Editing Don McLean

{{short description|American singer-songwriter (born 1945)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| image             = Don McLean in Gateshead UK May 2018.jpg
| caption           = McLean performing at [[Sage Gateshead]] in May 2018
| name              = Don McLean
| birth_name        = Donald McLean III
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1945|10|2}}
| birth_place       = [[New Rochelle, New York]], U.S.
| instrument        = {{flatlist|
* Vocals
* guitar
}}
| genre             = {{flatlist|
* [[Folk music|Folk]]
* [[rock music|rock]]
* [[folk rock]]
* [[Country music|country]]
}}
| label             = {{flatlist|
* [[United Artists Records|United Artists]]
* [[EMI America Records|EMI]]
* [[Curb Records|Curb]]
* [[Capitol Records|Capitol]]
}}
| occupation        = Singer-songwriter
| years_active      = 1964–present
| website           = {{URL|don-mclean.com}}
| alias             = 
}}
'''Donald McLean III''' {{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|k|l|eɪ|n}} (born October 2, 1945)<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=first|isbn=0-85112-939-0|pages=1578/9}}</ref> is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail",<ref>{{cite web |date=October 21, 2021 |title=Don McLean on his hit American Pie, touring and intending to die on stage |url=https://www.newschainonline.com/lifestyle/life/don-mclean-on-his-hit-american-pie-touring-and-intending-to-die-on-stage-231307 |website=NewsChain |language=en |access-date=April 7, 2023 |archive-date=May 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517232918/https://www.newschainonline.com/lifestyle/life/don-mclean-on-his-hit-american-pie-touring-and-intending-to-die-on-stage-231307 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite web | url=https://www.newsletter.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/don-mcleans-american-pie-defined-a-bygone-era-3464605 | title=DON MCLEAN: 'American Pie is about the soul of a country and it is eternal' | work=www.newsletter.co.uk | date=November 19, 2021}}</ref> he is best known for his 1971 hit "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]", an eight-and-a-half-minute [[folk rock]] song that has been referred to as a "cultural touchstone".<ref>{{cite book|title=Smash Hits: The 100 Songs That Defined America|last=Perone|first=James E.|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2016|isbn=9781440834691|pages=230}}</ref> His other hit singles include "[[Vincent (Don McLean song)|Vincent]]", "Dreidel", "[[Castles in the Air (song)|Castles in the Air]]", and "[[Wonderful Baby]]", as well as renditions of [[Roy Orbison]]'s "[[Crying (Roy Orbison song)#Don McLean version|Crying]]" and [[the Skyliners]]' "[[Since I Don't Have You]]".

McLean's song "[[And I Love You So (song)|And I Love You So]]" has been recorded by [[Elvis Presley]], [[Perry Como]], [[Helen Reddy]], [[Glen Campbell]], and others. In 2000, [[Madonna]] had a hit with a rendition of "[[American Pie (song)#Madonna version|American Pie]]". In 2004, McLean was inducted into the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]]. In January 2018, [[BMI Foundation|BMI]] certified that "American Pie" had reached five million airplays and "Vincent" three million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://musicmattersmagazine.com/2018/01/24/don-mclean-becomes-a-bmi-multi-million-air/|title=Don McLean becomes a BMI multi million-air!|last=musicmattersmagazine|date=January 24, 2018|access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref> Though most of McLean’s music is in the folk rock genre, he has experimented with [[Easy listening|Easy Listening]], [[Country music|Country]], and other genres as well.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Amy |date=2022-11-15 |title=Don McLean, Ready to Rock and Roll |url=https://countryreunionmusic.com/don-mclean-ready-to-rock-and-roll/ |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=Country Reunion Music |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Early life==
McLean's grandfather and father, both also named Donald McLean, were of [[Scottish people|Scottish]] origin. McLean's mother, Elizabeth Bucci, was of [[Italian people|Italian]] origin: Her parents originated from [[Abruzzo]] in central [[Italy]]. He has other extended family in Los Angeles and Boston.<ref name="bio">{{cite book|last=Howard|first=Alan|title=The Don McLean Story: Killing Us Softly With His Songs|publisher=Lulu Press|year=2007|page=420|isbn=978-1-4303-0682-5}}</ref> McLean grew up in [[New Rochelle, New York]], where he [[Paperboy|delivered newspapers]] as a boy.<ref name="lohud-propper"/>

===Musical roots===
Though some of his early musical influences included [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Buddy Holly]],<ref name=":0">{{cite news|last=Arnold|first=Thomas|title=Bye-Bye, Mr. 'American Pie': Don McLean Gives His Pen a Rest|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 23, 1990}}</ref> as a teenager, McLean became interested in [[folk music]], particularly [[the Weavers]]' 1955 recording ''[[The Weavers at Carnegie Hall]]''. He often missed long periods of school because of childhood [[asthma]], and although McLean slipped in his studies, his love of music was allowed to flourish. By age 16, he had bought his first guitar and began making contacts in the music business, becoming friends with the folk singers [[Erik Darling]] and [[Fred Hellerman]] of the Weavers. Hellerman said, "He called me one day and said, 'I'd like to come and visit you', and that's what he did! We became good friends — he has the most remarkable music memory of anyone I've ever known."<ref name="bio"/>

When McLean was 15, his father died. Fulfilling his father's request,<ref name=":0" /> McLean graduated from [[Iona Preparatory School]] in 1963,<ref name=pieinface>{{cite news|last=Hinckley|first=David|date=February 5, 2012|title=Readers give critic a pie in the face over insufficient enthusiasm for Don McLean's classic hit 'American Pie'|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/readers-give-critic-pie-face-insufficient-enthusiasm-don-mclean-classic-hit-american-pie-article-1.1014076|url-status=live|access-date=May 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513002152/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/readers-give-critic-pie-face-insufficient-enthusiasm-don-mclean-classic-hit-american-pie-article-1.1014076|archive-date=May 13, 2020}}</ref> and briefly attended [[Villanova University]], dropping out after four months. After leaving Villanova, McLean became associated with the famed folk music agent [[Harold Leventhal]] for several months before teaming up with his personal manager, Herb Gart. For the next six years, he performed at venues and events including [[The Bitter End]] and the [[the Gaslight Cafe|Gaslight Cafe]] in New York, the [[Newport Folk Festival]], the [[the Cellar Door|Cellar Door]] in Washington, D.C., and the [[Troubadour (West Hollywood, California)|Troubadour]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="bio"/> Gart's 18-year tenure as McLean's manager ended acrimoniously in the 1980s. Following Gart's death<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/herbgart/posts/10203946765866796 "Herb Gart Facebook"], Retrieved on January 1, 2019. Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/1751705314/10203946765866796 ghostarchive.org]</ref> in September 2018, McLean wrote:

{{blockquote|I feel it is important to note that Herb did many good things for me in the beginning but could not deal with my success, as odd as that may sound.
In about 1982 Herb told me his associate Walter Hofer who ran Copyright Service Bureau (a collection business for song publishers) had stolen $90,000 from my account but had "put it back". This was a cover story and a lie. Furthermore the amount turned out to be more like $200,000 and because Gart was now complicit in this crime I fired him. He sued me<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thediscography.org/discoDbDetail.php?req=716|title=The Discography|website=thediscography.org|access-date=January 17, 2019|archive-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101194013/http://thediscography.org/discoDbDetail.php?req=716|url-status=dead}}</ref> but settled for a small amount and was never heard from again.
There is so much of this in my business and artists usually sweep it under the rug but I don't.
I want people to know the truth about my journey.}}

McLean attended [[night school]] at [[Iona University|Iona College]] and received a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1968.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://don-mclean.com/2013/08/12/about-don-mclean/|title=About Don McLean|date=August 12, 2013|work=Don McLean|access-date=February 25, 2018|archive-date=May 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526050539/https://don-mclean.com/2013/08/12/about-don-mclean/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He turned down a scholarship to [[Columbia University]] Graduate School in favor of pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter, performing at such venues as [[Caffè Lena]] in [[Saratoga Springs, New York]] and [[The Main Point]] in [[Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania]].

