AMERICAN PIE AT 50
“ If I had wanted to say Dylan was the jester, I would have said his name, and if the king was Elvis, I would have said Elvis. ”
— DON McLEAN
All Don McLean ever wanted to do was write songs, travel, sing and make records. Before he realized his dream, he was a young newspaper boy in Westchester County, New York. Little did McLean realize his part-time job slinging papers would provide the inspiration for a song that would define his career and solidify a dead musician’s legacy.
McLean’s magnum opus, “American Pie,” has been covered by major recording artists, the subject of numerous college theses and provided fodder for music writers for 50 years. Unlike some artists who tire of talking about their most popular song, McLean still beams with pride when he is asked about how he came to write a masterpiece.
While this interview may not disclose anything revelatory, it is a fascinating tale filled with colorful characters, the most colorful being McLean himself. The interview lasted an hour, but it still seems like it barely scratched the surface.
The story begins a long, long time ago, on that
