'American Pie' has been described as 'one of the most successful and debated songs of the 20th century'. Due to its exceptional length, it was initially released as a two-sided 7-inch single. The song also held the record for almost 50 years for being the longest song to reach number one before Taylor Swift's ' All Too Well (10 Minute Version)' broke the record in 2021. At 8 minutes and 42 seconds, McLean's combined version is the sixth longest song to enter the Billboard Hot 100 (at the time of release it was the longest). 1 in at least 15 countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. A truncated version of the song was covered by Madonna in 2000 and reached No.

The song was listed as the No. 5 song on the RIAA project Songs of the Century. In the UK, the single reached number 2, where it stayed for three weeks on its original 1971 release, and a reissue in 1991 reached No. 12. The song also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Recorded and released in 1971 on the album of the same name, the single was the number-one US hit for four weeks in 1972 starting January 15 after just eight weeks on the US Billboard charts (where it entered at number 69). ' American Pie' is a song by American singer and songwriter Don McLean. 'American Pie live performance on BBC, July 29, 1972' on YouTube Artwork was also used as the front cover for the album of the same name and many other international releases of the single. And just like McLean and America’s innocence.U.S. Even though McLean admired three men most, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, it was clear that God had died in the ‘60s. Those hellish flames climbed high, while the church bells were all broken. Especially for those who squandered it on drugs, lost in their own headspace under a satanic spell. Wasting time on drugs, the death of God, and McLean’s Catholicism. John Lennon was reading from the book of Marx, as The Beatles released songs invoking revolution and even referencing China’s Mao.

Music was no exception to all the politicization. The Helter Skelter murders happened during that sweltering summer, which if not expressly political was certainly ideological. Kennedy was assassinated and the courtroom was adjourned with no verdict, as Lee Harvey Oswald was killed prior to judicial proceedings. Everything gets political, The Beatles, Kennedy, and Helter Skelter.Įverything became more political in the 1960s.

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