Later that year, with the help of a grant from the [[New York State Council on the Arts]], McLean began reaching a wider audience, with visits to towns up and down the [[Hudson River]].<ref name="bio"/> He learned the art of performing from his friend and mentor [[Pete Seeger]]. McLean accompanied Seeger on his ''[[Hudson River Sloop Clearwater|Clearwater]]'' boat trip up the Hudson River in 1969 to raise awareness about environmental pollution in the river. During this time, McLean wrote songs that appeared on his first album ''[[Tapestry (Don McLean album)|Tapestry]]''. McLean co-edited the book ''Songs and Sketches of the First Clearwater Crew'', with sketches by [[Thomas B. Allen (painter)|Thomas B. Allen]], for which Seeger wrote the foreword. Seeger and McLean sang "[[Oh Shenandoah|Shenandoah]]" on the 1974 Clearwater album. McLean thought very highly of Seeger and spoke fondly of his experiences working with him: "Hardly a day goes by when I don't think of Pete and how generous and supportive he was. If you could understand his politics and you got to know him, he really was some kind of modern day saint."<ref name="bio" />

==Recording career==

===Early breakthrough===
McLean recorded ''[[Tapestry (Don McLean album)|Tapestry]]'' in 1969 in Berkeley, California, during the student riots. After being rejected 72 times by labels, the album was released by [[Mediarts]], a label that had not existed when he first started to look for one. He worked on the album for a couple of years before putting it out.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.songwriteruniverse.com/don-mclean-interview-2017.htm|title=Special Interview With Don McLean, Renowned Singer/Songwriter Of "American Pie" and Other Classic Songs|date=July 3, 2017|work=Songwriter Universe|access-date=February 25, 2018}}</ref> It attracted good reviews but little notice outside the folk community, though on the Easy Listening chart "[[Castles in the Air (song)|Castles in the Air]]" was a success, and in 1973 "And I Love You So" became a number 1 Adult Contemporary hit for [[Perry Como]].

McLean's major break came when Mediarts was taken over by [[United Artists Records]], thus securing the promotion of a major label for his second album, ''[[American Pie (Don McLean album)|American Pie]].'' The album launched two number one hits in the title song and "[[Vincent (Don McLean song)|Vincent]]". ''American Pie''{{'}}s success made McLean an international star and piqued interest in his first album, which charted more than two years after its initial release.

==="American Pie"===
{{Main|American Pie (song)}}
McLean's "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]" is a song inspired partly by the deaths of [[Buddy Holly]], [[Ritchie Valens]] and [[The Big Bopper|J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper)]] in a plane crash in 1959, and developments in American youth culture in the subsequent decade. The song popularized the expression "[[The Day the Music Died]]" in reference to the crash.

The song was recorded on May 26, 1971, and a month later received its first radio airplay on New York's WNEW-FM and WPLJ-FM to mark the closing of [[Fillmore East]], the famous New York concert hall. "American Pie" reached number one on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] from January 15 to February 5, 1972, and remains McLean's most successful single release. The single also topped the ''Billboard'' [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Easy Listening]] chart. With a total running time of 8:36 encompassing both sides of the single, it was also the longest song to reach number one until [[Taylor Swift]]'s "[[All Too Well]]" broke the record in 2021.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Trust|first=Gary|date=November 22, 2021|title=Taylor Swift's 'All Too Well (Taylor's Version)' Soars In at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/taylor-swift-all-too-well-hot-100-debut-1235001340/|access-date=November 23, 2021|magazine=Billboard|language=en-US}}</ref> Some stations played only part one of the original split-sided single release.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1193|title=American Pie by Don McLean Songfacts|website=Songfacts.com|access-date=February 25, 2018}}</ref>

[[WMVP|WCFL]] DJ Bob Dearborn unraveled the lyrics and first published his interpretation on January 7, 1972, four days after the song reached number 1 on rival station [[WLS (AM)|WLS]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldiesloon.com/il/wls720103.htm|title=89WLS Chicagoland HitParade|publisher=WLS|date=January 3, 1972|access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref> six days before it reached number 1 on WCFL,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldiesloon.com/ilc/wcfl011372.htm|title=WCFL All Hit Music in the Midwest|publisher=WCFL|date=January 13, 1972|access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref> and eight days before it reached number 1 nationally (see "Further reading" under "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]"). Numerous other interpretations, which together largely converged on Dearborn's interpretation, quickly followed. McLean declined to say anything definitive about the lyrics until 1978.<ref>However, [[Casey Kasem]] confirmed the main outline of what Dearborn had said and seemed to indicate that McLean agreed with that outline, on the January 15, 1972, edition of ''[[American Top 40]]'', when "American Pie" had just ascended to number 1 on the Hot 100.</ref> Since then McLean has stated that the lyrics are also somewhat autobiographical and present an abstract story of his life from the mid-1950s until the time he wrote the song in the late 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.don-mclean.com/americanpie.asp|title=Don McLean's American Pie|work=Don McLean Online - The Official Website|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061222185354/http://www.don-mclean.com/americanpie.asp|archive-date=December 22, 2006}}</ref>

The original [[United Artists Records]] inner sleeve featured a [[free verse]] poem<ref>{{cite web|last=Fann|first=James M.|title=Understanding AMERICAN PIE|date=December 10, 2006|access-date=April 3, 2013|url=http://understandingamericanpie.com/hoppy.htm|archive-date=October 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016143326/http://understandingamericanpie.com/hoppy.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> written by McLean about [[William Boyd (actor)|William Boyd]], also known as [[Hopalong Cassidy]], along with a picture of Boyd in full Hopalong regalia. This sleeve was removed within a year of the album's release. The words to this poem appear on a plaque at the [[hospital]] where Boyd died. The Boyd poem and picture tribute do appear on a special remastered 2003 CD.<ref>inner sleeve, 2003 Capitol Records CD remaster (72435-84729-2-9)</ref>

In 2001, "American Pie" was voted number 5 in a poll of the 365 [[Songs of the Century]] compiled by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] and the [[National Endowment for the Arts]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Writer |first=MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment |date=2022-07-18 |title=Don McLean looks back at his masterpiece, 'American Pie' |url=https://kmph.com/news/entertainment/don-mclean-looks-back-at-his-masterpiece-american-pie-top-five-songs-of-the-century-recording-industry-association-of-america-national-endowment-for-the-arts-the-day-the-music-died-the-story-of-don-mcleans-american-pie-paramount-plus-garth-brooks |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=KMPH |language=en}}</ref>

On April 7, 2015, McLean's original working manuscript for "American Pie" sold for $1,205,000 (£809,524/€1,109,182) at Christie's auction rooms, New York, making it the third highest auction price achieved for an American literary manuscript.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christies.com/salelanding/index.aspx?intSaleID=25290|title=Don McLean's "American Pie": The Original Lyrics|website=Christies.com|access-date=August 25, 2015}}</ref>

In the sale catalogue notes, McLean finally revealed the meaning in the song's lyrics: "Basically in American Pie things are heading in the wrong direction. ... It [life] is becoming less idyllic. I don't know whether you consider that wrong or right but it is a morality song in a sense."<ref name="telegraph4915">{{cite news|title=American Pie: 6 crazy conspiracy theories|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/11518980/American-Pie-6-crazy-conspiracy-theories.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/11518980/American-Pie-6-crazy-conspiracy-theories.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|first=Rupert|last=Hawksley|date=April 7, 2015|work=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The catalogue confirmed some of the better-known references in the song's lyrics, including mentions of [[Elvis Presley]] ("the king") and [[Bob Dylan]] ("the jester"), and confirmed that the song culminates with a description of the [[killing of Meredith Hunter]] at the [[Altamont Free Concert]], ten years after the plane crash that killed Holly, Valens and Richardson, and that the song broadly depicts how the early rock innocence of the 1950s, and a bygone simpler age, had been lost;  overtaken by events and changes, which themselves had been overtaken by further changes.<ref name="telegraph4915" />

[[Mike Mills]] of [[R.E.M.]] reflected on the song, that "'American Pie' just made perfect sense to me as a song and that's what impressed me the most. I could say to people this is how to write songs. When you've written at least three songs that can be considered classic that is a very high batting average and if one of those songs happens to be something that a great many people think is one of the greatest songs ever written you've not only hit the top of the mountain but you've stayed high on the mountain for a long time."<ref name="skydoc">{{cite AV media|title=Don McLean: An American Troubadour|medium=Television production|publisher=Sky Arts 1|location=UK|year=2013}}</ref>

