"American Pie" is a song by American singer and songwriter
Don McLean
Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...
. Recorded and released in 1971 on the
album of the same name, the single was the number-one US hit for four weeks in 1972 starting January 15 after just eight weeks on the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' charts (where it entered at number 69). The song also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In the UK, the single reached number 2, where it stayed for three weeks on its original 1971 release, and a reissue in 1991 reached No. 12. The song was listed as the No. 5 song on the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
project
Songs of the Century
The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America's musical and ...
. A truncated version of the song was covered by
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
in 2000 and reached No. 1 in at least 15 countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. At 8 minutes and 42 seconds, McLean's combined version is the sixth longest song to enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (at the time of release it was the longest). The song also held the record for almost 50 years for being the longest song to reach number one before
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
's "
All Too Well (10 Minute Version)
"All Too Well" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Its five-minute version is part of her fourth studio album, ''Red'' (2012), whereas its re-recording and uncut 10-minute version is part of her second re-recorded album, ''R ...
" broke the record in 2021. Due to its exceptional length, it was initially released as a two-sided
7-inch single
In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...
.
"American Pie" has been described as "one of the most successful and debated songs of the 20th century".
The repeated phrase "
the day the music died
On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. The event later beca ...
" refers to a plane crash in 1959 that killed early rock and roll stars
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
,
The Big Bopper
Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace" and " White Lightning", the latter of wh ...
, and
Ritchie Valens
Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed i ...
, ending the era of
early rock and roll; this became the popular nickname for that crash. The theme of the song goes beyond mourning McLean's childhood music heroes, reflecting the deep cultural changes and profound disillusion and loss of innocence of his generation
– the early rock and roll generation – that took place between the 1959 plane crash and either
late 1969 or
late 1970.
[The Day the Music Died: A Closer Look at the Lyrics of “American Pie”](_blank)
States ''"I met a girl who sang the blues/And I asked her for some happy news/But she just smiled and turned away'' - McLean turns to Janis Joplin for hope, but she dies of a heroin overdose on October 4, 1970."[Songfacts: American Pie](_blank)
States that "The line, 'I met a girl who sang the blues and I asked her for some happy news, but she just smiled and turned away,' is probably about Janis Joplin. She died of a drug overdose in 1970." The meaning of the other lyrics, which cryptically allude to many of the jarring events and social changes experienced during that period, have been debated for decades. McLean repeatedly declined to explain the symbolism behind the many characters and events mentioned; he eventually released his songwriting notes to accompany the original manuscript when it was sold in 2015, explaining many of these, and further elaborated on the lyrical meaning in a 2022 interview/documentary celebrating the song's 50th anniversary, in which he stated the song was driven by
impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...
and debunked some of the more widely speculated symbols.
In 2017, McLean's original recording was selected for preservation in the
National Recording Registry
The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...
by the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant". To mark the 50th anniversary of the song, McLean is scheduled to perform a 35-date tour through Europe, starting in Wales and ending in Austria, in 2022.
Background
Don McLean reportedly wrote "American Pie" in
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...
, at Caffè Lena, but a 2011 ''New York Times'' article quotes McLean as disputing this claim.
Some employees at Caffè Lena claim that he started writing the song there, and then continued to write the song in both
Cold Spring, New York
Cold Spring is a village in the town of Philipstown in Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 1,986 at the 2020 census. It borders the smaller village of Nelsonville and the hamlets of Garrison and North Highlands. The cen ...
, and
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
McLean claims that the song was only written in Cold Spring and Philadelphia.
Tin & Lint, a bar on Caroline Street in Saratoga Springs, claims the song was written there, and a plaque marks the table. While some have claimed other places, such as
Saint Joseph's University
Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...
, as where the song was first performed, McLean insists that the song made its debut in Philadelphia at
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
when he opened for
Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...
on March 14, 1971.
However a 2022 documentary on the history of the song notes that particular concert actually occurred at the nearby Saint Joseph's University.
The song was produced by Ed Freeman and recorded with a few session musicians. Freeman did not want McLean to play rhythm guitar on the song but eventually relented. McLean and the session musicians rehearsed for two weeks but failed to get the song right. At the last minute, the pianist
Paul Griffin was added, which is when the tune came together.
