The documentary glosses over the catchy percussion, the infectious harmonies and the undeniable way that the rhymes roll off the tongue. But The Day the Music Died overlooks that “American Pie” has also stood the test of time because of its fantastic musical composition.

A lot of evidence for this being the case does ring true: There was nothing like it before and there has been nothing like it since it functions as a capsule for a turbulent moment in history, and is also somehow timeless (“a generation lost in space” has never felt so relatable). Given this, much of The Day the Music Died is contingent on the belief that “American Pie” is, indeed, the greatest song of all time. The film looks at the beloved song from a number of angles: We see behind-the-scenes clips of the frustrating recording process, hear the song’s history first-hand from McLean, and receive testimony from artists like Garth Brooks that “American Pie” is the greatest song of all time. This grim backstory is the premise of Mark Moormann’s unfocused new documentary The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s “American Pie”. That day, McLean repeats throughout the song, was the day that music died. The eight-and-a-half-minute song revolves around the 1959 plane crash that tragically killed young rock stars Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens-an event which, in McLean’s eyes, also killed early rock and roll and marked America’s descent into civil unrest. Don’t let the upbeat melody and idiosyncratic lyrics of Don McLean’s 1971 earworm “American Pie” fool you: The song is nothing short of a heart-wrenching, melancholic eulogy.

History of american pie song