When asked about his record broken by [[Taylor Swift]] in a ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' interview, Don McLean said, "there is something to be said for a great song that has staying power. 'American Pie' remained on top for 50 years and now Taylor Swift has unseated such a historic piece of artistry. Let's face it, nobody ever wants to lose that No. 1 spot, but if I had to lose it to somebody, I sure am glad it was another great singer/songwriter such as Taylor."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hussey |first=Allison |title=Taylor Swift Sets New Record for Longest No. 1 Song With "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/taylor-swift-sets-new-record-for-longest-no-1-song-with-all-too-well-10-minute-version/ |access-date=September 1, 2021 |website=Pitchfork |date=November 22, 2021}}</ref> When Swift broke McLean's record, she sent him flowers and a handwritten note that read "I will never forget that I'm standing on the shoulders of giants".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gariano |first=Francesca |title=Taylor Swift sends flowers, note to Don McLean after breaking his record for longest song |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/taylor-swift-sends-flowers-note-don-mclean-after-breaking-his-t242099 |access-date=January 2, 2022 |website=Today |date=December 5, 2021}}</ref>

==="Vincent"===
{{Main|Vincent (Don McLean song)}}
"[[Vincent (Don McLean song)|Vincent]]" is a tribute to the 19th-century Dutch painter [[Vincent van Gogh]]. The inspiration came to McLean one morning while looking at a book about Van Gogh. As he studied a print of Van Gogh's painting ''[[The Starry Night]]'', he realized that a song could be written about the artist through the painting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://don-mclean.com/2007/04/11/vincent-starry-starry-night/|title=Don McLean: Official Website|website=Don-mclean.com|date=April 11, 2007|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-date=April 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424030552/https://don-mclean.com/2007/04/11/vincent-starry-starry-night/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The song argues that Van Gogh had a psychiatric illness, as opposed to being insane.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/7264618/Don-McLean-interview-Why-I-had-to-write-Vincent.html|author=Helen Brown|title=Don McLean interview: Why I had to write "Vincent" - Telegraph|date=February 24, 2010|work=Daily Telegraph}}{{Subscription required}}</ref> It reached number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and it proved to be a huge hit worldwide, including reaching number 1 in the UK Singles Chart. [[Mike Mills]] of [[R.E.M.]] said "You can't change a note in that song".<ref name=skydoc/> The song was performed by [[NOFX]] on their album ''45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records'' and appears on the [[Fat Wreck Chords]] compilation ''Survival of the Fattest''. "Vincent" was sung by [[Josh Groban]] on his [[Josh Groban (album)|2001 debut album]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joshgroban.com/node/78|title=Official Website For Josh Groban|website=Joshgroban.com|date=February 24, 2007|access-date=August 25, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181718/http://www.joshgroban.com/node/78|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> In 2018, singer-songwriter [[Ellie Goulding]] recorded a new, stripped back, acoustic guitar-driven version of the song.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/ellie-goulding-don-mclean-vincent/|title=uDiscovermusic|website=Udiscovermusic.com|date=February 14, 2018|access-date=January 5, 2019}}</ref>

===Subsequent recordings===
[[File:Don McLean 1976.JPG|thumb|McLean in a publicity photo, 1976]]
Personnel from the ''[[American Pie (Don McLean album)|American Pie]]'' album sessions were retained for his third album ''[[Don McLean (album)|Don McLean]]'', including the producer, Ed Freeman, [[Rob Stoner|Rob Rothstein]] on bass, and [[Warren Bernhardt]] on piano. The song "The Pride Parade" provides an insight into McLean's immediate reaction to stardom. McLean told ''Melody Maker'' in 1973 that ''Tapestry'' was an album by someone previously concerned with external situations. ''[[American Pie (Don McLean album)|American Pie]]'' combines externals with internals, and the resultant success of that album makes the third one (''[[Don McLean (album)|Don McLean]]'') entirely introspective."

Other songs written by McLean for the album include "Dreidel" (number 21 on the Billboard chart) and "If We Try" (number 58), which was recorded by [[Olivia Newton-John]].<ref>''[[The Great Olivia Newton-John]]'', Festival Records, 1999.</ref> "On the Amazon" from the 1920s musical ''[[Mr. Cinders]]'' was an unusual choice but became an audience favorite in concerts and featured in ''Till Tomorrow'', a documentary film about McLean produced by Bob Elfstrom (Elfstrom held the role of Jesus Christ in Johnny and June Cash's ''Gospel Road)''. The film shows McLean in concert at Columbia University as he was interrupted by a bomb scare. He left the stage while the audience stood up and checked under their seats for anything that resembled a bomb. After the all-clear, McLean re-appeared and sang "On the Amazon" from exactly where he had left off. Don Heckman reported the bomb scare in his review for ''[[The New York Times]]'' titled "Don McLean Survives Two Obstacles".<ref>''[[The New York Times]]'', December 12, 1971</ref>

The fourth album ''[[Playin' Favorites]]'' was a top-40 hit in the UK in 1973 and included the Irish folk classic, "Mountains of Mourne" and Buddy Holly's "[[Everyday (Buddy Holly song)|Everyday]]", a live rendition of which returned McLean to the UK Singles Chart. McLean said "The last album (''[[Don McLean (album)|Don McLean]]'') was a study in depression whereas the new one (''[[Playin' Favorites]]'') is almost the quintessence of optimism."{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

The 1974 album ''[[Homeless Brother]]'', produced by [[Joel Dorn]], was McLean's final studio recording for United Artists. The album featured fine New York session musicians, including Ralph McDonald on percussion, [[Hugh McCracken]] on guitar and a guest appearance by [[Yusef Lateef]] on flute. The [[The Persuasions|Persuasions]] sang the background vocals on "[[Crying in the Chapel]]", and [[Cissy Houston]] provided a backing vocal on "La La Love You". The album's title song was inspired by [[Jack Kerouac]]'s book ''[[Lonesome Traveler]]'', in which Kerouac tells the story of America's "homeless brothers" or hobos. The song features background vocals by [[Pete Seeger]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/homeless-brother-mw0000046874|title=Homeless Brother: Don McLean {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=February 25, 2018}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=July 2021}}

The song "The Legend of Andrew McCrew" was based on an article published in ''The New York Times''<ref name=bio/> concerning a black Dallas hobo named Anderson McCrew who was killed when he leapt from a moving train. No one claimed him, so a carnival took his body, mummified it, and toured all over the South with him, calling him "The Famous Mummy Man". McLean's song inspired radio station WGN in Chicago to tell the story and give the song airplay in order to raise money for a headstone for McCrew's grave. Their campaign was successful, and McCrew's body was exhumed and buried in the Lincoln Cemetery in Dallas.<ref>''Ellensburg Daily Record'', May 24, 1974.</ref>

[[Joel Dorn]] later collaborated on the McLean career retrospective ''[[Rearview Mirror: An American Musical Journey|Rearview Mirror]]'', released in 2005 on Dorn's label, Hyena Records. In 2006, Dorn reflected on working with McLean:<ref name=bio/><blockquote>Of the more than 200 studio albums I've produced in the past 40 plus years, there is a handful; maybe 15 or so that I can actually listen to from top to bottom. ''[[Homeless Brother]]'' is one of them. It accomplished everything I set out to do. And it did so because it was a true collaboration. Don brought so much to the project that all I really had to do was capture what he did, and complement it properly when necessary.</blockquote>

In 1977 a brief liaison with [[Arista Records]] that yielded the album ''[[Prime Time (Don McLean album)|Prime Time]]'', and in October 1978, the single "It Doesn't Matter Anymore". This was a track from the album ''[[Chain Lightning (album)|Chain Lightning]]'' that should have been the second of four with Arista.<ref name=bio/> McLean had started recording in Nashville, Tennessee, with [[Elvis Presley]]'s backing singers, the [[The Jordanaires|Jordanaires]], and many of Presley's musicians. However the Arista deal broke down following artistic disagreements between McLean and the Arista chief, [[Clive Davis]]. Consequently, McLean was left without a record contract in the United States, but through continuing deals, ''[[Chain Lightning (album)|Chain Lightning]]'' was released by EMI in Europe and by Festival Records in Australia.

In April 1980, the Roy Orbison song "[[Crying (Roy Orbison song)|Crying]]" from the album began picking up airplay on Dutch radio stations and McLean was called to Europe to appear on several important musical variety shows to plug the song and support its release as a single by EMI. The song achieved number 1 status in the Netherlands first, followed by the UK and then Australia.

