The Untold Story Behind the Iconic Song American Pie - Don McLean

[@waynefairchild2710]

Sorry for the long post. I delivered papers the same years that Don did. You picked them up at the local paper distributor in your area. You then got on your bike and had to have them delivered by the time that the dads got home from work. If you missed a house your parents got a phone call and you ran out to the house that you missed. Paper boys lost their jobs when dads had to have a paper before they got to work. That’s when guys with cars got the job and would deliver them early in the morning before dads left for work. Then the only routes that were available for kids was magazine routes for Life and the TV guide. I grew up on Long Island. I was also very privileged to have worked with Don as his sound engineer for a number of years and worked at Carnegie Hall for his annual Thanksgivings Eve concert with Elvis’s backup singers known as the Jordanaires or the Kings Men.

[@robertewalt7789]

Most places had two papers, early morning and afternoon. New Rochelle was close to NYC, so some people there took one or two NYC papers, maybe more.

[@robertscotton9339]

I like your post. I had a morning and two afternoon routes in elementary and middle school. Those were awesome times.

[@bob_btw6751]

I delivered Newsday and the Long Island Press when I was a boy. Funny thing is I got a degree in Journalism with the GI Bill but wound up in production and that led to doing the earliest version of desktop publishing with a Mac SE.

[@nomadforchrist4337]

My big brothers delivered the Grit

[@gregwoods57]

In Rochester, NY the papers were delivered in bulk from trucks to the paperboys porch as described in this video.

[@G58]

I met Don McLean back stage at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, England in the late ‘70s. We had an interesting chat. He told me that Pete Seeger taught him how to play the banjo. I wish I could remember more of our conversation, but it’s faded away over the years. American Pie was one of the songs that defined my teenage years, along with The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croche’s Time In A Bottle, and Pete Seeger’s Where Have All The Flowers Gone? Thank you for sharing your research on this very poignant and iconic song, and the inspiration behind it. Peace 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@AquaMarine1000]

I, too, remember meeting Don McLean backstage, for me it was at Festival Hall Brisbane, Australia, circa 1970. I have an original Tapestry LP, which is much treasured. Cheers

[@G58]

@@AquaMarine1000 Cool. Thank you for sharing.

[@jamespeeks1542]

I remember the first time I heard American Pie the day it was released, I was going north on I 95 in Florida, and before the song was over I knew Don was talking about Buddy Holly. I was very fond of Buddy Holly, and he introduced me to rock 'n roll. Thank you for the rest of the story. Tom Peeks

[@martinhughes6860]

I had a chance meeting with Don in Brighton. Honestly, I was speechless, I was such a huge fan. I shook his hand and put my head on his shoulder. A magical moment for a young lad in the 1970s.

[@georgeboomgaardt1786]

I was most surprised by the explanation for the title of the song - Buddy Holly had a song - Hello Peggie Sue - many of the references in the song flip the meaning - e.g. the Big Booper’s song was about a Ford so the song is “drove my Chevy”. The title of the song is Bye Bye instead of Hello - Miss American Pie replaces Peggy Sue.

[@freesk8]

In 1972 I was 9, and American Pie was all over the radio. I had to have a copy. The very first record album I bought in my life was American Pie. The big surprise was that all of the OTHER songs on the album were so awesome! I knew I had to become a guitar player. I'm not incredibly good, but I sing and play! Don McLean inspired me to be a guitar player. I finally heard him live about a decade ago.

[@BigBlue1895]

I'm surprised that this video hasn't mentioned that the name of the plane that crashed was American Pie hence the Buddy Holly link.

[@freesk8]

@@BigBlue1895 Snopes says: "The airplane, chartered through Dwyer's Flying Service in Clear Lake, Iowa, had no name. Its only designation was its wing registration number, N3794N. How the rumor that its name was American Pie (thus providing Don McLean the title for his song) started circulating is unknown, but it is undeniably false. As Don McLean himself said in 1999: "The growing urban legend that 'American Pie' was the name of Buddy Holly’s plane the night it crashed, killing him, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, is equally untrue. I created the term.""

