'American Pie' ft. Don McLean by Home Free, Reaction/Analysis by Musician/Producer

"American Pie" ft. Don McLean by Home Free, Reaction/Analysis by Musician/Producer

Stratele Studios FAVORITES:

#homefree #homefreereaction #americanpie #stratelestudios
#societyofadvancedmusicalthought #nopausereactionanalysis #donmclean

Join Patreon for the really good stuff!

Any donation is so appreciated and encourages me to keep going!
Venmo: @Stratele-Stratele
Cash App: $StrateleStratele

This is a reaction video used to educate and give feedback related to the artist and the song.

*Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNER.

[bettyjblake]

Welcome to the beautiful world of Home Free. Great reaction. Home Free is just an unbelieveable talent that cannot be touched IMO.

[meemermarie]

Don and home free recently release “vincent”. So beautiful

[marciaramirez]

Yes, the guy with the grey streak is the lead bass, Tim Foust who has a 5 octave range, the second bass is Adam Chance (Chance) the buttery smooth baritone who sang the first verse. The world class vocal percussionist is Adam Rupp, co-founder of HF and also sings, then there's Rob Lundquist, the guy in glasses, whose tenor voice rivals the angels and last but never least is the baby of the group Austin Brown whose high tenor knows no bounds. Mr. McLean heard HF and contacted them to help him re-record his iconic "American Pie" for it's 50th anniversary. They also accompanied him to Hollywood when he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Home Free has just completed another amazing collaboration with Mr. McLean, his hauntingly beautiful hit "Vincent/Starry Starry Night". You will find that the warmth and depth of feeling you noticed in this song is ever present with anything Home Free does whether it's a cover of a rock and roll favorite, a country hit, a bluesy ballad or even opera. Their respect for those they collaborated with is unrivaled, the humility, respect and admiration they have for each other is always on display.
Welcome to the world of Home Free where you're never a stranger. P.S This recording was done during Covid.

[pegglosser]

Home Free has 5 tenors, 5 beatboxers, 3 baritone, and 3 basses. Any of their catalog is worthy of hearing.

[yente]

Don asked Home Free to do this with him for the 50th anniversary of the song's release. He also invited them to sing when he got his star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. You absolutely must listen to their collaboration on Vincent. I got tears in my eyes.

[leslieoneal]

100% a capella! There's more talent between these 5 guys than should be legal. 😳🎶

Adam Rupp (founding member), their vocal percussionist, is an alien! You just have to experience him over time to fully understand that statement. 😉🤯

They're known for their tight harmonies and extraordinary arrangements. It's agreed by all who've been to concerts they're even better live! They have tons of covers, as well as originals, in their vast & varied catalog. Known primarily as the world's first & only country a capella group, they are quite capable of doing just about any genre including country, pop, R&B, hiphop/rap, rock, and opera!! 🤯 They have a great holiday catalog, too! 3 are songwriters and have videos on their individual channels. Something to check out later, for sure. 😘

They've been known to throw in a musical instrument here and there (guitar or violin), but if they do, you'll see it. No tricks. No backtracks. All of them play more than one instrument. Like I said, more talent than I've seen collectively or individually.

Since you really appreciated this one, I *highly recommend* checking out their latest video - *VINCENT ft Don McLean* again!! They did "American Pie" in 2021. They just released "Vincent" a week or 2 ago. They also sang backup for Don on his new album's title song, "American Boys". It's available on Don's channel, but no music video yet.

Another few recommended Home Free videos to give you a taste of different styles:

*Listen to the Music* (Doobie Brothers cover)
*Catch Me If You Can* (great original!)
*Take Me Home Country Roads* (John Denver cover)
*Brothers in Arms* (Dire Straits cover)
*End of the Road* (Boyz2Men cover)
*Playing With Fire* (a steamy, hot original!)
*Love Train* (O'Jays cover)
*Land of the Free* (patriotic original!)
*How Great Thou Art* (an old hymn sung to perfection!)
*Children Go Where I Send Thee* (spiritual, feat the legendary Kenny Rogers!)
*Try Everything* (Shakira cover from Zootopia movie!)