McLean's number 1 successes in Europe and Australia led to a new deal in the United States with Millennium Records, which issued ''[[Chain Lightning (album)|Chain Lightning]]'' two and a half years after it had been recorded in Nashville and two years after its release in Europe. It charted on February 14, 1981, and reached number 28, and "Crying" climbed to number 5 on the pop singles chart. Orbison himself thought that McLean's version was the best interpretation he'd ever heard of one of his songs. Orbison thought McLean did a better job than he did and even went so far as to say that the voice of Don McLean is one of the great instruments of 20th-century America.<ref name="skydoc"/> According to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, "McLean's voice could cut through steel – he is a very pure singer and he's up there with the best of them. He's a very talented singer and songwriter and he deserves his success."<ref name=skydoc/>

McLean had further chart successes in the United States in the early 1980s with "[[Since I Don't Have You]]", a new recording of "Castles in the Air" and "It's Just the Sun". In 1987, the release of the country-based album'' [[Love Tracks (Don McLean album)|Love Tracks]]'' gave rise to the hit singles "Love in My Heart" (a top-10 in Australia), "[[You Can't Blame the Train]]" (U.S. country number 49), and "Eventually". The latter two songs were written by [[Terri Sharp]]. In 1991, [[EMI]] reissued "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]" as a single in the United Kingdom, and McLean performed on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''. In 1992, previously unreleased songs became available on ''[[Favorites and Rarities]]'', and ''Don McLean Classics'' featured new studio recordings of "[[Vincent (Don McLean song)|Vincent]]" and "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]".

McLean has continued to record new material, including ''River of Love'' in 1995 on [[Curb Records]], and more recently, the albums ''You've Got to Share'', ''Don McLean Sings Marty Robbins'' and ''The Western Album'' for his own Don McLean Music label. ''Addicted to Black'' was released in May 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.don-mclean.com/?p=320 |title=Don McLean Online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123224947/http://www.don-mclean.com/?p=320|archive-date=November 23, 2012}}</ref>

===Other songs===
McLean's other well-known songs include the following.
*"[[And I Love You So (song)|And I Love You So]]" featured on McLean's first album ''[[Tapestry (Don McLean album)|Tapestry]]'' first released in 1970.  The song was later recorded by [[Elvis Presley]], [[Helen Reddy]], [[Shirley Bassey]], [[Glen Campbell]], [[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]], [[Howard Keel]], [[Claude François]], and a [[1973 in music|1973 hit]] for [[Perry Como]]. The song was performed at the Royal Wedding reception of [[Prince Harry]] and [[Meghan Markle]] in 2018.
*"[[Castles in the Air (song)|Castles in the Air]]", which McLean recorded twice. His 1981 re-recording was a top-40 hit, reaching number 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in late 1981.<ref name="Whitburn">[[Joel Whitburn|Whitburn, Joel]] (2004). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 8th edition. (Billboard Publications). p. 416.</ref>
*"[[Wonderful Baby]]", a tribute to [[Fred Astaire]] that Astaire himself recorded. Primarily rejected by pop stations, it reached number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Easy Listening chart.<ref>Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits''. Billboard Publications. p. 166</ref>

The ''American Pie'' album features a version of [[Psalm 137]], titled "Babylon". The song is based on a canon by [[Philip Hayes (composer)|Philip Hayes]]<ref>Hayes, Philip. ''The Muses Delight: Catches, Glees, Canzonets and Canons''. London, 1786.</ref> and was arranged by McLean and [[Lee Hays]] (of The Weavers).<ref>''American Pie'' album song credits</ref> "Babylon" was performed in the ''[[Mad Men]]'' [[Babylon (Mad Men episode)|episode of the same name]] despite the fact that the song would not be released until 10 years after the time in which the episode is set.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/house/article/mad-men-fridays-season-1-episode-6-babylon|title=Mad Men Recap: Season 1, Episode 6, "Babylon" |work=Slant Magazine|access-date=February 25, 2018}}</ref>

In 1981, McLean had an international number one hit with a version of the Roy Orbison classic "Crying". It was only after the record became a success overseas that it was released in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Don-McLean-Crying/release/751196|title=Don McLean - Crying|website=Discogs.com|date=December 3, 1980 |access-date=February 25, 2018}}</ref> The single hit reached number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1981.<ref name="Whitburn"/> Orbison himself once described McLean as "the voice of the century",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.festivalsearcher.com/artists.aspx?artist_id=Don_McLean|title=Don McLean Live Tour Festivals 2015|website=Festivalsearcher.com|access-date=August 25, 2015}}</ref> and in a subsequent re-recording of the song, Orbison incorporated elements of McLean's version.

For the 1982 animated movie ''[[The Flight of Dragons]]'', produced by [[Jules Bass]] and [[Arthur Rankin, Jr.]], McLean sang the opening theme. However, no soundtrack has ever been released.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Another hit song associated with McLean (though never recorded by him) is singer-songwriter [[Lori Lieberman]]'s "[[Killing Me Softly with His Song]]"; Lieberman was inspired by hearing McLean in concert performing his song "Empty Chairs".<ref name="Daily News">{{cite news |last=O'Haire |first=Patricia |url=http://www.don-mclean.com/i/kill.jpg |title=A Killer of a Song |newspaper=Daily News |location=New York |date=April 5, 1973 |page=6 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514165758/http://www.don-mclean.com/i/kill.jpg |archive-date=May 14, 2013 }}</ref> Afterwards she shared her reaction with her manager, [[Norman Gimbel]], who had long been searching for a way to use a phrase he had copied from a novel translated from Spanish, "killing me softly with his blues".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Davis|first1=Sheila|title=The Craft of Lyric Writing|publisher=Writers Digest Books|year=1984|page=13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uVePZ1Qwtb0C&pg=PA13|access-date=September 22, 2010|isbn=0-89879-149-9}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Gimbel passed the lyrics to his songwriting partner [[Charles Fox (composer)|Charles Fox]], who in turn composed the music to "Killing Me Softly with His Song".<ref name="Billboard Magazine 1974. Page 53">''Billboard'' magazine, June 22, 1974, p. 53.</ref> Lieberman recorded the song (now credited to Gimbel and Fox) and released it in 1972. This initial version was heard by [[Roberta Flack]], who recorded it with slight changes to create a number-one hit. Two decades later it was recorded by [[the Fugees]], who had another hit.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/02/arts/l-the-true-source-of-killing-me-softly-836680.html|title=The True Source Of 'Killing Me Softly'|date=March 2, 1997|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 25, 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Later career===
''The Don McLean Story: Killing Us Softly With His Songs'' was published in 2007. Biographer Alan Howard conducted extensive interviews for this, the only book-length biography of the often reclusive McLean to date.

McLean attended the opening dinner service of [[Hell's Kitchen (American TV series) season 18|''Hell's Kitchen's eighteenth season]] as one of the red diners who had their food cooked by the rookies.

McLean is credited as a co-writer on [[Drake (musician)|Drake]]'s song "Doing It Wrong", featuring Stevie Wonder.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/12100360-Drake-Take-Care|website=Discogs|title=Drake – Take Care|access-date=December 30, 2021}}</ref> The song includes lyrics from two McLean compositions – "The Wrong Thing to Do" and "When a Good Thing Goes Bad" – both of which were featured on his 1977 album ''[[Prime Time (Don McLean album)|Prime Time]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://donmclean.com/drake-doing-it-wrong/|website=Don McLean.com|title=DRAKE – DOING IT WRONG|date=November 11, 2011|access-date=December 30, 2021}}</ref>

In a July 2022 documentary, titled ''The Day The Music Died'', McLean discussed for the first time in 50 years the meaning of the lyrics in "American Pie".<ref name="forbes.com">{{cite web |title=Don McLean Discusses The Day The Music Died ('American Pie') |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2022/09/01/don-mclean-discusses-the-day-the-music-died-american-pie/?sh=3b2a98c53be4 |website=Forbes}}</ref><ref name="NY Times">{{cite news |title='The Day the Music Died' Review: 'American Pie,' the Life of a Hit |work=The New York Times |date=July 19, 2022 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/movies/the-day-the-music-died-review.html |access-date=September 9, 2022 |last1=Kenny |first1=Glenn }}</ref>

In February 2022,  McLean recorded a performance of "Vincent" at the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit in Los Angeles in honor of Van Gogh's birthday and the 50th anniversary of the song.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Don McLean Toasts Van Gogh's Birthday & 50th Anniversary of 'Vincent' With Performance at Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/don-mclean-celebrates-van-gogh-birthday-american-pie-1235052295/ |magazine=Billboard}}</ref>

