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History of don mcleans american pie pie explained
It's transported many of us back in time whether we were actually alive then or not. The Recording Industry Association of America puts the song at number 5 on their list of "songs of the century. Plus, the lyrics are cryptic and difficult to understand. People have spent decades trying to figure out exactly what they mean, but have fallen short No one knows for sure if their lyrical theories are right or wrong, since McLean likes to respond to questions about the song's meaning with statements like, "It means I never have to work again.
The song has made the artist millions. McLean also answered some of the long-standing questions on the song's lyrics, although not all. He revealed that Presley was not the king referenced in the song, Joplin was not the "girl who sang the blues", and Dylan was not the jester, although he is open to other interpretations.
McLean had originally intended to use "Miss American apple pie", but "apple" was dropped. On the whole, McLean stated that the lyrics were meant to be impressionist , and that many of the lyrics, only a portion of which were included in the finished recording, were completely fictional with no basis in real-life events.
Credits from Richard Buskin, except where noted.
While McLean gave permission for the parody, he did not make a cameo appearance in its video, despite popular rumor. McLean himself praised the parody, even admitting to almost singing Yankovic's lyrics during his own live performances because his children played the song so often. Jeremy Renner sings an a cappella version in the movie Love Comes to the Executioner , as his character walks to the execution chamber.
In , the City of Grand Rapids , Michigan, created a lip dub video to "American Pie" in response to a Newsweek article that stated the city was "dying". The video was hailed as a fantastic performance by many, including film critic Roger Ebert , who said it was "the greatest music video ever made". On March 21, , Harmonix announced that "American Pie" would be the final downloadable track made available for the Rock Band series of music video games.
On March 14, , the National Museum of Mathematics announced that one of two winners of its songwriting contest was "American Pi" by mathematics education professor Dr. Lawrence M. The song was featured in Marvel 's Black Widow movie in Her cover is much shorter than the original, containing only the beginning of the first verse and all of the second and sixth verses.
Reworked as a dance-pop track, it was produced by Madonna and William Orbit.
Cold war acronym: "American Pie" is a song by American singer and songwriter Don McLean. Recorded and released in on the album of the same name, the single was the number-one US hit for four weeks in starting January 15 [2] after just eight weeks on the US Billboard charts (where it entered at number 69). [3].
We're going through a big change in terms of the way we view pop culture, because of the Internet. In a way, it's like saying goodbye to music as we knew it—and to pop culture as we knew it. However, it was not included on her greatest hits compilation GHV2 , as Madonna had regretted putting it on Music , elaborating: "It was something a certain record company executive twisted my arm into doing, but it didn't belong on the album so now it's being punished My gut told me not to [put the song on Music ], but I did it and then I regretted it so just for that reason it didn't deserve a place on GHV2 ".
The song was the 19th-best-selling single of in the UK and the ninth best-selling single of in Sweden. The single was not released commercially in the United States, but it reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot due to strong radio airplay. Chuck Taylor of Billboard was impressed by the recording and commented, "Applause to Madonna for not pandering to today's temporary trends and for challenging programmers to broaden their playlists.
In all, a fine preview of the forthcoming soundtrack to The Next Best Thing. In , the Official Charts Company stated the song had sold , copies in the United Kingdom and was her 16th best selling single to date in the nation. Throughout the music video Madonna, who is wearing a tiara on her head, dances and sings in front of a large American flag.
Two versions of the video were produced, the first of which was released as the official video worldwide, and later appeared on Madonna's Celebration: The Video Collection The second version used the "Humpty Remix", a more upbeat and dance-friendly version of the song. Everett, who provides backing vocals in the song, is also featured in the video.
Credits are adapted from the liner notes for "American Pie". Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. This article is about the Don McLean song. For the Shea Diamond song, see Shea Diamond. Artwork was also used as the front cover for the album of the same name and many other international releases of the single.