McLean used a 1969 or 1970
Martin D-28
The Martin D-28 is a dreadnought-style acoustic guitar made by C. F. Martin & Company of Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
History
This guitar is a dreadnought design, a naval term adopted and used by many to describe its larger body dimensions, hence t ...
guitar to provide the basic chords throughout "American Pie".
The song debuted in the album ''
American Pie'' in October 1971, and was released as a single in December. The song's eight-and-a-half-minute length meant that it could not fit entirely on one side of the
45 RPM record
In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...
, so United Artists had the first taking up the A-side of the record and the final the B-side. Radio stations initially played the A-side of the song only, but soon switched to the full album version to satisfy their audiences.
Interpretations
The song has nostalgic themes, stretching from the late 1950s until late 1969 or 1970. Except to acknowledge that he first learned about
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
's death on February 3, 1959 – McLean was age 13 – when he was folding newspapers for his paper route on the morning of February 4, 1959 (hence the line "February made me shiver/with every paper I'd deliver"), McLean has generally avoided responding to direct questions about the song's lyrics; he has said: "They're beyond analysis. They're poetry." He also stated in an editorial published in 2009, on the 50th anniversary of the
crash
Crash or CRASH may refer to:
Common meanings
* Collision, an impact between two or more objects
* Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond
* Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating
* Couch su ...
that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson (all of whom are alluded to in the final verse in a comparison with the Christian
Holy Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
), that writing the first verse of the song exorcised his long-running grief over Holly's death and that he considers the song to be "a big song… that summed up the world known as America". McLean dedicated the ''American Pie'' album to Holly.
Some commentators have identified the song as outlining the darkening of cultural mood, as over time the cultural vanguard passed from
Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...
and
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...
(the "King and Queen" of folk music), then from
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
(known as "the King" of Rock and Roll), to
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
("the Jester") – who wore a jacket similar to that worn by
cultural icon
A cultural icon is a person or an artifact that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture. The process of identification is subjective, and "icons" are judged by the extent to which they can be seen as an authentic ...
James Dean
James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...
, was known as "the voice of his generation" ("a voice that came from you and me"), and whose
motorcycle accident ("in a cast") left him in reclusion for many years, recording in studios rather than touring ("on the sidelines"), to
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
(
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
, punned with
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
, and "the Quartet" – although McLean has stated the Quartet is a reference to other people
), to
The Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
(who wrote one of the first
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
songs, "
Eight Miles High
"Eight Miles High" is a song by the American Rock music, rock Musical ensemble, band the Byrds, written by Gene Clark, Roger McGuinn, Jim McGuinn (a.k.a. Roger McGuinn), and David Crosby. It was first released as a Single (music), single on Ma ...
", and then "fell fast" – the song was banned and one of the group entered
rehabilitation
Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to:
Health
* Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished
* Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...
, known colloquially as a "fallout shelter"), and shortly after, the group declined as it lost members, changed genres, and alienated fans), to
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
(who released ''
Jumpin' Jack Flash
"Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a non-album single in 1968. Called "supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London" by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the song was perceived by some as ...
'' and ''
Their Satanic Majesties Request
''Their Satanic Majesties Request'' is the 6th British and 8th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in December 1967 by Decca Records in the UK and by London Records in the US. It is their first to be relea ...
'' ("Jack Flash", "Satan", "The Devil"), and used
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...
– "Angels born in Hell" – as event security, with
fatal consequences, bringing the
1960s
File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...
to a violent end), and to
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...
(the "girl who sang the blues" but just "turned away" – she died of a
heroin overdose
An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to Hypoventilation, respiratory depression, a lethal ...
the following year).
It has also been speculated that the song contains numerous references to post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
American political events, such as the
assassination of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...
(known casually as "Jack") and subsequent killing of
his assassin (whose courtroom trial obviously ended as a result ("adjourned")),
the
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...
("Jack be nimble, Jack be quick"),
the
murders of civil rights workers James Chaney
James Earl Chaney (May 30, 1943 – June 21, 1964) was one of three Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) civil rights workers killed in Philadelphia, Mississippi, by members of the Ku Klux Klan on June 21, 1964. The others were Andrew Goodman an ...
,
Andrew Goodman, and
Michael Schwerner, and elements of culture such as
sock hop
A sock hop or sox hop, often also called a record hop or just a hop, was an informal sponsored dance event for teenagers in mid-20th-century North America, featuring popular music.
History
Sock hops were held as early as 1944 by the American J ...
s ("kicking off shoes" to dance, preventing damage to the varnished floor),
cruising with a
pickup truck
A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...
