Don McLean facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Don McLean
McLean performing at Sage Gateshead in May 2018
Background information
Birth name	Donald McLean III
Born	(1945-10-02) October 2, 1945 (age 78) New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
Genres	Folk rock folk rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	1964–present
Labels	United Artists EMI Curb Capitol

Donald McLean III /məˈkleɪn/ (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His nicknames include "American Troubadour" and "King of the Trail." He is best known for his 1971 hit song "American Pie" and his single "Vincent" (about Vincent van Gogh).

In 2004, McLean was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In January 2018, "American Pie" had reached five million airplays and "Vincent" three million.

Early life

McLean's grandfather and father, both also named Donald McLean, were of Scottish origin. McLean's mother, Elizabeth Bucci, was Italian. He has other extended family in Los Angeles and Boston. McLean grew up in New Rochelle, New York, where he delivered newspapers as a boy.

Musical roots

As a teenager, McLean became interested in folk music. Because of his childhood asthma, he fell behind in school, but his love of music was allowed to flourish. He bought his first guitar at age 16 and began contacting people in the music business.

When McLean was 15, his father passed away with the request that his son finish school. McLean honored that request and graduated from Iona Preparatory School in 1963. After graduation, he attended Villanova Univeristy for four months, dropped out, and began his music career. He teamed up with his personal manager of 18 years, Herb Gart, and played in cities including New York, Newport, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

McLean attended night school at Iona College and received a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1968. He turned down a scholarship to Columbia University Graduate School so that he could pursue his career as a singer-songwriter. Later that year, with the help of a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, McLean began performing in towns up and down the Hudson River.

Recording career

Early breakthrough

McLean recorded 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.

McLean's major break came when Mediarts was taken over by United Artists Records, which released his second album, American Pie. The album launched two number-one hits: the title song and "Vincent." American Pie's success made McLean an international star.

"American Pie"

McLean's magnum opus (masterpiece), "American Pie" was inspired partly by the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) in a plane crash in 1959, and changes in American youth culture in the following decade. The popular expression "The Day the Music Died" refers to the crash. McLean did not talk much about the meaning of the lyrics until 1978.

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.

"Vincent (Starry Starry Night)"

"Vincent" is a tribute to the 19th-century Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. McLean was inspired 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.

Other songs

McLean's other well-known songs include the following:

• "And I Love You So" was featured on McLean's first album Tapestry first released in 1970. The song was later recorded by Elvis Presley, Helen Reddy, Shirley Bassey, Glen Campbell, Engelbert Humperdinck, Howard Keel, Claude François, and a 1973 hit for Perry Como. The song was performed at the royal wedding reception of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018.
• "Dreidel" (number 21 on the Billboard chart) and "If We Try" (number 58), which was recorded by Olivia Newton-John, were also on the album Tapestry.
• McLean recorded "Castles in the Air" twice. His 1981 re-recording was a top-40 hit, reaching number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1981.
• "Wonderful Baby" was a tribute to Fred Astaire that Astaire himself recorded. It was rejected by most pop stations, but it reached number 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart.

Concerts

McLean became a major concert attraction in the United States and overseas. McLean's first concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Albert Hall in London in 1972 were critically acclaimed.

McLean has continued to tour the United States, Canada, and several European countries. In 2023, the 50th anniversary of "American Pie," McLean's Australian Tour ended with 24 shows in Australia and New Zealand.

Later work and honors

Throughout McLean's career, artists including Garth Brooks, Madonna, Drake, Josh Groban and others have recorded his songs. in 1971, McLean inspired Lori Lieberman to co-write "Killing Me Softly with His Song."

McLean's alma mater, Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, gave him an honorary doctorate in 2001.

In February 2002, "American Pie" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004, McLean was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The biography The Don McLean Story: Killing Us Softly With His Songs was published in 2007. Biographer Alan Howard performed extensive interviews for the book, which is the only book-length biography of McLean to date.

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 given to McLean.

Don McLean's Performance with Home Free at induction ceremony into the Nashville Musicians Hall of Fame.

Don McLean being presented with a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars

In February 2021, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of "American Pie," McLean recorded an A cappella rendition with the band Home Free. He has continued to perform alone and with other musicians. On August 16 of the same year, McLean received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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 really alone.

Children's Book American Pie: A Fable

On November 22, 2022, McLean was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

Personal life

McLean was raised in the Catholic faith of his mother, Elizabeth McLean; his father, Donald McLean, was a Protestant. His father died when McLean was 15. 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.

In 2018, McLean confirmed his romantic relationship with model and reality star Paris Dylan, who is 48 years his junior.

McLean is an ambassador for Teen Cancer America. The Don McLean Foundation is a charity set up by McLean to be funded by his income. Organizations that support the needy in the State of Maine and throughout the United States will receive the funds.

Discography

Don McLean quotes

• “I don’t relate to what’s left of the music business. The business that I grew up in and loved, we made records a different way—there were record companies, there were stores where you could buy albums.”
• “Before the Beatles, America was musically a very conservative country. That was the America that I started getting interested in musically.”
• “I’m glad that my music has helped other people as it’s helped me. It makes me glad that I did what I did with my life.”
• "It's the little things in life that make the biggest difference."

Interesting facts about Don McLean

• Don McLean is known for his powerful live performances.
• He won the folk-singing contest at the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York.
• His intricate fingerpicking and soulful strumming add depth and richness to his live shows.
• He often writes about love, loss, and nostalgia.
• During concerts, he creates a personal connection with his audience by sharing the inspiration behind his songs and the stories that shaped his career.
• Don McLean’s hit song “American Pie” has been analyzed for its hidden meanings.
• His song “And I Love You So” was covered by Elvis Presley.
• His songs have provided the perfect soundtrack for various movie and television moments.
• Don McLean’s song “Vincent” inspired the creation of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

See also

In Spanish: Don McLean para niños