In April 2022, [[Tyson Fury]] teamed up with McLean to remake "American Pie".<ref>{{cite web |title=TYSON FURY TEAMS UP WITH DON McLEAN TO REMAKE CLASSIC SONG "AMERICAN PIE" |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tyson-fury-teams-don-mclean-140400836.html? |website=Yahoo Finance}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tyson Fury hooks up with Don McLean for unlikely American Pie update |url=https://www.punk-rocker.com/alternative/tyson-fury-hooks-up-with-don-mclean-for-unlikely-american-pie-update/ |website=Punk Rocker |date=April 20, 2022 |access-date=September 30, 2022 |archive-date=September 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930225553/https://www.punk-rocker.com/alternative/tyson-fury-hooks-up-with-don-mclean-for-unlikely-american-pie-update/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> McLean won six Telly Awards for the [[Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte|Fury-Whyte]] fight opening.<ref>{{cite web |title=Don McLean Wins Six Telly Awards For Fury/Whyte Fight Opening |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/don-mclean-tyson-fury-american-pie-telly-awards/ |website=udiscovermusic|date=May 24, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=DON MCLEAN Telly awards |url=https://www.tellyawards.com/?s=don+mclean |website=tellyawards.com}}</ref>[[File:Don McLean Wins Six Telly Awards For Fury-Whyte Fight Opening.jpg|thumb|Don McLean won six Telly Awards for the Fury-Whyte fight opening.]]

In June 2022, McLean published a children's book titled ''American Pie: A Fable''. The story follows the emotional journey of a newspaper delivery boy in the late 1950s who discovers the joy of friendship and music, eventually learning that when you recognize what truly makes you happy, you are never&nbsp;really alone.<ref>{{cite web |title=Don McLean on His New Children's Book Based off His Iconic Hit 'American Pie' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/don-mclean-childrens-book-based-175137219.html |website=Yahoo Entertainment|date=July 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909220237/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/don-mclean-childrens-book-based-175137219.html |archive-date=September 9, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Front Cover AmericanPie CMYK.jpg|thumb|Children's Book American Pie: A Fable]]

McLean led a wave of dropouts from the [[National Rifle Association of America]] (NRA) convention after the mass shooting in [[Robb Elementary School shooting|Uvalde, Texas]], saying it would be "disrespectful and hurtful" to perform days after 19 children and two adults were killed in a mass shooting in the state. McLean was first among performers who announced they would no longer perform at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting in Houston.<ref>{{cite news |title=Singer Don McLean leads wave of dropouts from NRA convention after Texas shooting |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/05/26/don-mclean-drops-out-nra-texas-shooting/ |author=Timothy Bella |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526224046/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/05/26/don-mclean-drops-out-nra-texas-shooting/ |archive-date=May 26, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2022, McLean called rapper [[Kanye West]] an "attention-seeking fool" over his antisemitic rants. The "American Pie" singer, who briefly lived in Israel, said he stands with his Jewish friends.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Kaufman |first1=Gil |title=Don McLean Calls Kanye West an 'Attention-Seeking Fool' Over Antisemitic Rants |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/don-mclean-criticizes-kanye-west-antisemetic-rants-1235162731/ |magazine=Billboard |date=October 28, 2022}}</ref> "Lately, a flood of antisemitic invective has been triggered by the ranting of a stupid attention-seeking fool we all know," McLean wrote in the statement that did not mention Ye by name. "I want to say I stand with my Jewish friends and I stand with the state of Israel. When this kind of thing happens, we should realize why the state of Israel must be respected and protected." McLean lived in Israel on-and-off from 1978 to 1982, and he "grew to love the country and the people. Living there changed [his] life forever."<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 8, 2022 |title=Don McLean Issues Statement Condemning Antisemitism {{!}} Don McLean |url=https://donmclean.com/don-mclean-issues-statementcondemning-antisemitism/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Concerts==
[[File:Don McLean at the Grand Ole Opry.tif|thumb|Don McLean performing in the C'Ya On the Flipside II benefit at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville]]
McLean's albums did not match the commercial success of ''American Pie'', but he became a major concert attraction in the United States and overseas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14517/don-mclean/|title=Don McLean {{!}} full Official Chart History|website=Officialcharts.com|access-date=February 25, 2018}}</ref> His repertoire included old concert hall numbers and the catalogues of singers such as Buddy Holly and [[Frank Sinatra]]. The years spent playing gigs in small clubs and coffee houses in the 1960s transformed into well-paced performances. McLean's first concerts at [[Carnegie Hall]] in New York and the [[Royal Albert Hall]] in London in 1972 were critically acclaimed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/maguire/donarchive/lincoln.html|title=First ever UK Concert Appearances|website=Myweb.tiscali.co.uk|access-date=February 25, 2018|archive-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723134251/http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/maguire/donarchive/lincoln.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In later years, McLean continued to tour the United States, Canada and Europe (2011, 2012) and Australia (2013). In June 2011, McLean appeared at the [[Glastonbury Festival]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/festivals/glastonbury/2011/artists/donmclean|title=BBC Glastonbury Festival|publisher=BBC|date=June 26, 2011|access-date=August 25, 2015}}</ref> in [[Pilton, Somerset|Pilton]], UK, and in 2014 at California's [[Stagecoach Festival|Stagecoach Country Music Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailynews.com/events/20140427/stagecoach-2014-don-mclean-performs-emotional-set-for-fans-celebs-ashton-kutcher-and-mila-kunis|title=Stagecoach 2014: Don McLean Performs Emotional Set for Fans, Celebs Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis|website=Dailynews.com|date=April 27, 2014|access-date=August 25, 2015}}</ref>

During 2018, McLean embarked on a world tour with concerts in North America, UK, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Israel, Norway and Finland. His concert at the London Palladium was reviewed positively by ''The Times'':<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/music/article/pop-review-don-mclean-at-the-london-palladium-w1-5jld5xfdl|title=Pop review: Don McLean at the London Palladium, W1|website=[[The Times]]|date=May 11, 2018|access-date=January 24, 2019}}</ref>
{{blockquote|"His masterpiece ("American Pie") remains one of the great achievements of the singer-songwriter era: eight and a half minutes of allegory, reflection and melody documenting the history of rock'n'roll and the death of 1950s innocence. He played it, of course, and brilliantly, getting everyone creaking on to their feet and singing along. Before that came almost two hours of well-worn rock'n'roll and acoustic folk that placed McLean somewhere between a straight-up entertainer and a poetic maverick."
– Marilynn Kingwell, ''The Times''}}
''The Jerusalem Post'' noted that "McLean was the consummate professional in presenting his master class of the Great American Songbook" in their review of his June 2018 Tel Aviv concert.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/McLean-goes-back-to-the-basics-560158|title=McLean Goes Back to the Basics|date=June 17, 2018|access-date=January 24, 2019}}</ref>

In 2022, McLean toured through Europe, starting in Wales and ending in Sweden, to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=Don McLean sets "American Pie" 50th anniversary Europe/UK tour  |website=AM 880 KIXI |date=September 21, 2021 |url=https://kixi.com/don-mclean-sets-american-pie-50th-anniversary-europe-uk-tour/ |access-date=September 21, 2021}}</ref>

In 2023, the 50th anniversary of "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]", McLean's Australian Tour concluded with 24 shows in Australia and New Zealand. His performances received positive critical reception.<ref name=":3" />

==Legacy and influence==
The plane crash that killed musicians [[Buddy Holly]], [[Ritchie Valens]], and [[The Big Bopper|"The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson]] has become known as "[[The Day the Music Died]]", the expression by which McLean, a fan of Buddy Holly, dubbed it in "American Pie".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crouse |first1=Richard |title=Who Wrote The Book Of Love? |date=March 15, 2012 |publisher=Doubleday Canada |isbn=978-0-385-67442-3 |page=86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OyZyWKcmRhEC&pg=PT86 |language=en}}</ref> Holly's death for him symbolized the "loss of innocence" of the early rock-'n-roll generation.<ref name="Thimou">{{cite web|last = Thimou|first = Theodore|title = Preview: The Twice-Famous Don McLean Plays Rams Head|work = Bay Weekly|date = December 28, 2006|url = http://www.bayweekly.com/musicscene.html|access-date = September 11, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080613224425/http://www.bayweekly.com/musicscene.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = June 13, 2008}}</ref>

