HOME FREE 'American Pie' ft. Don McLean // Audio Engineer & Musician Reacts

Gorgeous rendition of a classic song. Don looked and sounded great!!

What's up, everyone! I'm Jeremy, a professional audio engineer & musician; and in this video, you get my first time reaction to HOME FREE "American Pie" ft. Don McLean. I don't like to stop mid-song (you miss so much and it's a pet peeve when I watch reactors!), so stick around for the commentary to hear my thoughts on the song. Timestamps below:

0:00 Welcome! / Intro
0:53 Reaction / I don't stop mid-song ;-)
9:22 Commentary

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[pennygarrity]

I love this version of this song. Don still sounds great and got in touch with the guys about doing this project for the 50th anniversary. They even attended the ceremony when he got his Star on the Walk of Fame and performed some of the song. Someone said Adam recorded his track in one take and when he finished he was so light headed they thought he was going to pass out. It amazes me how many people rave about PTX but celebrities are collabing with HF...Don Mclean, Lee Greenwood, The Oak Ridge Boys, Alabama and Kenny Rogers just to name a few. In answer to your question...when they decide on a song, they each sing it and then decide who is doing what.

[kevinboothe]

Don approached the guys to do a 50th anniversary edition of his classic song because he knew how well they understood harmonies. The song was recorded during the lockdown, they were all in different locations and Home Frees producer edited it all together. When Don received his hollyweird star he had the guys there with him and they sang part this the song at the unveiling. They said they had to put Rupp on oxygen afterwards. Fun reaction, thanks

[LynnRamsay]

They won 3 Telly awards for this rendition. Poor Adam almost passed out a couple of times.

[ronaldsinagra]

Don still has the pipes!! These guys are just too talented. You spoke of Tim's range, but Chance opened as a soloist, went to background vocalist, and took over the bass during Tim's solo. I don't think there's a song that's been written that Home Free can't cover.

[carladewitt]

The boys decide who sings what part in each song. They start out in a circle and each will try different parts until they agree on what sounds best for the song. What I love about these guys (among many things) is that the music always comes first and egos are left at home. You can tell how much they enjoy each other's company, and that comes across in the music.

[bella-xpqd]

Don was just awarded a star on the walk of Fame. He asked HF to be there to honor him. The award-winning acapella group Home Free, participated in the celebration with a special performance of “American Pie, ” all while fans along Hollywood Boulevard couldn’t resist singing along and having a good time. The five-member group recorded the song with McLean in 2020 and subsequently released a music video that won three Telly Awards in 2021.

[wadebowenfan]

Adam Rupp said he nearly passed out after this. I can believe it!! 😂😂😂
Great reaction!

[Indigo_moon]

I heard that the video clips are Don's from his childhood. And also that it was his idea to do the window pane format and the video footage.

Also, did you know that this song is about the plane crash & death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper? "the three men I admire most... the father, the son and the holy ghost". Now you need to listen to the song again. It has a whole different meaning & weight to the song knowing that. Thanks for another great reaction to HF.

[sharonmortimer]

It was so hard to believe that Don wanted them to do this with him for the 50th Anniversary. Don actually had them come out when he got his star on The Walk of Fame. Most of the time the pick the parts by who sound the best for the song. Adam Rupp almost passed out while doing this song, he beatboxed for over 8 minutes. Enjoyed watching your reaction to this song. This is by far my favorite collaboration they have done. It's really gets me in the feels, really bring back some memories.

[nancyholter]

They were really excited that there were enough verses for each one to have one. Some songs just sort of demand a specific voice, or someone had a certain voice in mind when the song was written, but often they just all record a lead and see who sounds 'right'. They said that on the Dive Bar Saints album, Rob did his 'test' tracks first and for most of the songs everyone agreed that Rob sounded so good they wouldn't even bother to record others - notice how many leads Rob has on that album. It must be hard to have so many talented voices in one group.

[lisaseverance]

This video won an award for it's visuals and justifiably so. Amazing what they were able to do during lock downs. This song had enough verses so they could divvy it up. Sometimes, they choose the singer based on what the song and arrangement needs. Sometimes, if one member feels really passionate about the song, they song lead. Most often though, they will all take a run at singing the lead and based on how it sounds, they choose who takes lead. There is one time when they set out to do that but it didn't quite work out. For the song "Catch Me If You Can" (which I highly recommend) Rob was the first to sing it. The rest of the guys heard it and said, "Nope. We aren't even going to try to do it. It's the best right there." 😊

[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.

[brendasorenson]

Oh Jeremy, you've messed up my morning with all the HF reactions! Just kidding! Thanks! One tidbit: McLean not only had HF at his Star ceremony, he also invited Weird Al Yankovic. (Bye Bye This Anakin Guy parady)

[annehffry]

Classic cover of a classic song! They did such a great job with this one. Proud Homefry right here!

[marshac]

Such a creative way to continue to put out videos--in spite of quarantine! 🥰

And goodness--one wonders how the amazing Adam Rupp was able to beatbox through such a long song without passing out!! 🤯

[carolburnett]

I think I heard Tim say that each of them would record the lead and then took a vote on who it would be. He also made a joke about never listening to Rob’s version first because then Rob would always sing lead. Thanks, Jeremy!

[karinfichtner]

Can I just mention how great Don still 75 yrs old?

[kevinboothe]

To answer your question about how do they figure out who sings what, they all decide who fits best. If they can't decide, they'll each record a version separately and play them back and decide from there. A good example is their cover of Catch Me If You Can, they couldnt decide until they heard Rob's version and it was unanimous that Rob sang the lead and he nailed it, check that one out and listen from Tim's awesome vocal slide that he does, its pretty cool in my opinion.

[JoanN]

What an honor it must be to be able to sing with Don McLean(he asked Home Free) and the result is so great. With a Home Free twist but still respecting the original. The harmony is amazing again. One by one they sound great, but what a awesome voice Don McLean still has.
And then Adam, what more can I say about him. He is incredible.
My childhood memory of this song is that I always had to sing along. And now I do that again.

[pennygarrity]

BTW I can't wait until you start doing Christmas reactions. Start off with Adam's arrangement of Do You Hear What I Hear and don't forget Children Go Where I send You with Kenny Rogers.