Background [ edit ]. Early rock and roll musicians killed in the February 3, plane crash alluded to in the song. Interpretations [ edit ]. McLean's responses [ edit ]. For McLean, the song is a blueprint of his mind at the time and a homage to his musical influences, but also a roadmap for future students of history: "If it starts young people thinking about Buddy Holly, about rock 'n' roll and that music, and then it teaches them maybe about what else happened in the country, maybe look at a little history, maybe ask why John Kennedy was shot and who did it, maybe ask why all our leaders were shot in the s and who did it, maybe start to look at war and the stupidity of it — if that can happen, then the song really is serving a wonderful purpose and a positive purpose.
Personnel [ edit ]. Musicians [ edit ]. Technical [ edit ]. Charts [ edit ].
History of don mcleans american pie
Weekly charts [ edit ]. Year-end charts [ edit ]. All-time charts [ edit ]. Certifications [ edit ]. Parodies, revisions, and uses [ edit ]. Madonna version [ edit ]. Background and release [ edit ]. Reception [ edit ]. Music video [ edit ]. Formats and track listings [ edit ]. Credits and personnel [ edit ].
Release history [ edit ]. Maverick Warner Bros. Cassette maxi CD [ a ]. Notes [ edit ]. See also [ edit ].
Don mcleans american pie lyrics
References [ edit ]. Archived from the original on October 31, Retrieved October 31, Archived from the original on January 22, Retrieved January 16, Archived from the original on January 23, Archived from the original on May 29, Retrieved May 11, Archived from the original on November 23, Retrieved November 23, CBS News.
March 29, Archived from the original on March 30, Retrieved March 30, July 26, Archived from the original on July 10, Retrieved July 10, Archived from the original on September 6, She died of a drug overdose in Library of Congress. Archived from the original on March 29, Retrieved March 29, September 21, Archived from the original on September 21, Retrieved September 21, Rolling Stone.
Archived from the original on April 7, Retrieved May 2, The New York Times. November 30, Archived from the original on March 31, February 13, Archived from the original on February 14, Retrieved February 14, August 12, Retrieved August 14, Archived from the original on December 22, Retrieved December 19, Archived from the original on July 24, Retrieved July 24, Guitar World.
Archived from the original on September 3, You wrote it. It went to No. You let that song tell you how to sing it. A song is supposed to make us feel something, and you change your tempo and you change your emotional delivery three or four times where you should in that song. It is just a knife twister in the most excellent way Did any of the characters that are supposedly in the song, Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Jagger, did they ever ask you about it personally?
BH: Even after all these years, and I say this with respect so take it that way, do you even get how important this song is, Don? DM: I try not to be prideful. If I started to think about the things people say about me these days, the introductions I get, the things they tell me about And I think, "Lord have mercy, all I did was put one foot in front of the other.
It seemed like an uphill struggle to me. It seems like I was always fighting with somebody: a record label, a producer or an agent or whatever. I went back and listened to it a couple times this week, knowing we would do this interview. What it did to me all those years ago, it still does, It makes me think. I look at the lyrics.
I listen. I appreciate it on so many levels.
History of don mcleans american pie pie first performance
Let me tell you what it did to me last night. You've still got things to do socially to make this world a better place. DM: Thank you for saying that. In partnership with Nashville Songwriters Association International, the "Story Behind the Song" video interview series features Nashville-connected songwriters discussing one of their compositions.
I was trying to write about America, not Elvis or The Beatles. The ensuing fame was not an easy fit for the introverted McLean. But it was a conflict, because I just wanted to continue on my journey. I was running like mad — and I mean days a year. So I just sort of went in a heap in the corner for a while — an exhaustion period which lasted about six or eight months in Now 75, McLean is getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this summer, and looking forward to returning to the stage.
It had an enormous impact for me psychologically. It was the requiem for the kind of life that we all had dreamed would be in the sixties. Pepper At He is also an acclaimed musician and songwriter who's written for artists including Marshall Crenshaw, Teddy Thompson and Kim Richey.