What happens when hundreds of cigar box guitarists play the same tune? Bad to the Bone

It all began in November 1951 when Sir Hugh Beaver, the director of marketing for the storied Irish Guinness brewery, got into an argument with some hunting companions over the fastest game bird in England. 

He had missed a shot at a golden plover, apparently offering as an excuse that the missed shot was understandable because the golden plover is the fastest game bird in all of Europe. Some of his companions disputed that, arguing that the red grouse is faster and that the reason he missed was he was a bad shot. 

Beaver couldn’t let it go. He did some research, but soon realized he couldn’t find that information in any of the reference volumes he checked. 

He stewed over it and finally concluded that his quest wasn’t all that uncommon. He believed that in pubs all across Ireland — and the world, for that matter — people were arguing over similar questions with little hope for resolution. Then it struck him: A book that contained arcane records and facts intended to settle bar bets could be enormously successful. 

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Long story short, in 1954, that book was published. It was called the Guinness Book of World Records, a 198-page compendium of trivia and records that the brewer gave away to promote its beer. It soon became apparent that the brewer could sell copies of the book, and it shot to the top of best-seller lists. Guinness Book of World Records became a household name, even in the countries that had never heard of the heady brew that is Guinness. (The book holds its own record as the world’s best-selling copyrighted book with sales topping 100 million copies in 100 different countries.) 

The catalog of human achievement – so to speak – has expanded over the years to document more than 15,000 world records. York has been represented in the book. An attempt to set the record for most musicians playing the national anthem occurred at a Revolution game in 2017. York Container set the record for the world’s largest cardboard box in 2015. In 2017, a woman from York was profiled on the TV show "Inside Edition" in her attempt to set the record for having the world’s biggest hips. (The record is 99 inches – a little more than eight feet – still held by a woman in Los Angeles.)  

And now there is a new contender on the block – the world’s largest assembly of cigar box guitar players playing the same song simultaneously.  

The record – to be attempted at the 10th annual Pennsylvania Cigar Box Guitar Festival at the York Emporium on West Market Street on Aug. 24 – is nearly a lock to make the record book.  

Trying to set the record was the brainchild of Emporium proprietor Jim Lewin. “It’s the 10th anniversary of the festival, and we wanted to do something a little bit different to give it a little kick,” Lewin said.  

Lewin did some research and found that there was no record for the world’s largest cigar box guitar ensemble. He looked into how to apply to Guinness to establish the record.  

It’s a process. He filled out an application, providing information about the record, how he planned to set it, what the record would entail. Guinness reviewed his query and approved the record and notified him of the guidelines that must be followed, to the letter, to get the record approved — including two statements from independent witnesses and any photographic or video evidence.  

Then he set about figuring out how to break the record. Since the festival attracts cigar box guitar players and vendors from all over the country, he figured he had a pretty good base to work from. And since cigar box guitars are usually tuned to a chord, it would be easy to recruit players from the crowd and give them a quick lesson. 

Then there was the song. Shane Speal, the self-titled king of the cigar box guitar and a homemade instrument evangelist for years, suggested George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone,” since it’s fairly simple and can be easily be played by pretty much anyone no matter his or her skill level.  

He’s hoping to gather at least 250 players to bang out the bluesy tune. “It may be a stretch, but I don’t think it’s impossible,” he said. 

He launched a Kickstarter fundraiser to buy some 30 cigar box guitars to provide to those who wish to be part of the record-setting attempt. Vendors have also pledged to provide loaners, he said. 

Mayor Michael Helfrich volunteered to register participants and lead the ensemble. (He plays.) Lewin hopes to recruit a judge or some other elected officials to provide witness statements, lending the credibility of their titles to the event. 

Lewin is hopeful, sort of.  

“The rules don’t say we have to play it well; we just have to play it,” Lewin said. “We hope to start together and finish together and just try to keep up in the middle.” 

To go 

What: The 10th annual Cigar Box Guitar Festival. 

Where: The York Emporium, 343 W. Market St., York 

When: Saturday, Aug. 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Admission: Free. 

Details: The festival features 14 bands performing throughout the day. The attempt to set the Guinness Book world record will occur at about 5:30 p.m. Registration for the record-setting attempt will be open all day.