Donald Richard McLean (born October 2, 1945 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1971 songs More

Donald Richard McLean (born October 2, 1945 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1971 songs "American Pie" and "Vincent". American Pie is a folk-rock song by singer-songwriter Don McLean about "the day the music died." Recorded in 1971 and released that year on the album of the same name, the single was a number-one U.S. hit for four weeks in 1972. The song is an allusive history of rock and roll that starts with the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson, Jr. (The Big Bopper) in a plane crash in 1959, and ends in 1970. The importance of "American Pie" to America's musical and cultural heritage was recognized by the Songs of the Century education project which listed the song performed by Don McLean as the number five song of the twentieth century. The song's lyrics are the subject of much curiosity. Although McLean dedicated the American Pie album to Buddy Holly, none of the singers in the plane crash are identified by name in the song itself. Asked what "American Pie" meant, McLean once replied, "It means I never have to work again."[1] Later, he more seriously stated, "You will find many 'interpretations' of my lyrics but none of them by me...Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence. * A few cover versions have been made over the years, first and most bizarrely by The Brady Bunch in 1972. Ska punk band Catch 22 made a reggae version of the song a staple of their live show and released several recordings of it; alternative rock band Killdozer recorded a thrashing, ironic version of the song in 1989. Additionally, several disco versions have appeared over the years. American pop singer Madonna released a cover of the song in 2000. * Tori Amos has performed the song often as a piano solo in her live concerts. * Country singer Garth Brooks would also sing this song during concerts in the early to mid-1990s and, during Brooks "Live in Central Park" concert, he performed this song as a duet with McLean himself at the end of the concert. The audience of over 100,000 people were also invited to sing the chorus lines near the end of the song.
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Don McLean (New York, 2 oktober 1945) is een Amerikaanse singer-songwriter, vooral bekend geworden door het nummer American Pie uit 1971. Het More

Don McLean (New York, 2 oktober 1945) is een Amerikaanse singer-songwriter, vooral bekend geworden door het nummer American Pie uit 1971. Het bekendste nummer van Don McLean is American Pie. Het nummer gaat waarschijnlijk over de dood van Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens en The Big Bopper, tijdens een vliegtuigcrash op 3 februari 1959. Dit wordt in het nummer The Day the Music Died genoemd. McLean heeft verklaard dat de teksten ook autobiografisch zijn, en dat ze zijn leven van de jaren '50 en '60 weergeven. In dat geval zou The levy (waarover gezongen wordt) zijn stamkroeg kunnen zijn vlakbij zijn school in Iona. Met American Pie wordt de verandering die de muziek in die periode onderging gesymboliseerd. Het nummer is nog steeds onderwerp van discussie als het gaat over de interpretatie van de tekst. Historici, scholieren, professoren van moderne literatuur en fans zoeken naar een diepere betekenis. In interviews zegt Don McLean dat hij geamuseerd is doordat bijna alle interpretaties beginnen met het feit dat hij nooit over het nummer praat, of de betekenis van de tekst vertelt.
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