Don McLean

Early life

McLean's grandfather and father, both also named Donald McLean, were of Scottish origin. McLean's mother, Elizabeth Bucci, was of Italian origin; her parents originated from Abruzzo in central Italy. McLean grew up in New Rochelle, New York, where he delivered newspapers as a boy.

Early breakthrough

McLean recorded Tapestry in 1969 in Berkeley, California, during the student riots. After being rejected 72 times by labels, the album was released by Mediarts, a label that had not existed when he first started to look for one. He worked on the album for a couple of years before putting it out. It attracted good reviews but little notice outside the folk community, though on the Easy Listening chart "Castles in the Air" was a success, and in 1973 "And I Love You So" became a number 1 Adult Contemporary hit for Perry Como.

Later career

The Don McLean Story: Killing Us Softly With His Songs was published in 2007. Biographer Alan Howard conducted extensive interviews for this, the only book-length biography of the often reclusive McLean to date.

Legacy and influence

The plane crash that killed musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson has become known as "The Day the Music Died", after the expression was used repeatedly by McLean, a fan of Holly, in "American Pie". Holly's death for him symbolized the "loss of innocence" of the early rock-'n-roll generation.

American Pie

"American Pie" is a song by the American singer and songwriter Don McLean. It was a commercial success and cultural touchstone, notable for its extensive and ambiguous lyrics about America's changing society in the 1950s and 1960s.

Background

Don McLean drew inspiration for the song from his childhood experience delivering newspapers during the time of the plane crash that killed early rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper:

Background and release

American singer Madonna recorded a cover version of "American Pie" for the soundtrack of her film The Next Best Thing (2000). Her cover is much shorter than the original, containing only the beginning of the first verse and all of the second and sixth verses. Reworked as a dance-pop track, it was produced by Madonna and William Orbit. It was recorded in September 1999 in New York City, after Rupert Everett, Madonna's co-star in The Next Best Thing, convinced her to cover the song for the film's soundtrack. Madonna said of her choice to cover the song: "To me, it's a real millennium song. We're going through a big change in terms of the way we view pop culture, because of the Internet. In a way, it's like saying goodbye to music as we knew...

Reception

"American Pie" was an international hit, reaching number one in numerous countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Iceland, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Finland. The song was the 19th-best-selling single of 2000 in the UK and the ninth best-selling single of 2000 in Sweden. The single was not released commercially in the United States, but it reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to strong radio airplay.

Music video

The music video, filmed in the southern United States and in London, and directed by Philipp Stölzl, depicts a diverse array of ordinary Americans, including scenes showing same-sex couples kissing. Throughout the music video Madonna, who is wearing a tiara on her head, dances and sings in front of a large American flag.

Vincent

"Vincent" is a song by Don McLean, written as a tribute to Vincent van Gogh. Its commonly known opening lyric, "Starry, Starry Night", is a reference to Van Gogh's 1889 painting The Starry Night.

Critical reception

The Telegraph wrote, "With its bittersweet palette of major and minor chords, "Vincent"'s soothing melody is one of high emotion recollected in tranquillity". Record World called the song "artful", saying that "the Vincent Van Gogh story is told with melody and poetry." Cash Box called it "another of those tunes for people who like to pick apart lyrics and messages. AllMusic retrospectively described the song as "McLean's paean to Van Gogh ... sympathiz[ing] with Van Gogh's suicide as a sane comment on an insane world." The site also said McLean performs "a particularly poignant rendition" of "Vincent" on the 2001 live album Starry, Starry Night.

Cover versions

The song was covered by Josh Groban in 2001; the cover was described by the Financial Times as "overlooking the song's subtler, more soulful elements".

In popular culture

Part of the song was used in 2003 The Simpsons episode "'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky" while residents of Springfield watch a meteor shower that was previously obstructed by light pollution.