Play Don McLean Radio
Don McLean
On Tour
1,689,856 plays (259,944 listeners)
Don McLean, (born October 2, 1945 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American singer-songwriter, most famous for his 1971 ballad “American Pie”, about the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper. The song spawned the phrase “The Day the Music Died”, referring to the day of the crash.
Other well-known songs include
* “And I Love You So” - covered by Elvis Presley, a 1973 hit for Perry Como
* “Vincent” (a tribute to the 19th century Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh)
* “Castles in the Air”
* “Winterwood”
* “Wonderful Baby” (a tribute to Fred Astaire that Astaire himself recorded.)
* “Superman’s Ghost” (a tribute to George Reeves, who portrayed Superman on TV in the 1950’s)
Early in his career, McLean was mentored by the folk legend Pete Seeger, and accompanied Seeger on his Clearwater boat up the Hudson River in 1969 to protest at environmental pollution in the river. The Clearwater campaign was widely credited for improving water quality in the Hudson River.
The album American Pie features a version of Psalm 137, ‘Babylon’ arranged by Don McLean and Lee Hays (The Weavers). This is the same psalm that Boney M would have a number one hit in the UK with seven years later under the title Rivers of Babylon, although the two renditions are so different it is not immediately noticeable that they are versions of the same song.
Other well-known songs include
* “And I Love You So” - covered by Elvis Presley, a 1973 hit for Perry Como
* “Vincent” (a tribute to the 19th century Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh)
* “Castles in the Air”
* “Winterwood”
* “Wonderful Baby” (a tribute to Fred Astaire that Astaire himself recorded.)
* “Superman’s Ghost” (a tribute to George Reeves, who portrayed Superman on TV in the 1950’s)
Early in his career, McLean was mentored by the folk legend Pete Seeger, and accompanied Seeger on his Clearwater boat up the Hudson River in 1969 to protest at environmental pollution in the river. The Clearwater campaign was widely credited for improving water quality in the Hudson River.
The album American Pie features a version of Psalm 137, ‘Babylon’ arranged by Don McLean and Lee Hays (The Weavers). This is the same psalm that Boney M would have a number one hit in the UK with seven years later under the title Rivers of Babylon, although the two renditions are so different it is not immediately noticeable that they are versions of the same song.
Top Albums
Top Tracks
| 1 |
 |
American Pie
full track
|
|||
| 2 |
|
Vincent
full track
|
|||
| 3 |
|
Winterwood
full track
|
|||
| 4 |
|
Empty Chairs
full track
|
|||
| 5 |
|
Crossroads
full track
|
|||
| 6 |
|
Castles in the Air
full track
|
|||
| 7 |
|
Crying
full track
|
|||
| 7 |
|
And I Love You So
full track
|
|||
| 9 | |||||
| 10 |
|
Sister Fatima
full track
|
|||
| 11 |
|
Babylon
full track
|
|||
| 12 |
|
Till Tomorrow
full track
|
|||
| 13 |
|
The Grave
full track
|
|||
| 14 |
|
Everybody Loves Me, Baby
full track
|
|||
| 15 |
|
Wonderful Baby
full track
|
Shoutbox
-
quietrockboy wrote:
Mamafanfan only shows he/she never listened to any of his other albums. Anyway it's stupid to expect an "American Pie II". Does anyone expect "Yesterday, part II" from Paul McCartney or "Imagine II" from John Lennon? That would be pathetic.
-
mamafanfan wrote:
it's a pity his talent dried up so soon. American Pie II never came.
-
Brunanalyzed wrote:
His voice is the sweetest ever!!
-
quietrockboy wrote:
His self titled album is among the finest music ever produced. It's even better than his American Pie album. That should say a lot to anyone who cares enough about music.
-
Jackedblood wrote:
God among men
-
fortric wrote:
Miss American Pie :)
-
Cesc1972 wrote:
Yay! New picture.
-
creepingdeathv2 wrote:
this guy here is the true poetic genius... and lol...the pic is aweful...
-
Martin_Ostar wrote:
Best period of music full stop....
-
robhogg wrote:
Yes, that is an awful picture. The strange thing is the number of people who've voted for it (27 for, 11 against). Is there a secret organisation of Don McLean haters on Last.fm?
-
mercu wrote:
The day the music die :)
-
Cesc1972 wrote:
What an awful picture -.-
-
wsouski wrote:
Byyyye, byeeee, Miss american pie, drooove a chevy to the levy but the levy was dryyyy, them good 'ol boys were drinkin' whisky and rye, singin' this'll be the day that I diiie... Man that song is addicting.
-
juggalettegurl4 wrote:
american pie is amazing .
-
doxigo wrote:
I just born in late 80's, I wish that I really could see 70's and 80's days.
-
Satairo wrote:
beautiful voice
-
maganpuri wrote:
hmm...great music was..., but where is it now?
-
Ninja_Bob wrote:
Great song writer but abrupt clapping at beggining and end of some songs is bugging me a little
-
purplekushi wrote:
American Pie is such a great, classic song. Great overview of the history going on in that time.
Videos
See more
Events
-
Aug
14
Lyons Folk Festival
Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO, Denver, United States
Add shout
| 1 attendee
- Nov 13 Don McLean Keswick Theatre, Glenside (Philadelphia) PA, United States
News
Concert Dates
21 Apr 2009 | from
Don McLean will be performing concerts in North America this year. The list of dates has been updated on April 21st and is as follows:
May 16 - Cedarburg, WI, Performing Arts Center
May 17 - Walker, MN, Northern Lights Casino
…
-
Addicted to Black CD
11 Mar 2009 | from -
donmclean.com
20 Feb 2009 | from -
Buddy Holly, rock music genius
3 Feb 2009 | from
Listeners
-
HonsyB
Listening now
to American Pie -
BrandonEdgar
Listening now
to American Pie -
progheads
Top Listener
-
quietrockboy
Top Listener
-
Anaithnid
Top Listener
-
natsu2006cpy
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
ala7 tagged Don McLean with folk and classic rock. 6 minutes ago
-
tangoind, led2, SteveBaileyx2 and 3 other people added Don McLean to their libraries. 4 hours ago
-
mittsu829 tagged Don McLean with don mclean, 70s, folk and one other tag. yesterday afternoon
-
mittsu829, shark21219, gustavoprimex and 6 other people added Don McLean to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
-
maryplum tagged Don McLean with oldies, 70s and singer-songwriter. Friday evening
-
GEERnsT, morenita_p, EatCookies-x and 16 other people added Don McLean to their libraries. Friday evening
-
jstands tagged Don McLean with american, rock, 70s and 3 other tags. Wednesday evening
-
chemicalcityy, studiodimare, ermngldzgn and 2 other people added Don McLean to their libraries. Wednesday evening
-
ronny_ramone tagged Don McLean with rock, songwriter and folk. Wednesday morning
-
kjara5, audi0bl00d, jambokaos87 and 8 other people added Don McLean to their libraries. Wednesday morning
Related Journals
-
Vagrant1977's All Time Top 100 - 21 February 2008
by Vagrant1977 |
16 Apr 2009 | Add comment
-
666!
by slipencjusz |
10 Apr 2009 | Add comment
-
The Day The Music Died
by jcshepard |
3 Feb 2009 | 6 comments
Groups (29)
-
CTY
66 members
-
Harold & Maude
160 members
-
Classic Rock
9,073 members
-
Classic Rock and Metal
1,807 members
-
guitar players
1,813 members
