Macon can’t hit the high note, fails third kazoo record attempt

Nearly 2,000 Maconites showed up to the amphitheater Friday afternoon in an attempt to set a world record for largest kazoo ensemble.

Ultimately, Bibb County came up short of the 5,191 participants needed to join the Guinness Book of World Records. Only about 1,780 kazooists were in attendance, said Brenda Cassabon, a spokesperson with TK PR who represents Visit Macon. At capacity, the amphitheater holds 10,000, and Visit Macon ordered the same number of kazoos.

Macon failed twice to beat the world record in the past, once in 2006 and another time in 2007. The current record for the largest kazoo ensemble was set in 2011 in London.

Kazooists played a selection of songs with Macon connections including “Hard to Handle,” “Get Up Offa That Thing,” “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay”, “Ramblin’ Man” and “Tutti Frutti.”

Kazoos were provided, and proceeds from the $5 tickets went toward the Otis Redding Foundation.

Jeremy Bryant, a Macon resident, came to try to help break the record, and although he said he was hopeful, noted the lack of people.

“This year’s Cherry Blossom Festival has been great,” he said. “It’d be cool for Macon to hold a world record.”

Kris Ryan, a member of the Kazoo Sisterhood from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said it was a “valiant attempt,” before Macon even tooted it’s first tune.

Mercer University’s band and the Kazoo Sisterhood serenaded the crowd ahead of the attempt.

Brett Ambler, an actor and musician known as the “Kazoo Kid,” tested Macon’s musical and pop culture knowledge by leading kazooists through different songs like “Pink Panther,” “The Imperial March,” “Für Elise,” “Bitter Sweet Symphony” and the opening to “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”