Cremona, Italy, is the birthplace of Stradivarius violins. Nashville, Tenn., is home to Gibson guitars.

Macon? We've got the kazoo.

The city's tiny, unique-sounding contribution to world music could add another chapter to its colorful history if at least 2,680 Middle Georgians gather Thursday night at Luther Williams Field and set a Guinness World Record for the world's largest kazoo band.

Meagan Evans, creative director of The Eleventh Hour magazine and one of the organizers of the event, said she hopes Macon clears the mark set by Rochester, N.Y. That city assembled 2,679 kazoo players Dec. 31.

"It's hard to say (how many people will appear)," Evans said. "We've had a lot of church groups and local organizations who called to say they would be there."

To be on the safe side, the Bibb Music Center, a sponsor of the event, has ordered 6,000 kazoos to distribute to would-be band members.

Steve Scroggins, a member of the Georgia State Fair's board of directors, said the fair is the right place to try to break the record.

"Our thought from the beginning was that the kazoo was originally unveiled at the Georgia State Fair (in 1852)," he said. "It's appropriate that Macon would have the world's largest kazoo band. This is really about bringing the community together."

But setting a world record and a Guinness record are two different things entirely. Guinness requires a plethora of evidence to go along with the claim before it declares the record official, Evans said.

Guinness requires two "upstanding citizens" to verify the record, who Scroggins said would be Bibb County Sheriff Jerry Modena and Barbara Stewart, an internationally known expert on the kazoo who has earned the nickname "The Kazoo Lady."

In addition, Scroggins said, everyone in the band will sign in and go through turnstiles at Luther Williams Field to help keep count, and everything will be photographed and videotaped.

Scroggins said Macon isn't the only city trying to break this particular record. Harlem, N.Y., tried in August, but came up short. More than 3,000 people in Matthews, N.C., reportedly performed the kazoo Aug. 31, but Scroggins said the city hasn't come up with an official number, and the number has not been verified.

That same day, Salem, Ore., had 2,788 unofficially play the kazoo. Scroggins said Canton, Ohio, was hoping to get 7,000 to break the record at a high school football game Oct. 5.

But none of those cities are grounded in kazoo history like Macon.

Katie Roberts, brand manager for the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, said even though little is known about the history of the instrument, it was invented in Macon sometime in the 19th century.

Roberts said the instrument was designed by Alabama Vest, who was perhaps an entertainer or a freed slave. Vest gave his design to a clock maker named Thaddeus Von Clegg, who created the actual kazoo.

Roberts said the instrument became a hit at the 1852 state fair, where a toy company bought the rights to it and began manufacturing it.

The oldest kazoo maker in the country is based in Eden, N.Y., and the factory still uses the same equipment from when it was originally built, Roberts said.

Though considered a child's instrument, the kazoo has its place among established musicians. Rock 'n' roll artists from the Beatles to Pink Floyd to the Kinks have all played the kazoo on various songs.

British classical composer David Bedford wrote "With 100 Kazoos" to be performed with an orchestra. The twist? The kazoos are passed out to the audience, who play the instruments while the orchestra accompanies them.

Evans said the choice of music for Thursday's record try will be Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," which will be led by Redding's son, Otis Redding III.

Roberts said it shouldn't be a problem for anyone who wants to play a kazoo to join in.

"The kazoo is anybody's instrument," Roberts said. "You don't need to study (to play it). Anyone can pick one up and have a lot of fun."

To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.