[@BigBlue1895]

@@freesk8 great info. I got the story from an MTV video so hardly a reliable source ! That said, maybe this vid could have debunked it? Not that it took away any of my enjoyment. I thought it was a really interesting KZbin.

[@freesk8]

@@BigBlue1895 Snopes might be wrong. And I like your story, even if it turns out not to be true.

[@timpearce4255]

I delivered papers as a substitute for a friend when his family was out of town. Rolling the newspapers and putting a rubber bands around each one, loading the three baskets one large on the handle bars and two on the rear of the bike with a ton of papers, a then delivering the entire route in all kinds of weather was a big responsibility. You also had to go out and collect from each subscriber for the home delivery about every two weeks. For a young person this was taking up a lot of their time and as physically taxing. So, D. McLean being asthmatic and running a newspaper route has my sincere respect, empathically.

[@thomascordery7951]

I remember an article from decades ago, sorry I don't recall the publication or even the year, about a survey with people who had achieved great success in business. The most frequent response to the question of what they attributed their great business sense to, was that as children they'd had newspaper routes. Specifically, it was the requirement to collect payment from each of the homes on their routes, so no joy for those children who deliver newspapers that are funded entirely by advertising. Not their university educations, not mentors early in their careers; they attributed the single most important factor in their business success to having a paper route as a child.

[@higgme1ster]

@@thomascordery7951 You just got me thinking. I have had a good career and life, retired as a program manager from Verizon after 31 years, to top off forty years in telecommunications. But my brother, 14 months younger than me retired early with a force strength reduction from the USAF as a Major, then had a career in education as a teacher, a principal at the high school level and remote campus director for a state university. It never occurred to me that his early start as a paper boy contributed to his success.

[@daveditchdigger2111]

Collection was harder & more time-consuming than delivering.

[@cathylindeboo.9598]

What a sensitive, bright boy Don was. He grew into an eloquent, gifted poet/ musician!!!!

[@runuphill]

But apparently he did not grow into a nice adult. Many stories floating around about him, especially about his later years.

[@TheParadisecove]

This instantly brought back a memory of my surfer friend Craig Cuneo, working with me at KFC, and one night standing by the fryers, from our little desk top radio, American Pie was playing. He made a face and smiled, saying "When we were surfing in Central America, we couldn't get away from it. They played it over and over non-stop..." Released in October 1971

[@robertmcdiarmid6253]

This was a nice video. For most of my life I lived in Kamloops, British Columbia a small city located between Vancouver and Calgary. Kamloops has a fairly small, acoustically great theatre, and Don McLean played a wonderful concert there which I was fortunate enough to attend. It was terrific that a star like Don , still in the prime of his performing life, played in such a small theatre in a small Canadian city. American Pie was his biggest hit, but he wrote and sang other hits - the concert was many decades ago and I still recall how great a performance he gave.

[@judeangione3732]

OMG that was amazing. I'm only five years younger than Don. I also lost my Dad when I was a teenager. JFK, RFK, MLK all gone less than five years after JFK. Thank you for adding so much American History and Don's life story to the saga of this amazing song.

[@CarlBrainerd]

I'm about Don's age (born '46). I have a clear memory of also having that "bad news on the doorstep" moment the day after the crash. As a kid then, it was me going out into the front yard to get the paper in the morning. In the winter it often meant a few steps off the sidewalk and into the snow to get the paper (this was in Kansas City). Usually I would have the paper out of its string tie by the time I got back to the front door so I could scan the headlines. As I recall it, the crash story was on the front page. When I saw the headline, it stopped me in my tracks on the front porch.. It was such a shock that I could hardly believe it. So, yes, the "bad news" line in American Pie really resonates with me. As an amateur guitarist and open mic performer, I keep American Pie in my repertoire and love to sing it. Thanks for the video!

