Five Covers of Don McLean's "American Pie"

Don McLean's "American Pie" is a classic song in music history. Most of us know the words and proudly sing along when it comes on the radio. Clocking in at eight minutes and 36 seconds, it's surprising that any band would take on covering this single. But they do. And...

By Betsey Denberg

June 12, 2012

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Don McLean's "American Pie" is a classic song in music history. Most of us know the words and proudly sing along when it comes on the radio.

Clocking in at eight minutes and 36 seconds, it's surprising that any band would take on covering this single. But they do. And like with any cover song, some bands do it well, while others just kill it. Ahem... Madonna.

In celebration of McLean's coming to the Hard Rock Live on July 5, we've compiled a list of covers of his hit single "American Pie".

Take a peek at the list after the jump.

5. Jonas Brothers & Friends
Honestly, it's a bit funny to see a Disney channel evangelical group cover a song that talks about the drugs, alcohol, and the history of rock 'n' roll. Be sure to take notice of cameos from Amy Grant, Jordin Sparks, and Brad Paisley.

4. Catch-22
Do you think Don McLean ever thought he'd hear his song all done up ska style with trumpets and saxophones? We sure didn't. However, this is definitely one of the more creative covers that we've heard.

3. Killdozer
This is probably our favorite cover on this list. Who knew "American Pie" could sound so gritty? Gotta hand it to them for covering this single in its entirety.

2. Tori Amos
This is more like half of a cover song, as Tori uses a portion of "American Pie" to lead into her own rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." She began doing this mix of songs the night after Kurt Cobain passed away.

1. Madonna
And for the pièce de résistance, Madonna's abomination of a cover. Watching her dance in slow motion is enough to ruin the song, but throw in that backing dance beat and it's all downhill. The fact that Don McLean is rumored to have liked this cover version makes us cringe a bit.

Don McLean, 8 p.m. Thursday, July 5, at Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood. Tickets cost $29 to $59. Visit hardrocklivehollywoodfl.com.

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