American Pie

Written by Don McLean, this 8-minute-42-second song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks starting January 15, 1972, and held the record for being the longest song to reach number one for almost 50 years. The repeated phrase "the day the music died" refers to the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens. In 2017, McLean's original recording was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.