Sorry for such a ridiculously long comment!! Lol Just start listening to these guys & you'll quickly understand why there's no real way to cut it down to "a few good ones"!! Haha They're ALL good! 😉👍🤯

[GaiaOne]

And...another one falls down the rabbit hole. You are so doomed. We’ll save you a chair.

You’re about to be buried in Home Fries. Brace yourself.

Home Free is the only country a capella group out there, but they can - and do - sing every genre. And they have no lead singer. Every one of these men can take the lead, and they pick the lead for each song by who does it the most justice. During quarantine, they kept all us Home Fries sane by dropping new videos every couple of weeks while they were scattered across the country. God bless ‘em.

All the men can beat box, but Adam is in a league of his own. He’s a world-class vocal percussionist and there’re good reasons he’s called a “Freak of Nature” and “the man who swallowed a drum kit.” For more of Adam’s incredible beat boxing, check out Sea Shanty medley (the man makes castanets, for Pete’s sake), his no-monica solo on Working For A Living and Ain’t Going Down Til The Sun Comes Up (that video is on Facebook), Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer (sleigh bells? seriously?) or his drum solos.

For more of Tim’s seismic basso profundo, listen to Brothers In Arms, Misty Mountains (his collaboration with Peter Hollens), Folsom Prison Blues, or Ring Of Fire (the Sing Off version). This man’s range is incredible. You won’t want to miss his 5-octave run in 5 seconds in “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

For Chance’s smooth baritone/bass, check out Skull & Bones, Down to the Honky Tonk, Brothers In Arms, Cover Me Up, I Can’t Outrun You, and Folsom Prison Blues. (Awesome.. basso profundo and a baritone/bass in the same group.) FYI, Chance is singing (throat singing) the jaw harp sounds - without the jaw harp - in Man Of Constant Sorrow.

For Rob’s soulful tenor, check out End of the Road, Blue Ain’t Your Color, or Bless The Broken Road. (Blue-eyed soul is in good hands with The Beard.) One Home Fry has described him as the vocal equivalent of a Swiss Army knife because of his versatility. Just wait until you hear him whistle!

For Austin’s soaring tenor, check out Crazy, Moonshine, When A Man Loves a Woman, or Bring Him Home. (But bolt down your chair ‘cause he’ll sing you right out of it.)

For their humor, check out Butts Remix, Working For A Living, Life Is A Highway, Between A Rock And A Heartache, Make You Feel My Love, Brother, and Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget (Tim wrote the worst country song he could think of, and it remains one of their most requested.) A word about “Brother” - if you want to hear the lyrics, you’re going to have to listen with your eyes closed, ‘cause otherwise you’ll never get past the humor of the video to actually hear what they’re singing.

For their amazing arrangement skills, check out Do You Hear What I Hear. (Adam’s arrangement. Nothing else like it.)

For their tight harmonies, check out Helplessly Hoping, How Great Thou Art, Brothers In Arms, or Auld Lang Syne.

For their mashups, check out Thinking Out Loud/Let’s Get It On, Fishing in the Dark/Boondocks, Country Fried Pop, or Woman, Amen/Female.

The Home Free men are masters of collaborations. They put the spotlight on their collaborator, supporting them with wonderful vocals and amazing harmonies. Check out God Bless the USA with Lee Greenwood, American Pie and Vincent with Don McLean, Elvira with The Oak Ridge Boys, Children Go Where I Send Thee with the late Kenny Rogers, Don’t Laugh At Me with Mark Wills, Christmas In Dixie with Alabama, Delta Dawn with Brooke Eden, or Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For with Peter Hollens.

Get at least five videos under your belt and then listen to Mayday - the official video. After Mayday, you’ll be ready for Tim and Austin doing My Maria or Tim’s mashup of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow/Stay.

Then, when you come up for air, check out Rob’s and Austin’s “Two Country Singers Try Singing Opera.” You’ll need smelling salts after that one.