Musician [[Lori Lieberman]] was inspired by a&nbsp;McLean&nbsp;performance in late 1971 to co-write "[[Killing Me Softly with His Song]]". In November 1971, Lieberman, then 20, went out with her friend Michele Willens to see&nbsp;Don McLean&nbsp;perform at the&nbsp;Troubadour&nbsp;nightclub in Los Angeles.<ref name="WaPo Edgers 2020">{{cite news |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/she-sang-killing-me-softly-before-roberta-flack-now-she-just-wants-you-to-hear-her-side-of-the-story/2020/01/23/9d9dcc7e-3b9d-11ea-8872-5df698785a4e_story.html |newspaper = The Washington Post |date = January 24, 2020 |last = Edgers |first = Geoff |title = She sang 'Killing Me Softly' before Roberta Flack. Now she just wants you to hear her side of the story. }}</ref> McLean's hit song "American Pie" was rising in the charts, but Lieberman was strongly affected by McLean singing another song: "Empty Chairs".<ref name="dm-ny">{{cite web |date = January 21, 2009 |url = http://www.don-mclean.com/?p=310 |title = The "Killing Me Softly" Story |website = Don-mclean.com |access-date = October 8, 2016 |archive-date = October 16, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161016222745/http://www.don-mclean.com/?p=310 |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|J6W6RKlmhq4|Lori Lieberman - Killing Me Softly (The Story Behind)}}</ref> This song spurred her to write poetic notes on a paper napkin while he was performing the song.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09hqpzz |work = [[BBC iPlayer]] |title = Classic Albums - Don McLean: American Pie |access-date = December 10, 2017 }}</ref> McLean said in 1973 that he was surprised to find out that the song described his singing. "I'm absolutely amazed. I've heard both Lori's and Roberta's version and I must say I'm very humbled about the whole thing. You can't help but feel that way about a song written and performed as well as this one is."<ref name="nydn">{{cite news |last = O'Haire |first = Patricia |date=April 5, 1973 |title=A Killer of a Song |page=6 |newspaper=[[New York Daily News|Daily News]] |url = https://don-mclean.com/2009/01/21/the-killing-me-softly-story/ |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130514165758/http://www.don-mclean.com/i/kill.jpg |archive-date=May 14, 2013 |location = New York }}</ref> After decades of confirming Lieberman's contribution, Fox and Gimbel changed their story about the song's origins to downplay her role. Gimbel threatened McLean with a lawsuit in 2008, demanding he remove from his website an assertion that McLean was the inspiration for "Killing Me Softly", 
but McLean responded by showing Gimbel his own words confirming the inspiration, published in 1973.

"Vincent" was rapper [[Tupac Shakur]]'s favorite song. Shakur's girlfriend reportedly played the song for him when he was hospitalized and in a coma.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Tupac Shakur's Sudden Death and the Life He Left Behind |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/1997/03/tupac-shakur-rap-death |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=September 3, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Now |first1=Dave Paulson More Content |title=Behind the Song: Don McLean's 'Vincent' |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/10/23/behind-song-don-mclean-x2019/1058798007/ |website=The Columbus Dispatch}}</ref> Shakur's mother also insisted the song be included in a documentary about the rapper's life.

President [[Joe Biden]] capped the official state visit of South Korean President [[Yoon Suk-Yeol]] with a state dinner on April 27, 2023, at the White House to celebrate the two nations' 70-year alliance. Following a round of musical performances, Yoon took to the microphone himself with a rendition of Don McLean's "American Pie".<ref>{{cite news |title=Watch: South Korean president sings 'American Pie' for Biden |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/04/27/yoon-suk-yeol-south-korea-president-sings-don-mclean-american-pie-don-white-house-state-dinner-kristie-lu-stout-ovn-contd-ldn-vpx.cnn |date=April 27, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Joe Biden then presented Yoon with a guitar autographed by McLean.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Peter |date=2023-04-27 |title=Korean Dressing, Irish Poetry and ‘American Pie’: A State Dinner of Harmony |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/26/us/politics/biden-state-dinner-south-korea.html |access-date=2025-03-30 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Honors===
McLean's alma mater, [[Iona College (New York)|Iona College]] in New Rochelle, New York, conferred an honorary doctorate on him in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|title=Iona College|url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/iona-college-2737|website=US News & World Report - Rankings and Reviews|access-date=January 12, 2013|archive-date=January 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130091905/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/iona-college-2737|url-status=dead}}</ref> McLean has since been vocal in his criticism of the college: "Iona was, in my day, a college for the average student who wanted to go home after class. The educational experience was perfect for me. I loved the small Greek revival style campus buildings and I got to put on little shows in Doorley Hall auditorium. Since those days, the Irish Christian Brothers have been virtually destroyed by the disgusting behavior of many in their order as charges of mass child molestation have destroyed their ranks.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/new-rochelle/2019/04/11/catholic-sex-abuse-iona-prep/3079451002/|title=Former Iona Prep student alleges abuse by Irish Christian Brothers, culture of silence|last=Esposito|first=Frank|newspaper=The Journal News|access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref> No punishment is harsh enough when you think of trusting Catholic parents giving their children over to these cynical monsters. I am very disappointed in the Irish Christian Brothers and Iona College."

[[File:Don McLean in 2012.jpg|thumb|right|McLean at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] in London, October 2012]]

In February 2002, "American Pie" was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame|title=Grammy Hall of Fame|website=The Grammys|access-date=January 31, 2017}}</ref> In 2004, McLean was inducted into the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]].

In February 2012, McLean won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Life Time Achievement award.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/events/folk-awards-2012|title=Radio 2 - Events - Radio 2 Folk Awards 2012|publisher=BBC|date=February 8, 2012|access-date=April 15, 2012}}</ref>

In March 2012, the PBS network broadcast a feature-length documentary about the life and music of McLean called ''Don McLean: American Troubadour'' produced by four-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker [[Jim Brown (director)|Jim Brown]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kpbs.org/news/2012/jan/06/don-mclean-american-troubadour/ |title=Don McLean: American Troubadour |date=November 6, 2012 |website=KPBS.org |access-date=January 27, 2017}}</ref>

In March 2017, McLean's single "American Pie" was designated an "aural treasure" by the Library of Congress, "worthy of preservation" in the National Recording Registry "as part of America's patrimony".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-17-029/national-recording-registry-picks-are-over-the-rainbow/2017-03-29/|title=National Recording Registry Picks Are "Over the Rainbow"|website=Library of Congress|access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref>  In 1991, a re-issue of "American Pie" reached the UK top 20 singles chart and in July 2017, "American Pie" peaked at number 6 on the ''Billboard'' Rock Digital Songs Sales chart, nearly 50 years after its first release.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/don-mclean|title=Don McLean Chart History|website=Billboard|access-date=January 17, 2019}}</ref>

In May 2019, the UCLA Student Alumni Association awarded McLean its [[UCLA Spring Sing#The George and Ira Gershwin Award|George and Ira Gershwin Award]] for Lifetime Musical Achievement. However, the award was rescinded before it was formally bestowed because of McLean's conviction for domestic abuse.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2017/07/20/don-mclean-pays-3660-fine-to-end-domestic-violence-case/|title=Don McLean pays $3,660 fine to end domestic violence case|author=Stephen Betts|website=Pressherald.com|date=July 21, 2017}}</ref> In response, McLean issued the following statement: "UCLA awarded this lifetime achievement award and then took it back because you found out about my squabble with my ex-wife. This has been all over the Internet for three years. Are you people morons? This is settled law. Maybe I need to give you some bribe money to grease the college wheels? I am guilty of nothing to do with assault and you had better make that clear. We live in a dark age of accusation and not law."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-48186337|title=Don McLean in row over withdrawn award|publisher=BBC News|date=May 7, 2019|access-date=August 29, 2019}}</ref>

On November 7, 2019, McLean returned to New Rochelle to view a new mural depicting a likeness of his younger self, with lyrics from "American Pie", on the side of a building on the corner of 134 North Avenue and Bonnefoy Place, painted by artist Loic Ercolessi for a non-profit organization, Street Art for Mankind.  The mural includes the likeness of singer/songwriter [[Alicia Keys]], with lyrics to the song "[[Empire State of Mind]]", which she performed with [[Jay-Z]].<ref name="lohud-propper">{{cite news|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/new-rochelle/2019/11/07/don-mclean-new-rochelle-mural/4176317002/|title=With mural as backdrop, Don McLean comes home to New Rochelle|website=lohud.com|date=November 7, 2019|author=David Propper|access-date=November 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108034456/https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/new-rochelle/2019/11/07/don-mclean-new-rochelle-mural/4176317002/|archive-date=November 8, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:2019-11-14 DonMcLean LasVegasWalkOfStars.tif|thumb|Don McLean being presented with a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars]]

