Don McLean turns 81 today, and he is celebrating about as far from New Rochelle as a man can get. The “American Pie” singer was born October 2, 1945 in that New York suburb, according to Fox News, and this month he is on the road in Australia with dates in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, plus more than a dozen American shows on the calendar.
The song that made him immortal spent four weeks at number one starting in January 1972. “American Pie” was later added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, and a landmark RIAA poll ranked it the fifth greatest song of the 20th century, behind only “Respect,” “This Land Is Your Land,” “White Christmas,” and “Over the Rainbow.”
Don McLean And The Song That Never Ages
The inspiration behind “American Pie” dates back to February 3, 1959, when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a plane crash in Iowa. McLean was just 13 years old and working as a newspaper delivery boy when he learned the news. He later recalled seeing the tragedy on the front page of the papers he was delivering, an experience that stayed with him for years. The loss eventually became the emotional starting point for “American Pie,” although the song also reflected the broader cultural upheaval of the 1960s, from changing musical tastes to the loss of American innocence.
“American Pie” wasn’t McLean’s only enduring hit. His follow-up single, “Vincent,” was inspired by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and his famous painting The Starry Night. McLean wrote the song in 1970 while living in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, after studying a book about the troubled artist. He later explained that he wanted to tell van Gogh’s story through the painting itself, using the colors and images to capture the artist’s emotional struggles. The resulting ballad, remembered for its opening words “Starry, starry night,” became another international success and reached No. 1 in Britain in 1972.
Don McLean Celebrates 55 Years Of ‘American Pie’ In Australia
McLean’s Australian performances are part of his American Pie 55th Anniversary Tour, celebrating more than half a century since the song’s original release in 1971. The October itinerary includes performances in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, with additional stops throughout the country. According to Australian concert promoter Echo Pacific, the shows feature longtime favorites including “Vincent,” “Castles in the Air,” and “And I Love You So,” alongside stories about the music’s origins. The tour brings McLean back to Australian audiences more than five decades after he first performed in the country.
Not bad company for eight and a half minutes about the day the music died. The man behind it has carried the song for more than five decades and still finds new rooms to sing it in. Earlier this year, we looked at the very real heartbreak that inspired “American Pie”, which is worth revisiting on his birthday.
Eighty-one years old and singing in four Australian cities this month. The Chevy may have reached the levee, but Don McLean keeps driving.