,
the rise of the political protest song ("a voice that came from you and me"),
drugs and the counterculture, the
Manson Family and the
Tate–LaBianca murders
The TateLaBianca murders were a series of murders perpetrated by members of the Manson Family during August 810, 1969, in Los Angeles, California, United States, under the direction of Tex Watson and Charles Manson. The perpetrators killed five ...
in the "summer swelter" of 1969 (the Beatles' song "
Helter Skelter") and much more.
Many additional and alternative interpretations have also been proposed.
For example, Bob Dylan's first performance in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
was also at a pub called "The King and Queen", and he also appeared more literally "on the sidelines in a (the) cast" – as one of many stars
at the back far right of the cover art of the Beatles' album ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' ("the Sergeants played a marching tune").
The song title itself is a reference to
apple pie
An apple pie is a fruit pie in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. The earliest printed recipe is from England. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), or cheddar cheese. It is gene ...
, an unofficial
symbol of the United States and one of its signature
comfort foods
Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, or simple preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may ap ...
,
as seen in the popular expression ''"As American as apple pie"''.
By the twentieth century, this had become a symbol of American prosperity and national pride.
The original
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B.
History Genres
In 1959, ...
inner sleeve featured a
free verse
Free verse is an open form of poetry, which in its modern form arose through the French ''vers libre'' form. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech.
Definit ...
poem written by McLean about
William Boyd, also known as
Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He was ...
, along with a picture of Boyd in full Hopalong regalia. Its inclusion in the album was interpreted to represent a sense of loss of a type of American culture as symbolized by Hopalong Cassidy and by
black and white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
as a whole.
Mike Mills
Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., hi ...
of
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
reflected: "'American Pie' just made perfect sense to me as a song and that's what impressed me the most. I could say to people this is how to write songs. When you've written at least three songs that can be considered classic that is a very high batting average and if one of those songs happens to be something that a great many people think is one of the greatest songs ever written you've not only hit the top of the mountain but you've stayed high on the mountain for a long time."
McLean reveals the meaning of the lyrics
When asked what "American Pie" meant, McLean jokingly replied, "It means I don't ever have to work again if I don't want to."
Later, he 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." He also commented on the popularity of his music, "I didn't write songs that were just catchy, but with a point of view, or songs about the environment."
In February 2015, however, McLean announced he would reveal the meaning of the lyrics to the song when the original manuscript went for auction in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, in April 2015. The lyrics and notes were auctioned on April 7, 2015, and sold for $1.2 million. In the sale catalogue notes, McLean revealed the meaning in the song's lyrics: "Basically in 'American Pie' things are heading in the wrong direction. It
ifeis becoming less idyllic. I don't know whether you consider that wrong or right but it is a morality song in a sense."
The catalogue confirmed that the song climaxes with a description of the
death of Meredith Hunter at the
Altamont Free Concert
The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a counterculture rock concert in the United States, held on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at the Altamont Speedway outside of Livermore, California. Approximately 300,000 attended the concert, and some a ...
, ten years after the plane crash that killed Holly, Valens, and Richardson, and did acknowledge that some of the more well-known symbols in the song were inspired by figures such as
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
("the king") and
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
("the jester").
In 2017, Bob Dylan was asked about how he was referenced in the song. "A jester? Sure, the jester writes songs like '
Masters of War
"Masters of War" is a song by Bob Dylan, written over the winter of 1962–63 and released on the album ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in the spring of 1963. The song's melody was adapted from the traditional songs, traditional "Nottamun Town." ...
', '
A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall
"A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" is a song written by American musician and Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan in the summer of 1962 and recorded later that year for his second album, ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' (1963). Its lyrical structure is modeled after ...
', '
It's Alright, Ma' – some jester. I have to think he's talking about somebody else. Ask him." Dylan's predictions were later confirmed to be true, when McLean denied that Dylan was the jester and Presley the king in the song.
[
In 2022, the documentary ''The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie'', produced by Spencer Proffer, was released on the ]Paramount+
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
video on-demand service. Proffer said that he told McLean: "It's time for you to reveal what 50 years of journalists have wanted to know." McLean answers some of the questions on the song lyrics in the documentary. He reveals that Elvis was not the king referenced in the song, the "girl who sang the blues" was not Janis Joplin, and Bob Dylan was not the jester, although he is open to other interpretations. He says that "marching band" means the military–industrial complex
The expression military–industrial complex (MIC) describes the relationship between a country's military and the defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy. A driving factor behind the r ...
