The group Playing For Change is the international stew stirred by Mark Johnson, a recording engineer/ producer who had a vision in a New York City subway station 10 years ago. He's travelled the world seeking out indigenous musicians all over the world to compile a series of songs performed by buskers. Johnson brought together, on tape, musicians from Israel, India, Ireland, the U.S. and several African nations to back the vocals of Marley and U2's Bono.

Playing for change

The past few years saw the release of several interesting busker documentaries. Online video sharing and social networking websites are now flooding the internet with street performers from around the world shot by amateurs on holiday.

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(DENVER) The 16th Street Mall is full of sounds these days with the help of several painted pianos up and down the way. The pianos are found in the middle of the street with buskers and street performers along the sidewalks. The painted pianos were donated from Craig's List and part of the program "Your Keys to the City" creating unique "useable art" for citizens to enjoy.

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(WWW) We all start out playing songs we like (covers) from other established artists. It's when we reach a certain plateau that we realize that in order to go further, we're going to have to write songs that the public enjoys. When busking, however, familiarity is king when your cover is recognized as tip-worthy. So, how do we handle our creativity yearning to be heard? Busking can be a very useful tool when first starting out writing songs. It is here that you can get instant feedback if the public is relating to your new song. If people are enjoying themselves, dancing or even singing along, you've really got something worthy of developing.

Try writing a song with a beat or speed up a slow song you've already written. People are out to have a good time and, generally speaking, really don't...

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(WWW) eBay.com has pages of busker memorabilia available for listening and home decor. Add to your collection of records, vintage photos, art, sculpture, statues, books, playing cards, mime, articles, collages, bell ringers, figurines, stories, and just about anything else you can think of.Notable items include the Cambridge Buskers, Stars of the Streets, the Busker's Album, and the Beale Street Buskers. Some news articles go back as far as 1919.

Keep in mind thaat the some records are outdated 45's and lp's that will need a turntable to play.

The photo featured here is a pre-war busker in Newport, Rhode Island and is listed for $5000!

Click the link below for some amazing items.

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(SYDNEY) From hulahoops to didgeridoos, over 260 buskers turned out to break the Guinness World's Record of 230 set in the UK for the world's largest busk. Although not all were authentic buskers with the youngest being 4 years old, they were officially registered as performers who came out to busk for a worthy cause and break the record at the same time.

Performers played for two hours in 100 places as part of the Bondi Winter Magic Festival donating their day's earnings to SoundSchool which teaches music to disadvantaged children.

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