Chilly Gonzales - Le Guinness World Record 'the Works' (2009)

Beginning at 23:30 on Saturday May 16th and through 3:00 Monday May 18th, 2009 Chilly Gonzales broke the Guiness World Record for longest concert by a solo artist. The previous record was 26 hours and 12 minutes and was performed by Prasanna Gudi (India) at the Mallikarjun Mansoor Kala Bhavan public auditorium, Dharwad, Karnataka, India from 28 to 29 December 2008. Gonzales explained his motivation: “I will do this to push my muscial and physical stamina. I believe music is part art, part athletics and this 27-hour concert will demonstrate both aspects.” Gonzales had been consulting with the Guiness Book of Record to ensure a smooth attempt and an Official Guinness Judge adjudicated the event on site. Repertoire touched on recognizable songs from all eras and styles of music, in new and surprising arrangements. There was no repetition of material during the attempt. As Gonzales himself said “I will break the record without sounding like a broken record”. The record attempt took place at the theatre of notable French film director Claude Lelouch, Theatre Ciné 13 in Paris. The attempt in its entirety was streamed live on the web and achieved #2 Twitter Trend status at its peak.