American Pie (song)

This article is about the Don McLean song. For the Slaughter song, see Revolution (Slaughter album).

"American Pie"
Single by Don McLean
from the album American Pie
B-side	"Empty Chairs" (promo) "American Pie part 2" (first release)
Released	November 1971 (original) November 1991 (re-release)
Format	Vinyl record (original) CD, cassette, vinyl (reissue)
Recorded	May 26, 1971
Genre	Rock, folk rock
Length	8:33 (LP) 4:11 (Single Part 1) 4:31 (Single Part 2)
Label	United Artists
Writer(s)	Don McLean
Producer	Ed Freeman for The Rainbow Collection, Ltd.
Don McLean singles chronology
"American Pie" (1971) "Vincent" (1972)

"American Pie" is the title of a song by American folk rock singer-songwriter Don McLean. Recorded and released on the American Pie album in 1971, the single was a number-one U.S. hit for four weeks in 1972. In the UK the single reached No. 2 on its original 1972 release and a reissue in 1991 reached No.12. The song is a recounting of "The Day the Music Died" — the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr.)—and the aftermath. The song was listed as the No. 5 song on the RIAA project Songs of the Century. "American Pie" is Don McLean's magnum opus and his signature song.

Background

Don McLean wrote the song in Cold Spring, New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The song made its debut at Temple University when he was opening for Laura Nyro. The song is well known for its cryptic lyrics that have long been the subject of curiosity and speculation. Although McLean dedicated the American Pie album to Buddy Holly, none of the musicians in the plane crash is identified by name in the song itself. When asked what "American Pie" meant, McLean replied, "It means I never have to work again." 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."

McLean has generally avoided responding to direct questions about the song lyrics ("They’re beyond analysis. They’re poetry.") except to acknowledge that he did first learn about Buddy Holly's death while folding newspapers for his paper route on the morning of February 3, 1959, (the line "February made me shiver/with every paper I'd deliver"). He also stated in an editorial published on the 50th anniversary of the crash in 2009 that writing the first verse of the song exorcised his long-running grief over Holly's death.

The third verse begins "Now for ten years we've been on our own". According to one interpretation much of the rest of the song refers to events of the 1960s, particularly illustrating how once unified, peaceful, and idealistic youth movements began to split apart, how the death of US President John F. Kennedy (JFK) was used as the symbolic "loss of innocence" for 1960s youth, leading up to the Altamont Free Concert, a symbolic end of 1960s youth movements.

The concert at Altamont took place in December 1969, the same year in which the third verse in "American Pie" opens. Lines from "American Pie", particularly in the fifth verse, may refer to this event. Altamont was supposed to be a second Woodstock Festival; but instead was characterized by drugs and violence (reference the death of 18-year-old Meredith Hunter). Sociologist Todd Gitlin says of Altamont, "Who could any longer harbor the illusion that these hundreds of thousands of spoiled star-hungry children of The Lonely Crowd were the harbingers of a good society?" Given the year the song was released, the date suggested in the third verse, and the themes of loss of innocence that exist throughout the song, embodied by Holly's death, it is not unlikely that "American Pie" was inspired by the events at Altamont, although McLean has never indicated so.

Many American rock radio stations have released printed interpretations and some devoted entire shows to discussing and debating the song's lyrics, resulting in both controversy and intense listener interest in the song. Some examples are the real-world identities of the "Jester", "King and Queen", "Satan", "Girl Who Sang the Blues", and other characters referenced in the verses. Also Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and The Big Bopper could be referred to as "The Father, Son, and The Holy Ghost." These three figures could also represent John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. or the three remaining Crickets, Buddy Holly's group.

Charts

Chart (1971)	Peak Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	1
Canadian RPM Top Singles	1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	1
Australian Kent Music Report	1
New Zealand Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	2
Norwegian Singles Chart	9
Dutch Singles Chart	10

Parodies, revisions and uses

In 1999, "Weird Al" Yankovic did a Star Wars–inspired parody of "American Pie". Titled "The Saga Begins", the song recounts the plot of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan Kenobi's point of view. While McLean gave permission for the parody, he did not make a cameo appearance in its video, despite popular rumor. McLean stated he was very pleased with the parody. He even admits to almost singing Yankovic's lyrics at live shows, because his children played the song so often.

Former Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten played an adapted version of "American Pie" when opening for Jefferson Starship on August 9, 2005, the tenth anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death. Constanten altered the lyrics to allude to Jerry's death and how he heard the news by a phone call from Bruce Hornsby.

The City of Grand Rapids, Michigan created a lip dub video to "American Pie" in response to a Newsweek article that stated the city was "dying". The video was hailed by many as a fantastic performance (including Roger Ebert, who said it was "the greatest music video ever made.")

Cover versions

A few cover versions have been made over the years. The first English language cover version was by The Brady Bunch in 1972, but a Spanish translation sung by voice actor Francisco Colmenero surfaced around Mexico in 1971. A very significant version, also in Spanish, was recorded in 1984 by the Nicaraguan singer Hernaldo Zúñiga. (Eduardo Fonseca recorded a cover version of the translation in 2000.) Ska punk band Catch 22 made a ska version which became a staple of their live show, released in several versions. Alternative rock band Killdozer recorded a thrashing, ironic version of the song in 1989.