Throughout McLean's career artists including [[Garth Brooks]], [[Madonna]], [[Drake (musician)|Drake]], [[Josh Groban]] and others have recorded his songs. At a ceremony in October 2019, plaques certified by the Recording Industry Association of America for gold, platinum, and multi-platinum sales in the United States as well as presentations from Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom were bestowed on McLean. He said: "As a songwriter your songs are like your children, and you are hopeful everyone loves them as much as you do, but rarely is that the case. I am so grateful that songs I have written have touched so many lives and have been recorded by so many great artists."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newmusicweekly.com/don-mclean-celebrated-with-worldwide-gold-platinum-multi-platinum-awards-during-television-taping/|title=Don McLean Celebrated With Worldwide Gold, Platinum & Multi-Platinum Awards During Television Taping|date=October 19, 2019|website=New Music Weekly|language=en-US|access-date=October 22, 2019|archive-date=September 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922093105/https://newmusicweekly.com/don-mclean-celebrated-with-worldwide-gold-platinum-multi-platinum-awards-during-television-taping/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Television host [[Alex Trebek]] asked McLean to sing for him and his Jeopardy family at his annual Christmas party in 2019. McLean was on his "bucket list".<ref>{{cite news |title=Alex Trebek Cried Tears of Joy During Emotional Final Christmas Party as Don McLean Performed |url=https://people.com/tv/alex-trebek-cried-tears-of-joy-during-emotional-final-christmas-party-as-don-mclean-performed/ |work=People |language=en}}</ref> The event was held at an Italian restaurant near Trebek's home.[[File:Alex Trebek and Don McLean onstage at Trebek's annual Christmas Party.jpg|thumb|[[Alex Trebek]] and Don McLean onstage at Trebek's annual Christmas Party]]

In February 2021, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of "American Pie", McLean recorded an [[A cappella]] rendition with the band [[Home Free (group)|Home Free]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Dowling |first=Marcus |title=Don McLean Joins Forces With Home Free For a New Cover of "American Pie" |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1829880/don-mclean-collaborates-home-free-new-cover-american-pie/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203181109/http://www.cmt.com/news/1829880/don-mclean-collaborates-home-free-new-cover-american-pie/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 3, 2021 |website=CMT |access-date=February 28, 2021}}</ref> He stars in the music video with the singers in a virtual collaboration. The video won three Telly Awards in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Don McLean + Home Free Win Three Telly Awards For Special Collaboration Of "American Pie" |url=http://www.enigmaonline.com/2021/08/03/don-mclean-home-free-win-three-telly-awards-for-special-collaboration-of-american-pie/ |website=Enigma Online |access-date=October 23, 2021}}</ref> [[File:Don McLean + Home Free Win Three Telly Awards For Special Collaboration Of “American Pie”.jpg|thumb|right|Don McLean + Home Free Win Three Telly Awards For Special Collaboration Of "American Pie"]]

McLean received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] on August 16, 2021, in the Music Category at 6314 Hollywood Boulevard, in front of The Pie Hole restaurant (corner of Hollywood and Vine). Joining in the festivities was McLean's friend [["Weird Al" Yankovic]], a fellow Hollywood Walk of Fame recipient.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Don McLean Honored with Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame |url=https://walkoffame.com/press_releases/donmclean/ |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |access-date=September 13, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Don McLean |url=https://walkoffame.com/donmclean/ |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |date=August 16, 2021 |access-date=September 13, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcceHp4vaCQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/HcceHp4vaCQ| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Don McLean - Live Walk of Fame Ceremony|date=September 13, 2021|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[File:DonMcLean-WalkOfFame.jpg|thumb|right|McLean at the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in August 2021]]

In September 2022, McLean received a 50-million record sales plaque from the TV show Good Morning America.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clash |first1=Jim |title=Don McLean On Record Deals, Fear, Today's Music, The RRHOF, More |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2022/09/02/don-mclean-on-record-deals-fear-todays-music-the-rrhof-more/?sh=5ff6b7e06bbc |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Don McLean receives a 50-million record sales plaque from the TV show Good Morning America.jpg|thumb|Don McLean receives a 50-million record sales plaque from the TV show Good Morning America.]]

On November 22, 2022, McLean was inducted into the [[Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum]] in Nashville, Tennessee.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Billy Gibbons and more inducted into Musicians Hall of Fame |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/11/23/vince-gill-marty-stuart-and-more-inducted-into-musicians-hall-of-fame/69668341007/ |website=The Tennessean}}</ref>[[File:JPW 1878 DonMcLean HomeFree MHoF awards.tif|thumb|Don McLean's Performance with Home Free at induction ceremony into the Nashville Musicians Hall of Fame.]]

In October 2023, Ritchie Valens' sister, Connie Valens, traveled to Nashville to induct McLean into the [[Music City Walk of Fame]]. "I am so honored to represent the families of Buddy Holly, JP Richardson, and my brother Ritchie Valens," she said. For years, she couldn't listen to her brother's music because "it hurt too much," but she could listen to "American Pie". The previous year, she had met McLean when she was invited to take part in the documentary ''The Day The Music Died''. They gathered at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, where her brother (and Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper) had their last performance before the plane crash. "I thanked Don and told him he had immortalized my brother Ritchie, J.P, and Buddy. He'd taken a terrible tragedy and written rock and roll history." She went on to say that because of McLean, "the music didn't die".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Windsor |first1=Pam |title=Darius Rucker (With Help From Ric Flair), Don McLean & Others Inducted Into Walk Of Fame |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamwindsor/2023/10/05/darius-rucker-with-help-from-ric-flair-don-mclean--others-inducted-into-the-walk-of-fame/?sh=68fa459f3c08 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>[[File:Don McLean inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame.jpg|thumb|Don McLean inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame]] [[File:Don McLean with girlfriend Paris Dylan induction to at the Music City Walk of Fame.jpg|thumb|Don McLean with girlfriend Paris Dylan at the induction into the Music City Walk of Fame]]

==Personal life==
McLean was raised in the Catholic faith of his mother, Elizabeth McLean; his father, Donald McLean, was a Protestant.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepaulleslie.com/don-mclean/?mobile=1|title=Don McLean: Legendary Singer-Songwriter|website=Thepaulleslie.com|access-date=January 16, 2016|archive-date=January 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124182417/http://www.thepaulleslie.com/don-mclean/?mobile=1|url-status=dead}}</ref> His father died when McLean was 15.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://don-mclean.com/2013/08/12/about-don-mclean|title=About Don McLean|date=August 12, 2013|website=Don-mclean.com|access-date=February 25, 2018|archive-date=February 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226151935/https://don-mclean.com/2013/08/12/about-don-mclean/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
McLean has claimed that he grew up in a physically abusive household, and was abused by both his parents and his sister.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |last=Legaspi |first=Althea |date=June 23, 2021 |title=Don McLean's Daughter Alleges Mental, Emotional Abuse by 'American Pie' Singer |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/don-mclean-jackie-roan-yellowthorn-1187117/ |access-date=January 26, 2023 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> Don McLean has been married twice, with both marriages ending in divorce. His first wife was [[Carol Sauvion]], of Philadelphia, who went on to win an Emmy and Peabody Award for her PBS television series ''[[Craft in America]]''. They were married from 1969 to 1976 and had no children.