[@jeffreyryan4026]

Thank you for doing real, in-depth research. Your (and Don's) story is all the richer for it.

[@redforman424]

Harmony , melodic notes arranged in polyphony - tones from the angels .

[@DanielMcCroskey-ml4hp]

I’m an old f*rt, was in HS when Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper were killed in that crash. I was in my HS band; we were familiar with those guys’ music and were all devastated! For some reason, I wanted to play a vid of “American Pie” today; not only found that, but also the Roots podcast with this good-looking and informative young lady….. I’ll def subscribe! 😁

[@joannleichliter4308]

I was also in high school when those guys died in the plane crash. I was in a boarding school, and some of us migrated to the gym after lunch and played all of their records that we had.

[@cliometrician]

Someone once asked Don: "What does American Pie mean?" He replied: "It means I'll never have to work again."

[@MrNishraj]

I too am a diehard Don McLean fan and have read deeply and widely about Don. I found your talk extremely accurate based on the information out there. What is interesting about Don is very few artists have all wrapped in one : supreme poetry , unbelievable musical memory (ask him to play any song of his halcyon era, even of other artists and without hesitation he does it) , superb guitar work and a voice to die for. Of these his poetry and choice of the exact right word for the song simply floor me…think Vincent. Thanks for a superb roots story. One day do a sequel based on his “other songs” which speak more about Don collectively than just American Pie.

[@ashberrychapman7117]

Beautiful work. Storytelling in the greatest sense of the heart. We are all connected souls, and time is illusory. Love and gratitude, Alan Chapman

[@kermitefrog64]

I remember my uncle showing off his new album. We came over to visit him from the Yakima Valley in Washington and he lived in Federal Way Seattle. He was working for Boeing at the time. He had to show everyone his new album Bye Bye Miss America Pie and he had to put it on the record player and we had just barely came into his home. For a young man of 10 it was a very unique song. It is one of those memories you never forget. When I was 17 I helped my uncle Bud to build a log house in Monroe Washington and he was now working for the Duwamish fire district in the greater Seattle area. Sad that I lost my uncle to cancer. He was exposed to foam used to put out fires and he got liver cancer. Every time I hear this song I remember my uncle Bud.

[@Prelude610]

Thank you. Now, some 50 years later, I finally understand the song.

[@redrust3]

Thank you for filling in more details. I was born in Hawaii, but attended college in Iowa in 1970s. I always knew about the crate plane crash. It inspired the song, which was outside Mason city. If you go a couple of hours east, you end up outside Dubuque, Where are the field of dreams movie was filmed. If you drive south, instead, you end up near the Bridges of Madison County. In the south east corner of the state, is the city of Ottumwa, Iowa, where radar O’Reilly, what is from in the movie MASH. I still go back to Iowa every two or three years to visit my adoptive mom and family. If you’re ever out there, it’s an amazing place.

[@atlanticane]

You really do a phenomenal job.

[@thomascordery7951]

You certainly have passion and drive for detailed research on a subject that captures your imagination. Thanks for doing these.

[@danepaulstewart8464]

Wow! This is really REALLY good! As a student of music, a student of music history, and a student of history in general, this video just strikes EVERY possible “chord” in the story that it possibly could. I am almost overwhelmed by the whole thing, and I know I shall have to listen to it many times to really take in the whole story. 👍😎👍

[@kaywood3779]

I heard this news on my radio in Mount Vernon, NY, next door to New Rochelle. I was 16, and I was devastated.

[@alanb76]

This is amazing. Brings back so many memories. Thanks.

[@GraemePayne1967Marine]

At the time of the the crash that Buddy Holly died in, I was 10 years old and living in Canada, and had very little contact with popular music - or news. My first awareness of it was when I first heard Don's song "American Pie", many years later. It is still one of my favorites, and this video (I'm a first-time viewer) has really improved my understanding of it. Thank you.

