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"American Pie" is a song by American singer and songwriter Don McLean from his second studio album of the same name. Writen by McLean and produced by Ed Freeman, it was released as the album's lead single in November 1971, by United Artists Records. Due to its extensive length, it was initially released as a two-sided 7-inch single, but radio stations played the full album version as per the audience's request. A folk rock song, McLean drew inspiration for "American Pie" from his childhood experience delivering newspapers during the time of the plane crash that killed early rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, which left a great impact on him. The lyrics of the song have been subject of various interpretations since its release.

Upon its release, "American Pie" received positive reviews from critics, and received nominations for three categories at the 15th Annual Grammy Awards. The single was also commercially successful, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks, and remained the longest song to reach number one for 50 years until Taylor Swift's song "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" broke this record in 2021. It was eventually certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was also listed at number five on their project Songs of the Century in 2001. "American Pie" was also successful in other countries worldwide, topping the charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

"American Pie" has been described as "one of the most successful and debated songs of the 20th century", and was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant". It has been parodied and referenced on several occasions since its release. In 2000, American singer Madonna recorded a cover version of the song as part of the soundtrack to the film The Next Best Thing. Despite becoming a commercial success reaching number one in several countries, it received mixed reactions from critics and was considered one of the worst covers of all time by publications such as The A.V. Club and Rolling Stone.

Writing and recording
Don McLean drew inspiration for the song from his childhood experience delivering newspapers during the time of the plane crash that killed early rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper in February 3, 1959. He recalled that he found out about the accident as a 13-year-old when he was a newspaper delivery boy in New Rochelle, New York, and read the news on the front page of the local Standard-Star. He described Holly as his favorite artist, and dedicated the album American Pie to him.

McLean reportedly wrote "American Pie" in Saratoga Springs at Caffè Lena, but a 2011 article in The Post-Star quotes the singer as disputing this claim. Employees at Caffè Lena claim that he started writing the song there, and then continued writing in both Cold Spring and Philadelphia. Tin & Lint, another bar in Saratoga Springs, also claims "American Pie" was written there, with plaque marking the table; however, McLean has stated that the song was only written in Cold Spring and Philadelphia.

While some have claimed other places, such as Saint Joseph's University, as where the song was first performed, McLean insists that the song made its debut in Philadelphia at Temple University when he opened for Laura Nyro on March 14, 1971. However, a 2022 documentary on the history of the song notes that particular concert actually occurred at the nearby Saint Joseph's University.

The song was produced by Ed Freeman and recorded with a few session musicians. Freeman did not want McLean to play rhythm guitar on the song but eventually relented. McLean and the session musicians rehearsed for two weeks but failed to get the song right. At the last minute, the pianist Paul Griffin was added, which is when the tune came together. McLean used a 1969 or 1970 Martin D-28 guitar to provide the basic chords throughout "American Pie".

According to McLean himself, the music on "American Pie" is a "perfect fusion" of "folk, rock'n'roll and old-fashioned popular music". Tom Breihan of Stereogum described its composition as "full of dynamic changes, starting out quiet and slow and then getting loud and fast and then reverting back".

Lyrics and interpretations
The song's title is a reference to the apple pie, an unofficial symbol of the United States and one of its signature comfort foods, depicted in the popular expression "As American as apple pie". By the 20th century, it had become a symbol of American prosperity and national pride. McLean stated that he chose "American Pie" as the title "because you're as American as apple pie" but he "just dropped the apple out and just said 'American Pie'."

The track has nostalgic themes, stretching from the late 1950s until late 1969 or 1970. McLean has generally avoided responding to direct questions about the song's lyrics, claiming they were "beyond analysis and poetry", and stated, "You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me… Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence." According to The Guardian, however, "There's general agreement that the song is about the cultural and political decline of the US in the 1960s, a farewell to the American dream after the assassination of President Kennedy". A number of college courses and fan websites were also created to decode the song's lyrics.