, "sweet perfume" refers to tear gas, and Los Angeles is the "coast" in "last train for the coast". He says that "This’ll be the day that I die" originated from the John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
film ''The Searchers
''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Wa ...
'' (which inspired Buddy Holly's song "That'll Be the Day
"That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. The 1957 recording achieved widespr ...
"), and "Bye Bye Miss American Pie" is a reference to a song by Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...
, "Bye Bye, My Roseanna". McLean had originally intended to use "Miss American apple pie" but "apple" was dropped.
On the whole, McLean stated that the lyrics were meant to be impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
, and that many of the lyrics, only a portion of which were included in the finished recording, were completely fictional with no basis in real-life events.
Personnel
Musicians
* Don McLean – vocals, acoustic guitar
* Paul Griffin – piano, clavinet
* David Spinozza
David Spinozza is an American guitarist and producer. He worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album '' Walkin ...
– electric guitar
* Bob Rothstein – bass, backing vocals
* Roy Markowitz – drums, tambourine
* West Forty Fourth Street Rhythm and Noise Choir – chorus
Technical
* Photography/ artwork – George Whiteman
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
All-time charts
Certifications
Parodies, revisions, and uses
In 1999, "Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...
wrote and recorded a parody of "American Pie". Titled "The Saga Begins
"The Saga Begins" is a parody song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It parodies " American Pie" by Don McLean, with lyrics that humorously summarize the plot of the film ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' through the point of view of Obi-Wan ...
", the song recounts the plot of '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' from Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...
’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 himself praised the parody, even admitting to almost singing Yankovic's lyrics during his own live performances because his children played the song so often. An unrelated comedy film franchise by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, who secured the rights to McLean's title, also debuted in 1999.
"American Pie" was the last song to be played on Virgin Radio before it was rebranded as Absolute Radio
Absolute Radio is a British National radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via Digital audio broadcasting and on 1215 kHz MW.
History
1993–1997: Virg ...
in 2008. It was also the last song played on BFBS Malta in 1979.
In 2012, the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, created a lip dub
A lip dub is a type of music video that combines lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video. It is made by filming individuals or a group of people lip synching while listening to a song or any recorded audio then dubbing over it in p ...
video to "American Pie" in response to a ''Newsweek'' article that stated the city was "dying". (Due to licensing issues, the version used in the video was not the original, but rather a later-recorded live version.) The video was hailed as a fantastic performance by many, including film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
, who said it was "the greatest music video ever made".
On March 21, 2013, Harmonix
Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., doing business as Harmonix, is an American video game developer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in May 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Harmonix is perhaps best known as bei ...
announced that "American Pie" would be the final downloadable
In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...
track made available for the ''Rock Band
A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...
'' series of music video games. This was the case until ''Rock Band 4
''Rock Band 4'' is a 2015 music video game developed and published by Harmonix. ''Rock Band 4'' allows players to simulate the playing of music across many different decades and genres using instrument controllers that mimic playing lead and bas ...
'' was released on October 6, 2015, reviving the series' weekly releases of DLC.
On March 14, 2015, the National Museum of Mathematics
The National Museum of Mathematics or MoMath is a museum dedicated to mathematics in Manhattan, New York City.
It opened on December 15, 2012. It is located at 11 East 26th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues, across from Madison Square P ...
announced that one of two winners of its songwriting contest was "American Pi" by mathematics education professor Dr. Lawrence M. Lesser. The contest was in honor of "Pi Day of the Century" because "3/14/15" would be the only day in the 21st-century showing the first five digits of π ( pi).
On April 20, 2015, John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...
covered "American Pie" live on the ''Late Show with David Letterman
The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
'', at the request of the show's eponymous host.
On January 29, 2021, McLean released a re-recording of "American Pie" featuring lead vocals by country a cappella group Home Free.
The song is featured in Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
...
’s '' Black Widow'' movie, directed by Cate Shortland
Cate Shortland (born 10 August 1968) is an Australian screenwriter, film director, television director, and television writer. She received international acclaim for her 2004 romantic drama film '' Somersault'', her 2012 historical drama film ' ...
and starring Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...