Don’t miss their official videos. The Home Free men will often do a straight, gorgeous vocal performance, but they’ll add elements of humor to the video that will leave you chuckling or even laughing out loud. (Folsom Prison Blues, Between A Rock And A Heartache, Make You Feel My Love, Working For A Living, Brother, Life Is A Highway).

And God help you when you get hit with the Home Free Curse. They’ll cover a song you absolutely cannot stand and make you like it against your will. I’d been hit by the curse four times before I gave up and quit counting. I’m not the only victim of the Home Free Curse, either.

Although their covers are amazing, don’t miss their original compositions. They range from the the poignant (So Long Dixie) to the patriotic (Land Of the Free). These include Dive Bar Saints (one of my favorites), Road Sweet Road, Catch Me If You Can, Lonely Girl’s World, The Stargazer Trilogy (Give Me A Sign, Stargazer Lilies, MR), Champagne Taste On A Beer Budget, Love Me Like That, Skull And Bones, and many, many more.

Their synergy is phenomenal. Each is an artist in his own right, but man - when they sing together, magic happens. Wicked talent polished by decades of hard work. (Unchained Melody, Castle On The Hill, Seven Bridges Road, Only In America) To paraphrase another Home Fry, “They don’t just own a cover, they upgrade it.”

You are doomed, Home Fry. Bring ketchup.

[martinhafner]

Adam Rupp stays real busy with beatboxing on this song. You should try their Doobie Brothers cover of Listen To The Music.

[connieharmon]

Yes The one With Grey in hair, is Bass Tim Foust, but he has a 5 octave range. The First Home Free guy that Sang is Adam Chance and he carries Bass when Tim is singing his verse. Beatboxer/Vocal Percussionist Adam Rupp is The Best ❤

[laserwizard]

The ultimate statement of a performance is the look of joy on the face of the listener. It appears they nailed it with you!

[Michael-dtlo]

What can you say about Home Free that would do this group justice? Every performance is sublime. The one that gives me chills is a cover of Helplessly Hoping by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. When it ends you wish it would go on for awhile.

[jcochrane]

Some songs that I love from them are: “Listen to the Music”, “Seven Bridges Road”, Brothers in Arms”, “Country Roads, Take Me Home”, and a Special Christmas Song, “Angels We Have Heard on High”! Best song: “When a Man Loves a Woman “, in my opinion! Also, for the beatboxing: “Man of Constant Sorrow” and “Do you hear what I hear?”

[richardtodd]

Jeff, my first thought was sign me up! Then I started looking at the comments and realized I am late to the party!!! Is it because they are primarily a country group that I have never heard them? It doesn't matter how they do this. To produce such wonderful music and bring back a song like American Pie and make it sound new again is fantastic! As I said at the beginning, sign me up!

[dagmar.]

Love this remake of this classic song. Can't believe it came out 50 years ago. Don McLean still has a good voice for his age. And love hearing all the guys take a turn in a verse. Poor Adam had to do such a long stretch of beatboxing but he nailed it. Think the song is about 8 min. long. Don McLean received his Hollywood Star on the Walk of Fame recently & Home Free was invited to sing a portion of this song there. What an honor for them.
"American Pie" pays tribute to the loss of 3 legends who died so young (Buddy Holly, Richie Valens & The Big Bopper). A lot of references in the song are made to many artists from the early days of music including Elvis, Janis Joplin, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Byrds & others.

[glendamcgrady]

Home Free is unique in all ways! Don asked for this collobaration!

[TheDivayenta]

Man of Constant Sorrow by Home Free is a MUST!
That low end is Tim Foust who sang high on his solo.
Home Free is a must deep dive!

[Laura_Martin]

Subscribing for more Home Free reactions. They are a vocal band and are all so talented. I saw them a couple of weeks ago in concert and they are even better live! They released Vincent last week also with Don McLean. We fans call ourselves the Home Fries and you are welcome to join us! They have an extensive catalog with every genre you can imagine. I always recommend starting with Man of Constant Sorrow. Thanks for reacting.