As heard on Live, Mott the Hoople opened mid-1970s concerts with singer Ian Hunter performing the first verse on solo piano up to the phrase the day the music died. Hunter would then add "or did it?", and the full band would segue into the next number.

British a cappella group King's Singers covered the song for their 1993 album 'Good Vibrations.

Chris de Burgh covered the song in 2008 on the album Footsteps.

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has sung the chorus of "American Pie" over the outro music of "Daughter" during select live performances.

It was also Hong Kong pop superstar Leslie Cheung's breakthrough song.

American pop star Madonna released a cover version of the song in March 2000 to promote the soundtrack to her film The Next Best Thing (2000).

References

• Karnow, Stanley, Vietnam: A History (1983), ISBN 978-0-670-74604-0.
• Kissinger Henry, The White House Years (1979), ISBN 978-0-316-49661-2.

Further reading

• Adams, Cecil (May 15, 1993). "What is Don McLean's song "American Pie" all about?". The Straight Dope. Chicago Reader, Inc.. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/908/what-is-don-mcleans-song-american-pie-all-about. Retrieved June 8, 2009.  An interpretation of the lyrics based on a supposed interview of McLean by DJ Casey Kasem. McLean later confirmed the Buddy Holly reference in a letter to Adams but denied ever speaking to Kasem.
• Roteman, Jeff (August 10, 2002). "Bob Dearborn's Original Analysis of Don McLean's 1971 Classic "American Pie"". http://user.pa.net/~ejjeff/pie.html.  This article correlates McLean's biography with the historic events in the song. McLean pointed to WCFL (Chicago, Illinois) radio disc jockey Bob Dearborn as the partial basis for most mainstream interpretations of "American Pie". Dearborn's analysis, mailed to listeners on request, bears the date January 7, 1972. Roteman's reprinting added photos but replaced the date January 7, 1972, by an audio link bearing the date February 28, 1972, the date Dearborn aired his interpretation on WCFL.
• Bob Dearborn's American Pie Analysis original broadcast February 28, 1972
• Fann, Jim. "Understanding American Pie". http://understandingamericanpie.com.  Historically oriented interpretation of "American Pie". The interpretation was specifically noted on in an archived version of McLean's website page on "American Pie". The material, dated November 2002, includes a recording of Dinah Shore singing "See The USA In Your Chevrolet" and a photograph of Mick Jagger in costume at the Altamont Free Concert with a Hells Angel member in the background.
  • Full "See the USA in Your Chevrolet" lyrics for Dinah Shore on the "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show" (1956–1961).
• Kulawiec, Rich (August 26, 2001). "FAQ: The Annotated "American Pie"". http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie. Retrieved September 19, 2007.  FAQ maintained by Rich Kulawiec, started in 1992 and essentially completed in 1997.
  • "American Pie—A Rock Epic" A multi-media presentation of Rich Kulawiec's The Annotated "American Pie".
• Levitt, Saul. "The Ultimate American Pie Website". http://www.missamericanpie.co.uk.  Site specifically noted on in an archived version of McLean's website page on "American Pie". The material appears to have been completed in 2003. Excerpt: "The song chronicles important events in the 60s as well as McLean's own growth & loss of innocence as well as his attempt to retain it."
• Levitt, Saul (May 26, 1971). "Interpretation of American Pie – analysis, news, Don McLean, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Rock & Roll". Missamericanpie.co.uk. http://www.missamericanpie.co.uk/interpret.html. Retrieved May 20, 2010. 
• O'Brien, P. (March 3, 1999). "Understanding the lyrics of American Pie". The Octopus's Garden. Archived from the original on October 12, 2002. http://web.archive.org/web/20021012230502/http://www.rareexception.com/Garden/Pie.php. Retrieved September 19, 2007. 

External links

Official

• The Official Website of Don McLean and American Pie provides the songwriter's own biography, lyrics and clues to the song's meaning.

• Bob Dylan references

Unofficial

• Understanding American Pie An in depth analysis of the song based on historical context.

Transcriptions

• "American Pie" – Lead sheet at wikifonia.org

Preceded by "Brand New Key" by Melanie	U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Don McLean version) January 15, 1972 – February 5, 1972	Succeeded by "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green
	Australian Kent Music Report number-one single (Don McLean version) March 6, 1972 – April 2, 1972	Succeeded by "Without You" by Nilsson
Preceded by "Cherish" by David Cassidy	Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single (Don McLean version) January 15, 1972 – January 29, 1972	Succeeded by "Hurting Each Other" by The Carpenters

Preceded by "Pure Shores" by All Saints	UK Singles Chart number-one single (Madonna version) March 5, 2000 – March 12, 2000	Succeeded by "Don't Give Up" by Chicane featuring Bryan Adams
Preceded by "My Heart Goes Boom (La Di Da Da)" by French Affairclea	German Singles Chart number-one single (Madonna version) March 10, 2000 – March 17, 2000	Succeeded by "Maria Maria" by Santana featuring The Product G&B
Preceded by "Freestyler" by Bomfunk MC's	Swedish Singles Chart number-one single (Madonna version) March 23, 2000 – March 30, 2000	Succeeded by "Never Be the Same Again" by Melanie C featuring Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes
Preceded by "The Chase" by Giorgio Moroder vs. Jam & Spoon	Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single (Madonna version) April 1, 2000	Succeeded by "Think It Over" by Jennifer Holliday