‘Pants on the ground’ goes viral: Top five Larry Platt covers

American Idol contestant ‘General’ Larry Platt’s song mocking contemporary street fashion has inspired many YouTubed versions, from rap to easy listening.

Larry Platt performs his rap 'Pants on the Ground' in front of a graffiti covered vacant house across the street from his home in Atlanta. 'General' Platt performed the song during an audition for American Idol.

John Bazemore/AP

By Patrik Jonsson, Staff writer

January 16, 2010

Atlanta

If your four-year-old couldn’t stop himself from singing “looking like a fool with your pants on the ground” the last couple of days, you’re not alone.

The laugh-out-loud performance by Atlanta civil rights veteran “General” Larry Platt on the “American Idol” audition show Wednesday night continues to not just tickle America’s funny bone, but to inspire its creativity (not to mention living room break dance moves by four-year-olds).

Some of our favorite “Pants on the Ground” covers so far:

Grunge pants: Witness guitarist Brandon Gray’s head-nodding acoustic mix in the Stone Temple Pilot mode. Mr. Gray: "This goes out to you, General. I salute you."

‘Dave Matthews’ pants: This version shows the versatility of Platt’s ditty. It could march right over into the easy-listening category.

‘Pants on the ground,’ rap re-mix: This is perhaps the closest to how Platt himself imagined the song sounding: a street-wise challenge to all those “cool cats” to pull up their low-rider pants.

‘Neil Young’ channels the General: In the midst of the Leno-Conan late-night upheaval, funny man Jimmy Fallon shows how the wee hours are still some of the most creative. Here Mr. Fallon channels Neil Young to cover “Pants on the Ground.”

And, of course, the original may still be best. General, the four-year-olds of America thank you.

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