Many interpretations to the lyrics of "American Pie" have been proposed. The Washington Post stated that the song "includes references to Karl Marx; Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (or, more likely, John Lennon); the Fab Four; the Byrds; James Dean; Charles Manson; the Rolling Stones; the 'widowed bride,' Jackie Kennedy; and the Vietnam War". However, McLean has denied many of these interpretations, including claims that he was referencing the Beatles on the song. Bob Dylan was also appointed to be the "jester" who "[stole] the limelight from Elvis Presley as the new messiah" in the line "And while the king was looking down / The jester stole his thorny crown", but McLean did not recognized this either, saying: "I certainly would have mentioned Dylan's name if I had meant to mention him. I would have said Bob or something else, but I didn't 'cause it ain't him". In 2017, Dylan was asked about how he was reportedly referenced in the song, and replied, "I have to think he's talking about somebody else. Ask him." Apparent allusions to notable 1950s songs include Don Cornell's "The Bible Tells Me So" ("If the Bible tells you so?"), Marty Robbins' "A White Sport Coat", the lonely teenager ("With a pink carnation") mirroring Robbins' narrator who is rejected in favor of another man for the prom, and The Monotones' "The Book of Love" ("Did you write the book of love").

In February 2015, however, McLean announced he would reveal the meaning of the lyrics to the song when the original manuscript went for auction in New York City. The lyrics and notes were sold for $1.2 million. In the sale catalogue notes, McLean described the track as a "morality song in a sense", which described how "things are heading in the wrong direction", with life becoming "less idyllic".

It confirmed that the song climaxes with a description of the death of Meredith Hunter at the Altamont Free Concert, ten years after the plane crash that killed Holly, Valens, and Richardson, and did acknowledge that some of the more well-known symbols in the song were inspired by figures such as Presley ("the king") and Dylan ("the jester").

McLean then answered some of the long-standing questions on the song's lyrics, revealing that Presley was not the king referenced in the song, the "girl who sang the blues" was not Janis Joplin, and Dylan was not the jester, although he is open to other interpretations.

He said that the "marching band" means the military–industrial complex, "sweet perfume" refers to tear gas, and Los Angeles is the "coast" that the Trinity head to. He also disclosed that the line "This'll be the day that I die" originated from John Wayne's film The Searchers while "Bye Bye Miss American Pie" is a reference to the Pete Seeger's song "Bye Bye, My Roseanna".

On the whole, McLean stated that the lyrics were meant to be impressionist, and that only a portion of which were included in the finished recording, were completely fictional with no basis in real-life events.

Release and reception
"American Pie" was released as the lead single from the album of same name in November 1971. The song's eight-and-a-half-minute length meant that it could not fit entirely on one side of the 45 RPM record, so United Artists had the first taking up the A-side of the record and the final  the B-side. Radio stations initially played the A-side of the song only, but soon began playing to the full album version due to the audience's demand. It was later reissued in the United Kingdom on September 23, 1991. Upon the single's release, Cash Box called it "folk-rock's most ambitious and successful epic endeavor since 'Alice's Restaurant'", while Record World called it a "monumental accomplishment of lyric writing". At the 15th Annual Grammy Awards, "American Pie" was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, but lost in all categories.

In the United States, "American Pie" debuted at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 27, 1971. It later reached number one, staying at the top for four weeks, spending a total of 19 weeks inside the chart. The single is currently the sixth longest song to enter the chart and remained the longest to reach number one for 50 years until Taylor Swift's "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" broke the record in 2021. "American Pie" was eventually certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 1, 2021, and was listed at number five on the project Songs of the Century. It was also a commercial success in the United Kingdom, where it stayed at number two for three weeks on its original 1971 release, and peaked at number 12 on its re-release in 1991. The song also topped the charts in other countries worldwide, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Parodies, revisions, and uses
In 1999, "Weird Al" Yankovic wrote and recorded a parody of "American Pie", titled "The Saga Begins". It recounts the plot of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) from Obi-Wan Kenobi's point of view. While McLean gave permission for the parody, he did not make a cameo appearance in its video, despite rumors. The singer himself praised the parody, even admitting to almost singing Yankovic's lyrics during his own live performances because his children played the song so often. An unrelated comedy film franchise by Universal Pictures, who secured the rights to McLean's title, also debuted in 1999. "American Pie" was the last song to be played on Virgin Radio before it was rebranded as Absolute Radio in 2008. In 2012, the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, created a lip dub video to "American Pie" in response to a Newsweek article that stated the city was "dying". The video received positive feedback from film critic Roger Ebert, who said it was "the greatest music video ever made". On March 21, 2013, Harmonix announced that "American Pie" would be the final downloadable track made available for the Rock Band series of music video games.

