American Pie | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 1971 | |||
Recorded | May–June 1971 | |||
Studio | Record Plant Studios, New York City | |||
Genre | Folk, folk rock | |||
Length | 36:24 45:37 (2003 re-issue) | |||
Label |
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Producer | Ed Freeman | |||
Don McLean chronology | ||||
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Singles from American Pie | ||||
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American Pie is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Don McLean, released by United Artists Records in October 1971. The folk rock album reached number one on the Billboard 200, containing the chart-topping singles "American Pie" and "Vincent". Recorded in May and June 1971 at The Record Plant in New York City, [3] the LP is dedicated to Buddy Holly, [4] and was reissued in 1980 minus the track "Sister Fatima". [5] The album was released to much acclaim, later being included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [6]
At the Australian 1972 King of Pop Awards the album won Most Popular Overseas L.P. [7]
American Pie is McLean’s second album; his first, Tapestry , having been released to only moderate commercial success and acclaim in 1970. McLean was a protégé of Pete Seeger, having played with him in the 1960s. The album American Pie was intended as a unified work, as McLean has said that he was influenced by the Beatles' Sgt Pepper album and envisioned American Pie to be a similar album. [8] Believing that an artist's work should stand by itself, McLean generally did not offer explanations for his work's themes or meaning, [9] though he did describe the title song as involving "a sense of loss". [8] McLean dedicated the album to Buddy Holly, one of his childhood icons, and it was released in 1971. It has a melancholy feel and rather sparse arrangements. [10] At the time of the writing McLean’s first marriage was failing and the optimism and hopefulness of the 1960s was giving way to the nihilism and hedonism of the 1970s. [11]
The album was recorded in Studio A at The Record Plant on West 44th street in New York City. [3] The producer, Ed Freeman, decided to use accomplished musicians who were not "studio musicians who could act like a metronome" because he wanted to capture the feel of a "band that was really cooking," so he rented a rehearsal studio and they rehearsed the title song for two weeks before they recorded it. [3] Because McLean rarely phrased his singing the same way twice there were as many as 24 takes for some of the voice parts, but the rhythm tracks are mostly one take. [3]
The original United Artists Records inner sleeve featured a free verse poem [12] written by McLean about 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. [13]
The title track contains references to the death of Buddy Holly (McLean being a 13-year-old paper-boy at the time [6] ). The phrase "The Day the Music Died" was used by McLean on this song, and has now become an unofficial name for the tragedy.
On the original release, the title of the song "Sister Fatima" is misspelled "Sister Faima" [4]
The final track, "Babylon", is a close paraphrase of the 1st Verse of the 137th Psalm. [14] It is based on the canon "By the Waters of Babylon" by Philip Hayes, [15] originally published in 1786.
The final chorus of "American Pie" features multi-tracked overdubs, credited in the sleeve notes to the "West Forty Fourth Street Rhythm and Noise Choir". Although the individual choristers have never been publicly named, the album's producer, Ed Freeman, has claimed that the choir included Pete Seeger, James Taylor, Livingston Taylor and Carly Simon. [3]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [16] |
Christgau's Record Guide | C− [17] |
The album reached number 1 within two weeks of release and was certified gold within six months, spending almost a year on the Billboard album charts. [18] Its appeal cut across genres in what was becoming a fragmented music scene. [19]
The album was reissued in 1980 without the song "Sister Fatima", and again on June 27, 2003 with the track restored, along with the addition of two bonus tracks. [20] Also the first Spanish issue delivered by Hispavox was released without "Sister Fatima".[ citation needed ]
In February 2003 George Michael recorded a cover of "The Grave" as a protest against the imminent Iraq War. [21] A cover of the song "Babylon" was included in a scene in the television series Mad Men . [14] It is based on the canon "By the Waters of Babylon" by Philip Hayes. [15]
"Empty Chairs" was an inspiration for the hit song "Killing Me Softly with His Song". [22] [23]
All songs written by Don McLean except where noted. [24]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "American Pie" | 8:33 | |
2. | "Till Tomorrow" | 2:11 | |
3. | "Vincent" | 3:55 | |
4. | "Crossroads" | 3:34 | |
5. | "Winterwood" | 3:09 | |
6. | "Empty Chairs" | 3:24 | |
7. | "Everybody Loves Me, Baby" | 3:37 | |
8. | "Sister Fatima" | 2:31 | |
9. | "The Grave" | 3:08 | |
10. | "Babylon" | Philip Hayes; [15] arranged by Lee Hays and Don McLean | 1:40 |
Total length: | 36:24 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Mother Nature" | 5:10 |
12. | "Aftermath" | 4:03 |
Total length: | 45:37 |
Chart (1971–2022) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [25] | 1 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [26] | 1 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [27] | 31 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [28] | 34 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [29] | 12 |
UK Albums (OCC) [30] | 2 |
US Billboard 200 [31] | 1 |
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [32] | 25 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada) [33] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [34] | Gold | 100,000* |
United States (RIAA) [35] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Donald McLean III is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known to fans as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail", he is best known for his 1971 hit song "American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early rock and roll generation. His other hit singles include "Vincent", "Dreidel", and "Wonderful Baby"; as well as his renditions of Roy Orbison's "Crying" and the Skyliners' "Since I Don't Have You".
