Other Versions and Parodies
Besides Madonna’s cover, multiple versions and parodies of “American Pie” also exist. In 1999, a song titled “The Saga Begins,” written and performed by “Weird Al” Yankovic, recounted the plot of Star Wars Episode One as a parody of “American Pie.” McLean permitted the parody and praised it after its release.
American musician and comedian Weird Al Yankovic plays the accordion as he performs onstage at the Star Plaza Theater, Merrillville, Indiana, July 9, 2010. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
The City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, used a live video of “American Pie” as a counter-reaction to a Newsweek article that claimed the city was dying. Many critics hailed the video as an extraordinary performance, with film critic Roger Ebert ever stating that it was “the greatest music video ever made.” The song was also used as a track for the series of music video games “Rock Band.”
Using the “Drove my Chevy to the levee” line – omitting, for obvious reasons, the “this’ll be the day that I die” part – car company Chevrolet revived the song in 2002 for an advertisement.