On March 14, 2015, the National Museum of Mathematics announced that one of two winners of its songwriting contest was "American Pi" by mathematics education professor Dr. Lawrence M. Lesser. The contest was in honor of "Pi Day of the Century" because "3/14/15" would be the only day in the 21st-century showing the first five digits of π (pi). In April, singer John Mayer covered "American Pie" live on the Late Show with David Letterman, at the request of the show's eponymous host. In 2017, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant". On January 29, 2021, McLean released a re-recording of "American Pie" featuring lead vocals by country a cappella group Home Free. The song was featured in Marvel's film Black Widow (2021); it is the favorite song of the title character, Black Widow (Yelena Belova). The song was sung by Red Guardian later in the film to comfort Yelena. "American Pie" is also featured in the film Finch, released the same year. In 2022, the documentary The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean's American Pie, produced by Spencer Proffer, was released on the Paramount+ video on-demand service, to celebrate the song's 50th anniversary. To further celebrate the anniversary, McLean performed a 35-date tour through Europe in 2022. During his visit to the United States in 2023, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol sang this song at a state dinner. This has attracted worldwide attention, as well as the attention of McLean.

Personnel
Credits from Richard Buskin, except where noted.

Musicians

 * Don McLean – vocals, acoustic guitar
 * Paul Griffin – piano, clavinet
 * David Spinozza – electric guitar
 * Bob Rothstein – bass, backing vocals
 * Roy Markowitz – drums
 * West Forty Fourth Street Rhythm and Noise Choir – chorus

Technical

 * Ed Freeman - producer
 * Tom Flye - engineer, tambourine
 * Photography/ artwork – George Whiteman

Background
In 2000, American singer and songwriter Madonna released a cover version of "American Pie" as part of the soundtrack to the film The Next Best Thing, which she starred alongside Rupert Everett. Produced by the singer herself alongside William Orbit, she re-recorded the song after Everett had convinced her to cover it for the film. The singer declared that there was a moment where she thought doing a cover was "too corny for words", but when people around her seemed to like it, she "went with the flow". According to Madonna, she liked the song while she was growing up but was not sure of its relevance at the time she was offered to re-record it; she would later describe the track as a "real millennium song" as pop culture was going through big changes caused by the internet, and also a way of saying goodbye to music and pop culture as the society knew it. McLean himself praised Madonna's version, calling her a "goddess" as well as a "colossus in the music industry", while labelling her version as "sensual and mystical". He also mentioned how "she's chosen autobiographical verses that reflect her career and personal history".

Release
Originally, Madonna was set to premiere "American Pie" during a performance at Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show on January 30, 2000, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, as a salute to the music of the United States on the 20th century. However, she stepped down from the performance due to her busy schedule while recording her eighth studio album. It was then announced that radio station KIIS-FM would premiere the single during the halftime show; however, it was played by KYSR and WPLJ days before, after it was made available illegally on a website from Singapore. It had also been played 10 days ahead of its intended preview date by DJ Jeremy Healy as part of his set at a Christian Dior fashion show for British designer John Galliano in Paris. When her record company started tracking the leak, it was found that Madonna had personally sent Healy a copy of the song.

