The number of artists that “Weird Al” Yankovic has parodied in his career is staggering.
Since kicking off his career by parodying The Knack (“My Bologna”) and Queen (“Another One Rides the Bus), the 65-year-old musician has used his wit and charm to transform songs by Michael Jackson (“Eat It,” “Fat”), James Brown (“Living With A Hernia”), Coolio (“Amish Paradise”), Red Hot Chili Peppers (“Bedrock Anthem”), Madonna (“Like A Surgeon”) and so, so much more.
Yankovic’s versions have been faithful, with the music icon going to great lengths to capture both the style and the substance of the song.
And Don McLean, whose “American Pie” received the “Weird Al” treatment in 1999, thinks the parody outshines his classic track. “When I heard his version, I thought it was better than the original. The sound quality was superb,” McLean said in a new Billboardcover story.
The 79-year-old folk rock icon added that he considers Yankovic a “straight-ahead good boy” who “could be on Leave It to Beaver.”
Yankovic’s “The Saga Begins” transforms McLean’s “American Pie” into a retelling of 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace from the point of Ewan McGregor’s character, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Instead of the usual chorus (“So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie / Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry”), “Weird Al’s version goes, “My, my this here Anakin guy / Maybe Vader someday later, now he’s just a small fry.”
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For years, McLean remained coy about the meaning behind “American Pie.” Released in 1971, it’s considered one of the most debated songs in history, thanks to its vivid imagery and the repetition of “the day the music died,” a phrase commonly used to describe the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.
But in 2022, when promoting his documentary, McLean spoke about how the song came to be.
Related: Don McLean Reveals the True Meaning of Hit ‘American Pie’ for 50th Anniversary
