Uploaded October 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
"American Pie", by American folk rock singer/songwriter Don McLean, was released on his American Pie album in 1971 which he dedicated to Buddy Holly. The song reached #1 in the US, and the #2 spot in the UK. There is a part-2 on the flip side of the single. It has been voted #5 in a poll of the 365 Songs of the (20th)Century compiled by the RIAA, and the National Endowment for the Arts. "American Pie" embraces McLean's personal feelings when he first learned about Holly's death in 1959 as he was folding newspapers for his early morning paper route that day. Over the years, McLean has generally avoided responding to direct questions about the song lyrics saying songwriters should make their statements and move on, and maintain a dignified silence. However, McLean did reveal the meaning of the song when the lyrics and notes were auctioned in 2015, and sold for $1.2M. The auction catalog revealed that when he wrote the lyrics, things were headed in the wrong direction, and life was becoming less idyllic, that his song had a sense of morality. "American Pie" is in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and McLean is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
"American Pie", by American folk rock singer/songwriter Don McLean, was released on his American Pie album in 1971 which he dedicated to Buddy Holly. The song reached #1 in the US, and the #2 spot in the UK. There is a part-2 on the flip side of the single. It has been voted #5 in a poll of the 365 Songs of the (20th)Century compiled by the RIAA, and the National Endowment for the Arts. "American Pie" embraces McLean's personal feelings when he first learned about Holly's death in 1959 as he was folding newspapers for his early morning paper route that day. Over the years, McLean has generally avoided responding to direct questions about the song lyrics saying songwriters should make their statements and move on, and maintain a dignified silence. However, McLean did reveal the meaning of the song when the lyrics and notes were auctioned in 2015, and sold for $1.2M. The auction catalog revealed that when he wrote the lyrics, things were headed in the wrong direction, and life was becoming less idyllic, that his song had a sense of morality. "American Pie" is in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and McLean is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