[@frankdmioli925]

Thank You so much! Bringing back memories for me. ... I've known Frank Hellerman, for years, before I realized what a great musical influence he really was. He was a regular customer in my family's Pizzeria in Westport,CT. We would chat about music while he was there (which annoyed my uncle because I wasn't mopping...et.al. .. But Mr. Hellerman was always interested in listening to me talking about music. ... I miss those days. .. Bye, Bye...

[@murrayspiffy2815]

The first time I heard "American Pie" I was dancing at an after school sock hop. The irony struck me like a lightning bolt.

[@goose15401]

You did fantastic rock-u-mentary. Frist time I stumbled across your channel. But I am hooked. Great job, keep up the great work

[@maddantt7757]

Wow, you really did a great job telling this story. Thank you!

[@seanhallahan14]

Lovely! Well done! Well researched! Thank you. Love 'n Light best & cheers, Sean

[@davidkrueger2987]

i remember American Pie like it was last yesterday even tho it was my junior year of HS. always liked that song alot. thanks for the back story, it fills in some blanks

[@chrispaul7849]

ditto, junior year--cant say I ever enjoyed a song more than Pie, still love it.

[@bdff4007]

​@@chrispaul7849 he also has a hit with "starry starry night," about Vincent Van Gogh

[@TimothyOdom-k1m]

Great job on American Pie …. Well done! ✔️ I am 65 yrs old and remember vividly Don McClean’s iconic song. I recently purchased the original LP. Outstanding !!

[@jeffdege4786]

Garrison Keillor did his stand-up monologue, in one episode of A Prairie Home Companion, not about Tales from Lake Wobegone, but rather a personal account of he and a couple of friends skipp8ng school, driving down and standing around a cold cornfield outside of Clear Lake, the next day. He was in High School in Anoka, MN, and it was about a 2-1/2 hour drive.

[@proft1942-y7n]

I was shocked to hear the details about Don McLean’s father’s death, especially how Adonis learned of his death. That story matches my experience. Dad complains of pain, I am told to go to bed, awakened after an hour being told he was going to the hospital, told to stay home and rest. Several hours later being awakened by my uncle and told he died. That is erie. Thanks for your excellent post.

[@williampopper59]

Thanks so much for this excellent video. You really have done some great research!

[@bdff4007]

Bright young lady. Hard worker, very diligent. Tells a good story.

[@williamthomas3620]

Very interesting story about the music and the musician. Thanks for your work and research

[@gregjohnson7270]

This was an incredible video, I thought you were going to go through the song a bit more in detail, so I woud enjoy a video about that if that is possible. That said, your voice is so easy to listen to and you look great and seem to genuinely care about the story. So, I have subscribed and look forward to diving into another video. Quick note, I grew up in rural SE Kansas and joined a rock band as their drummer when I was 12. I was able to buy the nearly $1,000 drum kit with my own money from an after school job at the local hardware store. I set up the drums for the first practice, and played like I had been playing and it made me wonder about the possibility of past lives and playing with 3 bands from 1964-1971 totally made my childhood. Thanks again for the video!

[@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY]

I love that story! So glad you enjoyed this episode and I hope you can find some others you like as well! I had some trouble with the audio on a few but it seems resolved in the more recent episodes!

[@stephenkeever6029]

@@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY You did a great job on this story of the song! The images and your writing make this flow really well. I got to mix sound for Don years ago. He was very professional, easy to work with and did a great concert with no fuss.

[@EdwardKilner]

Subscribed. You did a truly excellent job on this documentary. 🇨🇦 old guy, born also in 1945. Had a newspaper route. Not a musician, rather Engineer, eventually. But, American Pie was something that resonated with me. And, like most Canadians my age, we were in high school and remember Kennedy’s assassination. Thanks for recalling the memories. Will look for more of your work.

[@RiverMica]

You are a very well informed and energetic commentor. The subjects are intense and intesting. I like the way you roll!