His second marriage was to Patrisha Shnier McLean, of Montreal, Canada, from 1987 to 2016. They have two children, Jackie and Wyatt, and two grandchildren, Rosa and Mya.<ref>{{cite web |title=The VIP Lounge with Don McLean |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2019/04/02/the-vip-lounge-with-don-mclean/QUlN3jeIy7LhI85LyOuFpI/story.html |access-date=September 27, 2021 |website=The Boston Globe}}</ref> Their marriage ended after McLean was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic violence at their home in Camden, Maine, and Shnier McLean filed for divorce, citing "adultery, cruel and abusive treatment, and irreconcilable differences".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Wife files for divorce from 'American Pie' singer Don McLean |url=https://apnews.com/article/ad7d55b03dfb44df9dc8b6ec875141fa |access-date=January 26, 2023 |website=AP NEWS |date=March 10, 2016 |language=en}}</ref>

In 2018, McLean confirmed his romantic relationship with model and reality star Paris Dylan, who is 48 years his junior.<ref>{{cite web |last=Furdyk |first=Brent |date=March 2, 2021 |title='American Pie' Singer Don McLean Opens Up About Romance With 27-Year-Old Paris Dylan: 'I'm Crazy For Her' |url=https://etcanada.com/news/753188/american-pie-singer-don-mclean-opens-up-about-romance-with-27-year-old-paris-dylan-im-crazy-for-her/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302214719/https://etcanada.com/news/753188/american-pie-singer-don-mclean-opens-up-about-romance-with-27-year-old-paris-dylan-im-crazy-for-her/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |access-date=May 22, 2021 |website=ET Canada |language=en-US}}</ref>

McLean is an ambassador for Teen Cancer America<ref>{{cite web |date=September 26, 2018 |title=Don McLean |url=https://teencanceramerica.org/member/don-mclean/ |work=teencanceramerica.org}}</ref> and performed at the Teen Cancer America and UCLA Health fundraising Backyard Concert in 2018. During the show, McLean sang a duet of his song "Vincent" with [[Ed Sheeran]].<ref>{{cite web |date=August 21, 2018 |title='Watch Ed Sheeran join forces with Don McLean for Vincent Cover |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/watch-ed-sheeran-join-forces-with-don-mclean-for-vincent-cover-2369141 |website=Nme.com}}</ref> The Don McLean Foundation is a charity set up by McLean to be funded by all his income in perpetuity. Its headquarters is based at Lakeview, the Don McLean Maine residence, and it will serve as a center for fundraisers and conferences as well as a nature preserve. Organizations that support the needy in the State of Maine and throughout the United States will be beneficiaries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-06 |title=American Pie singer Don McLean delights fans at exhibition of his life at Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge |url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/music-news/american-pie-singer-don-mclean-delights-fans-at-exhibition-of-his-life-at-museum-of-style-icons-in-newbridge/42046221.html |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=Irish Independent |language=en}}</ref>

On May 23, 2024, McLean and Paris Dylan attended a state dinner at the White House hosted by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden in honor of Kenya's President William Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto.<ref>{{cite news |title=White House fetes Kenya with state dinner featuring sunset views, celebrity star power |url=https://apnews.com/article/state-dinner-kenya-biden-african-visit-74de529133275da0a146cf61cc211d82 |work=AP News |date=23 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Watson |first1=Kathryn |title=A look at the White House state dinner for Kenya's president in photos  |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-state-dinner-kenya-president-photos/ |work= CBS News |date=23 May 2024}}</ref>
[[File:Don McLean and Paris Dunn attend state dinner at the White House.jpg|thumb|Don McLean and Paris Dylan attend state dinner at the White House]]

===Abuse allegations===

On January 18, 2016, McLean's then-wife Patrisha Shnier McLean alleged that after four hours of "terrorizing" her, McLean pinned her to a bed until she broke free and ran to the bathroom, where she called the police as he tried to break down the door.<ref name="Jackie Account">{{Cite news |title=Patrisha McLean: My 'deeply controlling' ex-husband Don McLean |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/patrisha-mclean-my-deeply-controlling-ex-husband-don-mclean-1.4407458 |access-date=January 26, 2023 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref> McLean was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, and pled guilty to domestic violence assault, criminal restraint, criminal mischief and making domestic violence threats. McLean paid $3,660 in fines, and was not sentenced to any jail time.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barry |first=Ellen |date=October 20, 2019 |title=In Maine, a Celebrity Domestic Violence Case Continues to Send Out Ripples |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/20/us/domestic-violence-don-mclean.html |access-date=January 26, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Under Maine's [[Deferred disposition|deferred disposition law]], the State agreed to dismiss the domestic violence assault charge if McLean complied with the court's orders for one year, and the charge was expunged a year later.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 21, 2017 |title='American Pie' singer's domestic assault charge dismissed |url=https://apnews.com/article/92d824a00587430eacd2cd50d4c6f6dd |access-date=January 26, 2023 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref> Shnier McLean filed for divorce, citing "adultery, cruel and abusive treatment, and irreconcilable differences".<ref name=":2" /> McLean denied that he physically abused Shnier McLean, and his lawyer released a statement stating McLean agreed to the plea deal in the interest of privacy.<ref name=":1" /> In March 2017, a Maine court granted Shnier-McLean's request for a 10-year protection order against McLean.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Bill |last=Trotter |date=March 9, 2017 |title=Don McLean's ex-wife granted two-year protection order against folk singer |url=https://wgme.com/news/local/don-mcleans-ex-wife-granted-two-year-protection-order-against-folk-singer |access-date=January 26, 2023 |website=WGME |language=en}}</ref>

In a 2020 interview, Shnier McLean alleged McLean had created a cult-like household, remarking, "I do feel there is an element of brainwashing there. I relate to a lot of the things they say about cults like the charismatic leader, and how their version of things becomes your version".<ref name="Jackie Account" /> McLean's daughter Jackie told ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' in 2021 that her father was emotionally abusive and, like her mother, stated her father created a cultish environment.<ref name=":1" /> According to Jackie, McLean used paralyzing verbal attacks, forced isolation, and threats to withhold love or financial support. The article alleged that communications between Jackie and McLean suggested "a pattern of asserting control and manipulation over Jackie, her actions and memories, and a seeming drive by the elder McLean to maintain a certain public image". In one email, McLean wrote to his daughter, "unless you support me publicly and frequently you should not expect me to lift a finger for you nor will I give you another red cent."<ref name=":1" />

When interviewed for the article, McLean admitted to some aspects of Jackie's account, but denied that his behavior constituted abuse. He also mentioned that he had grown up in a physically abusive household, where he was "hurt a lot by my sister, my mother, my father; I was hit a lot."<ref name=":1" /> McLean denied this in a later interview, saying; "Absolutely not true. I was never abused as a child at all."<ref>{{cite web |title=Don McLean Keeps Evolving Because 'I Don't Want to Be in a Dead Relationship with Music or Another Person' (Exclusive) |url=https://people.com/why-don-mclean-keeps-evolving-exclusive-8648389 |website=Peoplemag |language=en}}</ref>

==Discography==
{{main|Don McLean discography}}

{{div col}}
* ''[[Tapestry (Don McLean album)|Tapestry]]'' (1970)
* ''[[American Pie (Don McLean album)|American Pie]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Don McLean (album)|Don McLean]]'' (1972)
* ''[[Playin' Favorites]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Homeless Brother]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Prime Time (Don McLean album)|Prime Time]]'' (1977)
* ''[[Chain Lightning (album)|Chain Lightning]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Believers (Don McLean album)|Believers]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Love Tracks (Don McLean album)|Love Tracks]]'' (1988)
* ''For the Memories'' (1989)
* ''[[Headroom (Don McLean album)|Headroom]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Christmas (Don McLean album)|Christmas]]'' (1991)
* ''[[The River of Love (album)|The River of Love]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Christmas Dreams]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Sings Marty Robbins]]'' (2001)
* ''[[You've Got to Share Songs for Children|You've Got to Share: Songs for Children]]'' (2003)
* ''[[The Western Album]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Rearview Mirror: An American Musical Journey]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Addicted to Black]]'' (2009)
* ''Botanical Gardens'' (2018)
* ''Still Playin' Favorites'' (2020)
* ''American Boys'' (2024)
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q57339|q=Don McLean|c=category:Don McLean|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no}}
*{{Official website}}
*[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4876|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic Entry]
*[http://www.misterguitar.us/news/donmclean2a.html Working with Chet Atkins: An Interview with Don McLean]
*[https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/don-mclean Don McLean Interview] at [[NAMM Oral History Program|NAMM Oral History Collection]] (2016)
{{Don McLean|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Don}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:21st-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century American male singers]]
[[Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American acoustic guitarists]]
[[Category:American ballad musicians]]
[[Category:American banjoists]]
[[Category:American folk guitarists]]
[[Category:American folk singers]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:American male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:American people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:American rock singers]]
[[Category:American rock songwriters]]
[[Category:Curb Records artists]]
[[Category:EMI Group artists]]
[[Category:Folk musicians from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Guitarists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Iona Preparatory School alumni]]
[[Category:Iona University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians from New Rochelle, New York]]
[[Category:People from Camden, Maine]]
[[Category:Proper Records artists]]
[[Category:Rock banjoists]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:United Artists Records artists]]
[[Category:People of Abruzzese descent]]