[gregharmon]

Their harmonies are out of this world !!

[timworks]

Yes, welcome to Home Free, all acapella, no instruments at all. Masters of all musical genres. They won the 4th season of the Sing Off in 2013. Their covers are upgrades, their medleys are brilliant, their collaborations with the original artists are inspirational, and their original songs are masterpieces. Within this 5 man vocal band you have 5 tenors, 5 beat boxers, and 2 bass-baritones. All of them can sing lead and they choose depending on whose voice best fits the song. They can do just about anything and they continue to grow and improve, yet they remain so humble. When they have featured guest artist, they support and allow their featured artists to shine. Several of them have their own channels and do some solo work. And just for fun Rob and Austin sing Opera. What else can I say? Their catalogue of work is quite large and continues to grow. You are in for an exciting journey and the Home Fries will be there for you all the way.

[LynnRamsay]

Great Reaction!! Welcome to Home Free rabbit hole.
The group started in 2000/2001( there’s contention on the year)by brothers Chris and Adam Rupp
They won The Sing Off season 4 2013 that's where they became very popular.
They are the only country A Capella ( all vocals no instruments)group but they are honestly do so so much more than just country music they can sing any genre and they do.
There is no Lead singer in the group.They each ( except Adam )sing the song and who’s ever voice or voices sound right for the song gets the lead unless is a bass/ baritone song then that’s Tim or Chance.A lot of time they each have a part in the song.
Fans of Home Free are known as Home Fries and are very loyal to the guys.
Adam Rupp: Beatboxer Extraordinaire can make almost any sound imaginable (A whole drum kit, harmonica (his Nomonica we call it )plane flyovers, trains, castanets, bugs, birds etc).Co founder from Mankato Minnesota.
Rob Lundquist :Lead tenor(beard and glasses) Very soulful voice and master whistler from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tim Foust :Bass (had long dark hair now short with grey ) 5+ octave range can go so low he blows speakers or sky high from Nederland, Texas
Austin Brown:High Tenor ( Long wavy hair )Voice of an angel from Tifton Georgia.He will be leaving the group in the fall.
Adam Chance(Aka Chance):Baritone/Bass Deep, rich voice(sings bass when Tim has lead) has short dark hair short beard from Baldwin County, Alabama.Replaced Chris Rupp ( Adams Brother and co founder in 2016)
They have collaborated with many singers and legends
Don McLean: Vincent (newest release)
Don McLean:American Pie
Oak Ridge Boys:Elvira
Kenny Rodgers:Children Go Where I Send Thee (Please watch the end message)
Billy Gilman:One Voice
Alabama:Christmas In Dixie
Mark Wills:Don’t Laugh At Me ( important message at the end )
Lee Greenwood & US Airforce Band:God Bless The USA
Any many many more.
They have 3 amazing songwriters in the group Tim, Austin and Chance so they have a very large playlist of covers and original songs
End of the Road (Boyz 2 Men cover )
When A Loves A Woman
Helplessly Hoping (5 part harmony masterpiece )
Unchained Melody
Butts Medley/ Remix
Listen To The Music
Can’t Outrun You
Brothers In Arms
Stargazer Trilogy( All Originals written by Austin)
Give Me A Sign ( Chapter 1)
Stargazer Lilies( Chapter 2)
MR ( mister) (Chapter 3)
Skull And Bones ( original written by Chance for Ubisoft new video game Skull And Bones)
Might As Well Be Me ( Original)
Playing With Fire ( Original)
Remember My Name (Original)
Oh Pretty Woman
Life Is A Highway
Stand By Me
Cruise
I Want Crazy
Colder Weather
Ring Of Fire ( 2024 version)
Jump Right In
Any Way The Wind Blows
I’ve Seen
Mayday(DON’T WATCH TILL YOU ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE GROUP AND THEIR RANGES )
There's not a song that you pick from their 200+ catalog that is bad I haven't found one yet.
They are just funny, down to earth, humble nice guys.They are the best A Cappella group there is IMO
Sorry for the long read 🏠🍟