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Really interesting about his breath work controlling his asthma. I had something in reverse happen. I’ve been a professional singer for most of my life, good breath control is super important to me as a singer. When lockdown happened in the UK in 2020 I immediately lost all my gigs for the foreseeable future. A strange thing happened to me. Very quickly I started having respiratory issues, contacting the doctor I discovered I suffer from COPD Chronic Obstructive, Pulmonary Disease and had it for a long time. I’d never noticed it before but the doctor suggested it was due to me singing regularly and using good breath control this exercising the lungs and the muscles around them. I started rehearsing in my car, isolated from everyone in a car park. The COPD came quickly back under control. Now I’m back singing regularly again my condition is fully under control. It just goes to show what singing, and singing correctly can do for you. Thanks for this video.

[@chg1264]

Thank you so much for a great review of all the events that created his song! 💕

[@normmarples3936]

What a fabulous youtube you made. I can't wait to see more!

[@klausuhlig7141]

I'm 80 yrs old and I got a totally different view of American pie, I survived the viet nam ara,

[@RobertMattison-pp6uf]

Excellent Bio on Don McLean. Keep up the good work.

[@jndduncan1]

Thanks!

[@sparkytas]

Wonderfully presented! Thank you!

[@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY]

Thank you! Thank you for being part of this community ❤️❤️🎶🎶

[@CalamitousJonathan]

I was Buddy Holly and The Crickets and all the music Don McLean listened to. That made him want to become a musician

[@davidhendricks1331]

We're the best podcast I've ever seen outstanding young lady.I loved it

[@mikeflynn3421]

You are the BEST!!!!!!!! Yoou do GREAT work !!!!!

[@sdriza]

she really is - no idea why she suddenly popped up in my feed (KZbin got it right) but glad she did

[@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY]

You are making my day!! So glad to have you part of the roots music history family!

[@sdriza]

@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY keep doing what you're doing! great content presented in excellent fashion (and it's very obvious you go the extra mile quite often on the research side)

[@budmanzoom4441]

Nice work, thank you!

[@tryer49]

What a great podcast! Thanks!

[@randymccracken2722]

Great video. Thanks for the info about Don McLean.

[@ctmtuber]

Great story telling, thanks.

[@nononsenseBennett]

Great report. So interesting how artists create.

[@pieinthesky4106]

This touched me deeply. Thank you.

[@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY]

I’m so glad you liked it ❤️

[@Russ938]

wow, just wow. the newspaper thing. page 20. you brought so much I never knew to this song from my childhood. thank you

[@alssupersadgarden]

You do a fantastic job with excellent analysis

[@boomersooner1694]

Excellent job. You definitely did your homework. Bravo!!!!

[@rnrpeg1]

Cool story. I'm buying it. I totally remember listening to this 45 over and over and wondering each time wth the meanings really were. ❤ btw, love your earrings. 😁

[@globyois]

Excellent presentation.

[@xponentialme]

Excellent video. I have wondered about the story behind this song for years. I am also a huge fan of Don McLean and Jim Croce and some of the other people mentioned. Thank you for your well-researched and entertaining video.

[@johntaplin3126]

I was also a paperboy back in the late 50s, and read the paper avidly on my rounds. One day , I was so engaged in the paper, when my bike with the papers in a basket fell over - papers fell of in the wind and scattered everywhere. The day the newspapers died! Loved Don's songs and Buddy's music, too.

[@smferreiro2610]

Great video! Well researched! Thank you!

[@TheROMaNProject]

Outstanding documentary! Obviously heavily researched and nicely told. Kudos.

[@wacojones8062]

I have as complete a set of Both Buddy and with the Crickets as is possible on CD Format. Thanks for cover this song.

[@JohnLovesSpain]

What a stunning and informative analysis of a timeless song. Thank you. This masterpiece dominated the airwaves in my youth. It was incredibly popular here in the UK.

[@dayfornight176]

Very very well done. Subscribed.

