It's been 50 years since Don McLean wrote and recorded his seminal folk-rock anthem, American Pie.
McLean says he wanted to write a big song that would tie everything together on his second album (also American Pie) and connect with the parts of America that mattered to him, starting with Buddy Holly. But he never anticipated the album's title track would touch and reach people the way it has over the past half century. (The Recording Industry of America lists American Pie as the fifth best song of the 20th century.)
To mark the 50th anniversary of American Pie, McLean (now 76) will embark on a 35-date European tour, starting in Wales and ending in Austria, in 2022.
Dr Jules Older used 'American Pie' as the name of the radio show he used to host in Dunedin. It was a format for American music and a bit of liberal politics. He joins the show to discuss the impact of American Pie and the day he interviewed the man himself.
Singer songwriter Don McLean Photo: AFP
