American Pie (Don McLean album) the feel of a "band that was really cooking," so he rented a rehearsal studio and they rehearsed the title song for two weeks before they recorded it. Because McLean rarely phrased his singing the same way twice there were as many as 24 takes for some of the voice parts, but the rhythm tracks are mostly one take. The title track contains references to the death of Buddy Holly (McLean being a 13-year-old paper-boy at the time). The phrase "The Day the Music Died" was used by McLean on this song, and has now become an unofficial name for
Everyday (Buddy Holly song) his album "Gunfight at Carnegie Hall" in 1974. Elliott Murphy recorded this song for a French tribute, "Every Day Is a Holly Day", in 1989. In 1990, the British guitarist Peter White recorded it for the album "Reveillez-Vous". Fiona Apple recorded a cover version for the Buddy Holly tribute album "Rave On Buddy Holly" in 2011. Patrick Stump contributed a cover version to the Buddy Holly tribute album "" in 2011. The song is also on the 2012 Japanese CD "Levi Dexter & Gretsch Brothers", featuring Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductee Levi Dexter. In 2016, the Canadian singer-songwriter Jordan Paul