Don McLean Reflects on the Legacy of 'American Pie'

More than fifty years after Don McLean wrote and recorded "American Pie," it remains one of the most iconic songs in music. Some describe the eight-and-a-half-minute epic, sparked by the devastating plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper ("the day the music died"), as one of the greatest songs ever written.

For decades, the lyrics sparked speculation as people tried to decipher the hidden meaning behind them. In 2022, for a documentary commemorating the 50th anniversary of the song topping the charts ("The Day the Music Died: The Story Behind Don McLean's American Pie"), McLean walked through the song line-by-line, solving some of the mystery.

The song touches on different elements tied to American music, the politics and divisiveness of the 1960s and McLean's own personal life.

"For years I didn't want to talk about it because it destroyed the essence of what the song was," he tells Next Avenue. "There are little bits of nothing and there are things that really do mean a lot. Then, there's this and there's that and there are things that mean two or three things. But when we made the film, they had footage of every step along the way, so I decided to talk about it and what everything means."

At the core of "American Pie" is what a young McLean saw as the end of the "happy 1950s" when the tragic crash killed those young rock artists. The 1960s would bring the early death of his father, the assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King Jr and the divisiveness of the Vietnam War.

The song is sprinkled with autobiographical references. McLean, who was often sickly as a child, grew up a lonely kid who often felt left out of some of the regular activities kids his age enjoyed. In the line: I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck, he's actually referring to "bronchial asthma." When he sings: For ten years we've been on our own, he's talking about himself and the separation from his mother after his father died.

But the lyrics that have generated the most attention are those where people thought he might be referring to music legends Bob Dylan, Elvis and John Lennon. For example, many believed his reference to "jester" meant Bob Dylan and "the king" meant Elvis.

When the jester sang for the king and queen, in a coat he borrowed from James Dean. And a voice that came from you and me. Oh, and while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown.

In the documentary, McLean explains he wasn't talking about Dylan or Elvis.

"There's been this discussion about the jester over and over. I certainly would have mentioned Dylan's name, if I meant to mention him. I would have said Bob or something else, but I didn't because it ain't him," explains McLean. "(Regarding the king), I said the jester stole his thorny crown. I didn't mention Elvis Presley because Elvis did not have a thorny crown. Jesus Christ has a thorny crown. If I wanted to say Elvis instead of the king, I would have said Elvis."

Regarding the line: And while Lenin read a book on Marx …

"And Lenin read a book on Marx," McLean explains in the film, "applies to both. John Lennon and the real Lenin. Communism radicalized John Lennon and Lennon was radicalized by Marx."

As McLean revealed the meaning behind "American Pie," he also learned a few things about the song himself. He'd never realized the impact it had on the families of the young rock stars killed in 1959. In making the documentary, he got to meet Richie Valens' sister, Connie.

"I didn't even know she existed," he says. "I didn't know there was this little girl who'd been eight years or so, when her brother was killed. Richie was only 17 when he died. He and Connie were very close because he would babysit for her. She was coming back to her house that day and someone yelled, 'Your brother's dead.' She ran back home, and she and her mother, who was just destroyed, cried and held each other."

McLean says meeting her gave the song an even deeper meaning for him.

"Especially when she turned around to me and said, 'This song helped us all make it.' That's the kind of thing that makes me glad about what I've done with my life," he says.

In 2023, when McLean was given a star on the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville, Connie Valens traveled to Tennessee to induct him. She said it was her honor to represent her family, and the families of Buddy Holly and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson. And she told the crowd what she said to McLean when they first met.

"I thanked Don and told him he had immortalized my brother Ritchie, J.P. and Buddy. He'd taken a terrible tragedy and written rock and roll history."

She added, because of McLean "the music didn't die."

Through the years, "American Pie" has been introduced to younger audiences through movies and by other artists who've covered it like Madonna, Garth Brooks and even Al Yankovich (with his own unique version). And now, McLean says, the song will soon be part of a Broadway show.

"We're still working on it, but the show would feature about 15 or 20 of my songs to include "Vincent," "Castles in the Air" and of course, "American Pie." I'm handing it over to people who do this kind of thing for a living, but there will be all kinds of theatrical moments with this music."

At 79, McLean is still creating new music. Earlier this year, he released his latest album "American Boys." He says he can't help it; he's constantly generating new ideas.

As he looks back on his successful career, other No. 1 hits including "Vincent" in 1972 and his cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying" in 1980, McLean is grateful his music, and especially "American Pie," has meant so much to so many.

"Most good artists really only have one huge masterpiece they can point to, unless you're Steven Spielberg," he says. "So, I was lucky to be able to paint my masterpiece. And the song still seems to resonate with people all these years later."

Pam Windsor is a freelance feature, travel and entertainment writer. She currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

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