"American Pie" is a song by American singer and songwriter Don McLean. Recorded and released in 1971 on the album of the same name, the single was the number-one US hit for four weeks in 1972 starting January 15 after just eight weeks on the US Billboard charts. The song also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In the UK, the single reached number 2, where it stayed for three weeks on its original 1971 release, and a reissue in 1991 reached No. 12. The song was listed as the No. 5 song on the RIAA project Songs of the Century. A truncated version of the song was covered by Madonna in 2000 and reached No. 1 in at least 15 countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. At 8 minutes and 42 seconds, McLean's combined version is the sixth longest song to enter the Billboard Hot 100. The song also held the record for almost 50 years for being the longest song to reach number one before Taylor Swift's "All Too Well " broke the record in 2021. Due to its exceptional length, it was initially released as a two-sided 7-inch single. "American Pie" has been described as "one of the most successful and debated songs of the 20th century".
Pies Descalzos is the third studio album by Colombian singer Shakira, released on 6 October 1995, by Columbia Records and Epic Records. Its music incorporates Latin pop styles, additionally experimenting with pop rock elements. Looking to revive her struggling career after the commercial failures of her first two studio efforts Magia and Peligro, she assumed a prominent position in its production. As executive producer, Luis Fernando Ochoa co-wrote and co-produced each of the eleven tracks on the record with Shakira.
Flaming Pie is the tenth solo studio album by English musician Paul McCartney, released on 5 May 1997 by Parlophone in the UK and Capitol Records in the US. His first studio album in over four years, it was mostly recorded after McCartney's involvement in the highly successful Beatles Anthology project. The album was recorded in several locations over two years, between 1995 and 1997, featuring two songs dating from 1992.
"Crying" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson for Orbison's third studio album of the same name (1962). Released in 1961, it was a number 2 hit in the US for Orbison and was covered in 1978 by Don McLean, whose version went to number 1 in the UK in 1980.
"Killing Me Softly with His Song" is a song composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel. The lyrics were written in collaboration with Lori Lieberman after she was inspired by a Don McLean performance in late 1971. Denied writing credit by Fox and Gimbel, Lieberman released her version of the song in 1972, but it did not chart. The song has been covered by many other artists.
"Rivers of Babylon" is a Rastafari song written and recorded by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton of the Jamaican reggae group The Melodians in 1970. The lyrics are adapted from the texts of Psalms 19, and 137 in the Hebrew Bible. The Melodians' original version of the song appeared on the soundtrack album for the 1972 movie The Harder They Come, which made it internationally known.
"Babylon" is a song by British singer-songwriter David Gray. Originally released on 12 July 1999 as the second single from his fourth album, White Ladder (1998), it was re-released as the album's fourth single on 19 June 2000. "Babylon" peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart in June 2000 and received a platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in January 2021. The single also charted in the United States, peaking at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart.
All American is the third solo album released in 2015 by Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter. The album was released on November 25, 2015, on his own record label, Kaotic, Inc. This is his first solo album since I'm Taking Off, which was released four years earlier.
The Next Best Thing is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by John Schlesinger about two best friends who have a child together and a custody battle years after. Starring Madonna, Rupert Everett, and Benjamin Bratt, it opened to the number-two position in the North American box office and poor critical reviews. The accompanying soundtrack album was appreciated by music critics. Its lead single, "American Pie" reached the number-one in various countries and helped to introduce Don McLean's song to newer audiences.
"Vincent" is a song by Don McLean, written as a tribute to Vincent van Gogh. It is often erroneously titled after its opening refrain, "Starry, Starry Night", a reference to Van Gogh's 1889 painting The Starry Night.
Tapestry is the debut studio album by American folk singer Don McLean. The album was originally released by Mediarts Records but was re-launched in 1971 by United Artists after United Artists' purchase of Mediarts. The album was also reissued in 1981 on Liberty Records, but without including the song "Three Flights Up".
Don McLean is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Don McLean, released in 1972, peaking at number 23 on the Billboard 200 chart. It was reissued by BGO Records in 1996. The photo on the cover of the album was taken overlooking the Village of Cold Spring, NY.
Love Tracks is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Don McLean, released by Capitol in 1988.
The discography of American singer Don McLean consists of 20 studio albums, four live albums, 11 compilation albums, and 16 singles.
Terri Sharp was an American songwriter and singer. While writing on Music Row in Nashville, Sharp's songs were recorded by many artists including Don Mclean and Hank Williams Jr. She lived in Texas, composing and performing the majority of her work in Spanish.
"You Can't Blame the Train" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Terri Sharp. The original version was recorded by American singer-songwriter Don McLean in 1987 and family country group The Hollanders recorded their own version in 1991.
"Lady Bump" is a pop disco song by Austrian singer Penny McLean, released in 1975. It was a hit for McLean, who was formerly with Silver Convention.
"Castles in the Air" is a song by American singer-songwriter Don McLean, which he originally released as a single in 1971 and subsequently re-recorded and re-released a decade later. The song describes a man who is unsatisfied with and weary of an urban lifestyle. Although native to the city, he decides to forsake not only his urban 'castle in the air' but also his love interest there. Because of his desire for and love of a country life, he decides to seek romance with a like-minded woman.
"Heart on Fire" is a song recorded by American country music singer Eric Church. It was released on July 12, 2021, as second single from Church's studio album Heart. The song was written by Church, and produced by Jay Joyce.
I know which version she's talking about from her college years: the one Don McLean sings on American Pie, the song performed in the folk club scene in Mad Men. For such a simple round, the song has frequently been misattributed.... American Pie's liner notes mistakenly attribute the tune to William Billings.... The actual source of the version popularized by McLean is quite surprising: a piece titled "The Muses Delight: Catches, Glees, Canzonets and Canons," written in the late eighteenth century by an English composer and Oxford professor of music named Dr. Philip Hayes.