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Don McLean music biography continued...

2, 1945 in New Rochelle, New York. He took an interest in folk rock as a youngster and after dropping out of Villanova University hit the road to perform at such storied venues as the Bitter End and Gaslight Café in New York, the Newport Folk Festival, and The Cellar Door in Washington, D.C. McLean broke through in 1971 when United Artists picked up his contract from an independent label and he promptly came up with American Pie. Interestingly, when the title song was released it was considered too long by the AM stations of the day. The FM stations, however, were just coming onto the scene and were playing more experimental music in order to compete with the more established AM stations. When FM caught hold of American Pie, they played the full version and listeners loved it. The tune, inspired by the tragic death of Buddy Holly, became a number one hit, and the LP soon reached the top of the charts as well. The follow-up, "Vincent," was also a smash, and McLean even became the subject of the Roberta Flack hit "Killing Me Softly With His Song".

McLean refused to let the success of American Pie influence his future recordings and he subsequently came out with two albums that fared poorly. He enjoyed a renaissance of sorts with 1980's Chain Lightning; his first Top 30 LP in close to a decade, it spawned a Top Ten smash with its cover of Roy Orbison's classic "Crying," and his originals "Castles in the Air" and "Since I Don't Have You" both also reached the Top 40. When a subsequent album did poorly, however, McLean again found himself without a record label. He returned to the music scene in 1991 with a UK top 20 with a re-issue of "American Pie". The song became a worldwide smash again in 2000 when covered in abridged form by Madonna. As of 2006, McLean continued to tour the U.S. and Europe extensively, giving audiences what they want the most—a taste of classic folk rock history.