Maverick and Warner Bros. Records sent "American Pie" to contemporary hit radios in the United States on February 6, 2000, and to hot adult contemporary radios the day after. A promotional 12-inch single of the track was also delivered to club DJs the week of January 31, 2000, although it was never released commercially in the country. Afterwards, it was included as an international bonus track on Madonna's eighth studio album, Music, released in September 2000. However, in 2001, the track was not present on the singer's greatest hits compilation GHV2 because she had regretted including it on Music. She disclosed to BBC Radio 1 that "it was something a certain record company executive twisted my arm into doing, but it didn't belong on the album so now it's being punished... My gut told me not to [put the song on Music], but I did it and then I regretted it so just for that reason it didn't deserve a place on GHV2". A remixed version of the song later appeared on Madonna's compilation album Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022).

Composition
Madonna's version of "American Pie" is considerably much shorter than the eight-minute original song, removing any historical references such as the plane crash, as well as the pauses in the original arrangement. The singer declared that cutting down the song's lengthy lyrics to a "radio-friendly" size was the hardest part of producing the track, and added, "The thing is, I guess the hook of it is pretty accessible, but the verses are really abstract, complicated, and none of them are the same melody-wise". Her version for "American Pie" is described as a dance-pop track which combines "futuristic electro-pop elements à la Air with '70s-centric rock". Also present on the song is Orbit's trademark "filter sweeps and synthesizer bleeps". It is set in common time with slowly and freely tempo and a metronome of 72 beats per minute, and set in the key of A♭ major with Madonna's vocals spanning from E♭3-B♭4. The track was produced by Madonna and William Orbit, who also played guitar, drums, and keyboards, with backing vocals provided by Rupert Everett. Engineering was provided by Jake Davies, Mark Endert, and Sean Spuehler, with programming by the latter and Rico Conning. "American Pie" was mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent.

Critical reception
Madonna's version for "American Pie" received mixed reviews from music critics. Chuck Taylor from Billboard was impressed by the cover and commented, "Applause to Madonna for not pandering to today's temporary trends and for challenging programmers to broaden their playlists. ... In all, a fine preview of the forthcoming soundtrack to The Next Best Thing." New York Daily News' staff stated that the cover has "unexpectedly moving results", while capturing "that sense of nostalgia and loss, while cutting the beat in half and ditching half the verses" and complimented Orbit's "clever combination of lush and sprightly synthesizers, some cutting-edge, some antique". Peter Robinson of The Guardian called it "actually brilliant". William Ruhlmann from AllMusic was also positive, writing how Madonna "dumped most of those pesky lyrics" and "If it doesn't make any sense, so what? Most of them will be dancing too hard to notice". According to Entertainment Weekly's David Browne, "What seemed an inspired, left-field idea winds up a decidedly flavorless slice of dessert"; on his vision, the cover "doesn't shamelessly evoke nostalgia, but it doesn't evoke much of anything else, either".

Offering a mixed review, Michael Hubbard of MusicOMH wrote that "Orbit produces American Pie to satisfactory effect – despite the overall result begging the question WHY?", while Gary Crossing from Dotmusic also wondered, "Quite why Madonna ever considered covering this is a mystery". On his column in Music Week, Tilly Rutherford declared it was "absolutely diabolical" and that it deserved only one place, "not in the charts but in the bin". NME also gave it a negative review, saying that "Killdozer did it first and did it better", that it was "sub-karaoke fluff" and that "it's a blessing she didn't bother recording the whole thing." For James Poletti of Dotmusic, it would be "Madonna's worst release for quite some time", criticizing its "insubstantial" production and her "bored" vocals on the song. The Guardian's Garry Mulholland dissmissed it as "something stupid" and "the worst record of career", which ends Music on a sour note. John Hand from the BBC News agreed, describing the song as a "tacked-on reworking" which "seems so out of place" on the album. Similarly, Q's Danny Eccleston said it "still sounds horrible" and "it's hard not to envy the Americans, whose version of Music is Pie-free". On his list of Madonna's best singles, Matthew Jacobs of HuffPost ranked the track at number 66, and concluded that it was "not a bad song, per se, it's just a fluffy dance-pop approach to one of rock's greatest anthems", whereas for Slant Magazine's staff, it was the singer's 69th best single, pointing out that it "remains one of the singer’s more dubious covers". In a 2011 poll by Rolling Stone, "American Pie" was considered the third worst cover of all time, with a staff member stating, "She removed about half the verses to the song and what remained was really flat and lifeless". Writing for The A.V. Club, Stephen Thomas Erlewine also ranked it at number three on his list of worst covers of all time, describing the version as "all the more baffling". Yard Barker's Jeff Mezydlo included "American Pie" on his list of "25 cover songs that totally missed the mark", and wrote that it "just sounded wrong, trying to bridge the gap between classic rock and modern-day pop that would broaden the song's already legendary appeal".

