’s record for Kansas City? Why not? Right on,” said Duane Petersen, of Raytown, Mo.

Event organizers told participants they would now send several forms of documentation of the performance to Guinness this week in an attempt to verify breaking the record.