Inspired by The Weaver’s 1955 recording Live at Carnegie Hall, he spent the sixties integrating himself into the vibrant folk-revival scene. This included Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and the young, rising star, Buddy Holly.īy 1961, teenage McLean’s health had improved and he had begun to develop a strong interest in folk music. He was an omnivore, listening to rock and roll, folk and popular music, but it was the earliest rock ‘n rollers that inspired him to pick up a guitar. He thus spent his time at home, indoors, listening to music.
He struggled with poor health and asthma for much of his childhood and missed a great deal of school. 12 years later, McLean took that poignant memory and created one of the most iconic and beloved ballads of all time, “American Pie.” The song takes listeners on a nostalgic journey through rock ‘n roll’s history, beginning with “the day the music died” and traveling across all of the major musical, cultural and political events of the sixties.ĭonald McLean III was born in New Rochelle, New York in 1945, and grew up amid the anxious tranquility of the post-war decades. Don McLean was only 13 years old, delivering his hometown newspaper route when he found out that his idol Buddy Holly had died in a tragic plane accident.