, released on July 9, 2021. It is Black Widow (Yelena Belova)
Black Widow (Yelena Belova; Russian: Еле́на Бело́ва) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is depicted as a spy and was the second modern-era character to use the Black Widow n ...
's favorite song. The song was also sung by Red Guardian
Red Guardian (Russian: Красный страж, ''Krasnyy Strazh'') is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Red Guardian is an identity that was created as the Soviet equiv ...
later in the film trying to comfort Yelena.
"American Pie" is also featured in the 2021 Tom Hanks movie ''Finch
The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
''.
Madonna version
Background
American singer Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
released a cover version of the song in February 2000 to promote the soundtrack of her film ''The Next Best Thing
''The Next Best Thing'' is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by John Schlesinger (his final feature film before his death in 2003) about two best friends who have a child together and a custody battle years after. Starring Madonna, Ruper ...
'' (2000), with the song being serviced to radio on February 2. Her cover is much shorter than the original (it contains only the beginning of the first verse and all of the second and sixth verses) and was recorded as a dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
song. It was co-produced by Madonna and William Orbit
William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...
and released on the singer's Maverick label, after Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...
(Madonna's co-star in ''The Next Best Thing'') had 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 it - and to pop culture as we knew it." It is included as an international bonus track on her eighth studio album, ''Music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
''.
"American Pie" was not included in the 2001 greatest hits compilation ''GHV2
''GHV2'' (an abbreviation of ''Greatest Hits Volume 2'') is the second greatest hits album by American recording artist Madonna. Maverick and Warner Bros. Records released it on November 13, 2001, coinciding with the video album, '' Drowned Wor ...
'' (2001) because Madonna had regretted putting it on ''Music''. "It was something a certain record company executive twisted my arm into doing, but it didn't belong on the album so now it's being punished... My gut told me not to ut the song on ''Music'' but I did it and then I regretted it so just for that reason it didn't deserve a place on ''GHV2''." she said.
Release and reception
Released on February 28, 2000, the song was a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in many countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Iceland, 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 No. 29 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 due to strong radio airplay.
Chuck Taylor from ''Billboard,'' was impressed by the recording and commented, "Applause to Madonna for not pandering to today's temporary trends and for challenging programmers to broaden their playlists. ... In all, a fine preview of the forthcoming soundtrack to ''The Next Best Thing''." Peter Robinson of ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' called the cover as "brilliant". Don McLean himself praised the cover, saying it was "a gift from a goddess", and that her version is "mystical and sensual". ''NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', on the other hand, gave it a negative review, saying that " Killdozer did it first and did it better", that it was "sub-karaoke fluff" and that "it's a blessing she didn't bother recording the whole thing."
In 2017, the Official Charts Company
The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France.
In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...
stated the song had sold 400,000 copies in the United Kingdom and was her 16th best selling single to date in the nation.
Music video
The music video, filmed in the southern United States and in London and directed by Philipp Stölzl
Philipp Stölzl (born 1967 in Munich) is a German director. He began to direct music videos in the mid-1990s and directed his first feature film in 2002.
Life and career
Philipp Stölzl was trained as a set and costume designer at the Münchner ...
, 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.
Two official versions of the video were produced, the first of which now appears on Madonna's greatest-hits DVD compilation, '' Celebration'', and was released as the official video worldwide. The second version was issued along with the "Humpty Remix", a more upbeat and dance-friendly version of the song. This video was aired on MTV's dance channel in the United States to promote the film ''The Next Best Thing
''The Next Best Thing'' is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by John Schlesinger (his final feature film before his death in 2003) about two best friends who have a child together and a custody battle years after. Starring Madonna, Ruper ...
'', starring Madonna and Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...
; it contains totally different footage and new outtakes of the original and omits the lesbian kiss. Everett, who provides backing vocals in the song, is also featured in the video.
Formats and track listings
*Digital single
# "American Pie" – 4:34
# "American Pie" (Richard Humpty Vission
Richard Gonzalez (born 24 May 1969), better known by his stage name Richard "Humpty" Vission, is a Canadian house music producer, remixer, and DJ.
Biography
He was raised in Highland Park, in Los Angeles, California, and graduated from Be ...
Radio Mix) – 4:29
# "American Pie" (Victor Calderone
Victor Calderone (born March 20, 1967 in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, United States) is an American electronic music producer, Disc jockey, DJ and remixer.
Biography
Raised in the Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, C ...