Commercial performance
Upon its release, "American Pie" became the most added song on radios in the United States. Despite not being released commercially, it was able to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 43 due to strong radio airplay, on the issue dated February 19, 2000. The single was the highest debut of the week, becoming the 33rd of the 44 singles Madonna had on the chart to earn the honor. It eventually reached number 29 two weeks later on the week of March 4, 2000, becoming the singer's 40th top 40 hit on the chart, tying her with Marvin Gaye in eighth place among acts with the most top 40 hits. "American Pie" also topped the Dance Club Songs and reached number 16 on the Mainstream Top 40 component charts. In Canada, the song peaked at number four on the RPM Singles Chart, on the week of April 3, 2000, while topping the country's chart compiled by Nielsen Soundscan.

In the United Kingdom, "American Pie" became Madonna's ninth number-one single, extending her record of most chart-topping singles by a female artist in the region. In 2017, the Official Charts Company stated the song had sold 400,000 copies in the United Kingdom, becoming her 16th best-selling single to date. It also topped the charts in several European countries, including Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland. The single's successful performance in Europe helped the song reach the summit of the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart. "American Pie" also became a success in Oceania, topping the charts in Australia, while reaching number four in New Zealand.

Music video
The music video for "American Pie" was directed by Philipp Stölzl, with photography direction by Fredrik Callinggård and John Mathieson. Madonna filmed her scenes in London, where she was living at the time. It had its premiere on February 11, 2000 on MTV; before its release, Madonna demanded scenes which showed her "seductively" pulling down her jeans, revealing her buttocks, to be omitted from the final product. The video depicts Madonna and Everett dancing in front of a large American flag; it also shows a diverse array of ordinary Americans, including scenes showing same-sex couples kissing. Gerald Biggerstaff of Instinct magazine wrote that the product was "ahead of its time showing same-sex couples kissing and holding hands at a time when the country was divided on gay and lesbian relations", also portraying a "diversity of Americans in the video at a time before the Bush/Gore debacle". The video was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to Macy Gray's "Do Something". It was later added to Madonna's 2009 video compilation ''Celebration: The Video Collection.

Formats and track listings

 * Digital single (2022)
 * 1) "American Pie" – 4:34
 * 2) "American Pie" (Richard Humpty Vission Radio Mix) – 4:29
 * 3) "American Pie" (Victor Calderone Vocal Club Mix) – 9:07
 * 4) "American Pie" (Richard Humpty Vission Visits Madonna) – 5:43
 * 5) "American Pie" (Victor Calderone Extended Vocal Club Mix) – 10:36
 * 6) "American Pie" (Victor Calderone Vocal Dub Mix) – 6:15
 * 7) "American Pie" (Victor Calderone Filter Dub Mix) – 6:06

Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel are adapted from the single liner notes.
 * Madonna – vocals, producer
 * William Orbit – producer, guitar, drums and keyboard
 * Don McLean – writer
 * Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
 * Rupert Everett – backup vocals
 * Mark Endert – engineering
 * Sean Spuehler – engineering, programming
 * Jake Davies – engineering
 * Rico Conning – sequencer programming
 * Dah Len – photography