Don McLean – American Pie – Live (1971)

“American Pie” – Single by Don McLean from the album American Pie
B-side; “Empty Chairs” (promo), “American Pie part 2” (first release)
Released: October 1971
Recorded: May 26, 1971
Label; United Artists
Songwriter: Don McLean
Producer: Ed Freeman
Charted No.1 in US, No.2 in UK, No.1 in Canada, No.9 in West Germany

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:

I first found out about the plane crash because I was a 13-year-old newspaper delivery boy in New Rochelle, New York, and I was carrying the bundle of the local Standard-Star papers that were bound in twine, and when I cut it open with a knife, there it was on the front page.

— Don McLean

This song made the 26-year-old McLean very famous very quickly, which was difficult for the songwriter. McLean was prone to depression, losing his father at age 15 and dealing with a bad marriage when recording the album. So when the song hit, it thrust him into the spotlight and took the focus away from the body of his work. In a 1973 interview with NME, he explained: “I was headed on a certain course, and the success I got with ‘American Pie’ really threw me off. It just shattered my lifestyle and made me quite neurotic and extremely petulant. I was really prickly for a long time. If the things you’re doing aren’t increasing your energy and awareness and clarity and enjoyment, then you feel as though you’re moving blindly. That’s what happened to me. I seemed to be in a place where nothing felt like anything, and nothing meant anything. Literally nothing mattered. It was very hard for me to wake up in the morning and decide why it was I wanted to get up.”

McLean never had another hit anywhere near the level of “American Pie,” but he enjoyed a long and productive career and had several other notable songs, including “Vincent” and “Empty Chairs.”