Vocal Club Mix) – 9:07
# "American Pie" (Richard Humpty Vission Visits Madonna) – 5:43
# "American Pie" (Victor Calderone Extended Vocal Club Mix) – 10:36
# "American Pie" (Victor Calderone Vocal Dub Mix) – 6:15
# "American Pie" (Victor Calderone Filter Dub Mix) – 6:06
Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel are adapted from the ''American Pie'' single liner notes.
* Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
– vocals, producer
* William Orbit
William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...
– producer, guitar, drums and keyboard
* Don McLean
Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...
– writer
* Mark "Spike" Stent
Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed She ...
– mixing
* Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...
– backup vocals
* Mark Endert
Mark Endert is a Grammy award winning American music producer, mixer, arranger and musician.
Biography
From the early 1990s to the present, Endert is credited on albums spanning a wide array of musical genres with sales totaling more than 90 mil ...
– engineering
* Sean Spuehler – engineering, programming
* Jake Davies – engineering
* Rico Conning – sequencer programming
* Dah Len – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
See also
* Vincent (Don McLean song)
"Vincent" is a song by Don McLean written as a tribute to Vincent van Gogh. It is often erroneously titled after its opening refrain, "Starry, Starry Night", a reference to Van Gogh's 1889 painting ''The Starry Night''.
McLean wrote the lyrics ...
* List of Australian chart achievements and milestones
* List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s
Founded in 1995, the Romanian Top 100 was the national music chart of Romania. It was compiled by broadcast monitoring services Body M Production A-V (1990s and 2000s) and by Media Forest (2010s), and measured the airplay of songs on radio statio ...
* List of best-selling singles by year (Germany)
This is a list of the twenty best-selling singles on the Media Control Charts in Germany for every year since 2000. The data, provided by Media Control, is based on the singles sold.
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
...
References
Further reading
* An interpretation of the lyrics based on a supposed interview of McLean by DJ Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...
. McLean later confirmed the Buddy Holly reference in a letter to Adams but denied ever speaking to Kasem.
* 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 (http://user.pa.net/~ejjeff/bobpie.ram (Bob Dearborn's American Pie Analysis original broadcast February 28, 1972)).
* Among the potpourri is a copy of the January 7, 1972, Bob Dearborn letter, plus an audio recording, in which he delineates his interpretation of "American Pie".
* Historically oriented interpretation of "American Pie". The interpretation was specifically noted on in an archived version of McLean's website page on "American Pie
archived version of McLean's website page on "American Pie"
The material, dated November 2002, includes a recording of Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...
singing "See The USA In Your Chevrolet" and a photograph of Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
in costume at the Altamont Free Concert with a Hells Angel
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporati ...
member in the background.
Full "See the USA in Your Chevrolet" lyrics for Dinah Shore on "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show" (1956–1961)
* FAQ maintained by Rich Kulawiec, started in 1992 and essentially completed in 1997.
A multi-media presentation of Rich Kulawiec's ''The Annotated "American Pie"''.
*
*
;Lyric interpretations and analysis
Many people have analyzed the lyrics since the song was released. Examples of these include:
''Musicoholics'': Decoding the Ambiguous Lyrics of Don McLean's American Pie
American Pie – The analysis and interpretation of Don McLean's song lyrics
Songfacts: American Pie
''Flashbak'': The Day the Music Died: A Closer Look at the Lyrics of “American Pie”
An Explanation of the Song, American Pie
External links
The Official Website of Don McLean and American Pie
provide
the songwriter's own biography
lyrics
an
clues
to the song's meaning.
*
{{Authority control
1970s ballads
1971 singles
1971 songs
2000 singles
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
Cultural depictions of Buddy Holly
Don McLean songs
European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Folk ballads
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Madonna songs
Maverick Records singles
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in the Czech Republic
Number-one singles in Finland
Number-one singles in Iceland
Number-one singles in Italy
Number-one singles in Germany
Number-one singles in Hungary
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Number-one singles in Romania
Number-one singles in Scotland
Number-one singles in Spain
Number-one singles in Sweden
Number-one singles in Switzerland
Rock ballads
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Song recordings produced by Madonna
Song recordings produced by William Orbit
Songs about death
Songs about Buddy Holly
Songs about rock music
Songs about nostalgia
Songs based on American history
Songs written by Don McLean
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
United Artists Records singles
United States National Recording Registry recordings
Warner Records singles
Songs based on real people