[@jansobieski7470]

This is my first experience with one of your vids, am impressed... I am very surprised that people in Iowa did not accociate American Pie with famous plane crash. I was 19 when AP became a hit, I did not pick up on the different associations for months but I did realize early on the link between "the day the music died" and the crash. 50+ years I still enjoy hearing it again and again...

[@prajnachan333]

As a musician and music lover I really enjoy the history's of musicians. So fascinating 👏 and moving. Human beings are so incredible and creative. P.S. I was a paperboy too! I loved it. My first job.

[@1ambulator]

Wow, what an excellent video. So many facts I did not know. Th

[@sonofthehills]

Thanks so much for this article. I was in basic training for the Army when I first heard "American Pie". I loved it from the start. Always wondered what the song was about. It was a crazy time in this country's history. Finally, I know the story behind the music.

[@yunnailavayen5574]

Thanks history of this informative iconic 🇺🇸 song is needed 👌 ❤❤

[@ROLLMEAWAY]

I've been to the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas (where no photos of the artifacts were allowed!) and to the crash site in Clear Lake, Iowa. I love what you are doing with the music history - You have a new fan!

[@nadinehansen9241]

I am a couple of years younger than Don. I don't remember seeing the story in the newspaper, but I sure remember hearing about the crash on the radio. I was 11 and loved Richie Valens then and was really sad about the crash.

[@sparrowhawk3894]

I vividly remember that day when I turned on the radio and heard the news. I had those same feelings and just feeling lost.

[@sirlaw2930]

I love your music investigations. You add intelligent insight. Thank you. You are going places in my opinion. You are very good at this. keep it up.

[@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY]

Thank you so much for the positive comment! I’m happy you are here and part of the Roots Music History Family ☺️🎵❤️‍🔥

[@kathypiazza7228]

Every death of someone you love reminds you of the deaths of every other person you loved. I’m 2 times a widow & knew 40 deaths by age 36. In a weird way it’s comforting as our memories keep them in our lives. When my 1st husband died I played Don McLean’s 🎶Vincent🎶 and cried through the song for a couple of years. Played it today and managed to sing along, cried when it was over. Thanks for your in-depth telling of this story, I knew some of this but certainly not all & haven’t seen the film yet. You’re very good at this!!!

[@lancehites6697]

You are so cutely beautiful! You also have a brain! Of course I subscribed! Love your passionate delivery. I remember singing that song while doing my dairy farm chores. The music got in my head and stayed there. It was quite a few years later that it was explained who the song was about. I was a young lad in Iowa when the plane crashed but not aware of it being only 6. An article in the Fargo Forum in the 80’s or 90’s told the story of how they were on their way to play at Moorhead,MN. So your story is so helpful to fill in more of the blanks. Thank you. I’ll be watching more of your interesting videos!♥️

[@lucianwalcott3680]

Your detailed yet engaging delivery is … Magnificent

[@JasonDorris-ip6qp]

The interview on Later with Bob Costas from the mid nineties with Don McClean is great...

[@livingadreamlife1428]

I grew up in the 60’s. Buddy was one of the first artists to begin the Rock-n-Roll era in the 50’s. Certainly, Buddy was among the best known recording artists that kids were listening to at that time. It was a new sound to their ears as prior to that mostly big band music (our parent’s music) dominated radio. Kids felt this new sound was “their’ music” though. However, America was changing. In the mid-1960’s with the onset Vietnam War, music had lost its innocence. Lyrics were no longer about coming of age and first loves that Buddy sang about, but groups began to sing about social consciousness and awareness of what our gov’t was doing. An example is For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield with the line “Something’s Happening Here”. Music and life had lost its innocence. As the decade rolled by and the Vietnam War continued, those kids grew into young adults and were faced with college, the draft, jobs, marriage, responsibility. Life had changed for them and they longed for simpler times as it was for them in the early 1960’s. In reflection, they needed a generic reference point that everyone would understand. One that would signify when things began to change. So they began to refer to Buddy Holly’s death in an Iowa cornfield as a sentinel moment in history, as “The Day The Music Died.” Simply stated, their youthful innocence had died at around the same time. Don McLean tied of all those feelings together in his song. Nothing is more American than Apple Pie. Don played off that “pie” theme as a way to illustrate how America had lost its innocence and had changed forever, just as we had along with her.

[@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY]

Couldn’t agree more !!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@neilknudsen9138]

Oops, I just posted a comment on one of your other videos. I meant it to be THIS video. My comment is that I love the way you told the story. I was completely mesmerize!

[@larrystark9141]

Nice work. I was a paper boy in my youth, mid fifties - the sixtie,s also. True to what you say early in the morning there was a delivery of papers. I would cut the string and then fold them to fit in my bags and the put a rubber band on the paper. We were given extra papers every morning and one of them was for our house. SOMETIMES I would read it especially if there was a front line story that grabbed my attention.

[@josephteifer9714]

New subscriber. I love history your attention to detail is refreshing.

[@jeanmorin3247]

Five-Star briefer. Well done!

[@leekasten3921]

🇺🇸🇺🇸 I was still a teenager and doing my duty in South East Asia when American Pie was a hit on the Radio. I like Rye Whiskey too., You are beautiful and a great story teller too. Really great ...

[@UAuaUAuaUA]

Thank you for your research and good presentation. The lyrics of American Pie make many interpretations possible, and I think this was his intention. I knew before he was thinking about Buddy Holly, but I didn't know all the other stories.

[@ZigamusRainbowWizard]

Thank you for an awesome eye opener on this, I remember the crash and all that, though I was never that into music this is something that stuck with me for many years and possibly influenced my youth. May I offer a subject for future videos? Jerry Garcia, how did he get where he was and what happened to him and then what happened to the Grateful Dead after that, I think many many people would be interested in this.

[@philstrachan]

Great job on this one! Very well researched 🍻🇦🇺👏

[@falconinflight6235]

Very good insight and information,, Thanks

[@MattRios-jn1qx]

I'm pretty happy with this ladies view of Don McLean's American Pie. She only covers the likely possibilities and doesn't get into wild theories of the entire song lyrics. I read an interview of Don McLean and in it he said he wrote it fairly quickly. And I remember him saying that many people have tried to dissect too far into it and his lyrics are about a few of those things maybe but it's more simple

[@josephscarpaci3688]

In February 59 as a 11 year old kid I listened to the radio station in Panama Canal that my older brother had on & Big Bobber's Chantilly Lace , was almost nonstop for a week!

[@SweetJennyFan]

Proper research. Respect !

[@barrywerdell2614]

When I was a teenager I discovered the music of Don McLean. For a year I would only listen to the radio and Don's third album. . This drove my older brother, that I shared a room with, nuts. He played trumpet in the high school band and taught himself guitar and one day he told me; "If you like Don McLean so much why don't you learn to play guitar like him."

[@andrewtannenbaum1]

Thank you for this inspirational account.

[@Hofner54]

love your videos, you are very detailed and articulate, glad I found you :-)

[@kevinsnyder8448]

Nice video Roots❤

[@twoschful]

Very interesting video. Thank you for all your research. But, I'm confused at the 18:06 slide which states "Hi! I'm Tom"... perhaps somebody missed the typo. Otherwise a great video and history.

[@scorpohead]

Thank you, that was very cool. Mc

[@CalamitousJonathan]

Don McLean treated me like a father, but technically I wasn't his dad, just the father of all music. We didn't actually fight, we just had a discussion, that I felt he should pursue education, and music. He became aware of time, because of our discussions, and music, that is all timed. Don McLean is one of my better friends. Because he keeps music alive when I can't.

[@xshanghu]

Appreciate your content. Bob

[@LukeHosinski]

Great job researching the topic, I learned a lot about Don, but I was left yearning to learn more about the song. I've tied lyrics to the Stone and the Byrds, but I'd like more. I have never searched the topic. I find the Roots of rock music fascinating, so I subscribed. Kudos Luke