Don McLean and American Pie

[MikeWillRetire]

Here is a good article about how he parlayed the money from that one song.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...wns-just-these-2-stocks/ar-BBVcD7j?li=BBnbfcN

 

[RunningBum]

I always liked his reply to the question about what American Pie means: "It means I'll never have to work again."

 

[braumeister]

Very nice article. Thanks for posting that.

 

[aja8888]

Thanks! Nice article and a great story.

 

[Dawg52]

Looks like he has had an enjoyable and profitable life. Same here.... less the fame and money.

 

[LiveBelowMeans]

Nice article. Thanks for posting.

 

[pjm-7]

Interesting that he has a degree in finance. I liked his response about celebs that are so dependent on others. "You end up being mollycoddled and don't know sh*t". I think that could explain a lot of people's indifference to financial matters.

 

[Ronstar]

Thanks for posting. I recently saw an interview of his - very humble guy.

 

[JoeWras]

If he weren't in the stratosphere, he'd fit right in here on this board.

I agree with pjm's quote, which I added a bit to. This quote is golden -- and should I say reminds me a lot of the way people here talk about FAs.

That’s the problem with being a star or a celebrity or a person with a few bucks. You end up being mollycoddled and you don’t know sh*t. I’ve known stars, artists who literally were made so dependent on a few people, they didn’t know what to do without them. I don’t like that. I’m a very independent lone wolf type of guy.

I should add that then we hear the sob stories about how those stars were taken for a ride.

That's not going to happen to Don! The interviewer said he hear that McClean makes $300k a year in royalties, even today, from Pie. Don replied that it was a LOT MORE than that.

He has arranged his affairs nicely.

 

[NW-Bound]

I heard another song by McLean, "Starry Starry Night", and only learned he was the author decades later.

Somehow I thought the song was religious, and later discovered that it was about Van Gogh.

I also like his "Castle in the Air".

 

[RISP]

I heard another song by McLean, "Starry Starry Night", and only learned he was the author decades later.

Somehow I thought the song was religious, and later discovered that it was about Van Gogh.

The title of that song is actually "Vincent" and yes, I understand it is about Vincent van Gogh.

 

[marko]

Do you know that the song Killing Me Softly (Roberta Flack) is ABOUT Don McLean?

"I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style
And so I came to see him, to listen for a while
And there he was, this young boy, a stranger to my eyes

 

[neihn]

Do you know that the song Killing Me Softly (Roberta Flack) is ABOUT Don McLean?
...

Learn something everyday

 

[target2019]

They could do a movie about the alleged and real origins of that song. I put my trust with the writers of the song.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Me_Softly_with_His_Song

 

[Rianne]

Great article about Don McLean. I'm sharing it.

 

[SJ1_]

Here is a good article about how he parlayed the money from that one song.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...wns-just-these-2-stocks/ar-BBVcD7j?li=BBnbfcN

great article. Always heard he never had to work after American Pie.

 

[RunningBum]

I also like that he plays American Pie at every concert, and seems happy with it. I've heard some musicians seem resentful about their most popular song. I'm pretty sure I remember Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) say he hates "Sultans of Swing". Dude, without that, you might never have gotten any of your other stuff played. I may be wrong but I thought I read that Billy Joel isn't too crazy about "Piano Man" either.

 

[CardsFan]

Great article. While McLean has never explained the lyrics to "American Pie", I stumbled across this interpretation a while back:

"American Pie" Lyrics - What Do They Mean?

Makes a lot of sense, but also could be totally off base.

 

[RunningBum]

Great article. While McLean has never explained the lyrics to "American Pie", I stumbled across this interpretation a while back:

"American Pie" Lyrics - What Do They Mean?

Makes a lot of sense, but also could be totally off base.

Certainly some parts are likely (and obvious), some are way off base. Dylan replaced Elvis while Elvis was in the Army from 58-60? Dylan hadn't really even released anything yet. And the guy even changed the line "It landed foul on the grass". Those were the most obviously wrong. The guy also writes like an 8th grader at times.

 

[rayvt]

We saw Don in concert in Elgin, Il probably 25 years ago. He mentioned that most songwriters sold the rights to their songs for quick bucks, but he didn't sell his, he kept the rights and the royalties all came to him.


He said that's why he was rich and most songwriters are poor, after they blow through the money.

 

[COcheesehead]

Great article. While McLean has never explained the lyrics to "American Pie", I stumbled across this interpretation a while back:

"American Pie" Lyrics - What Do They Mean?

Makes a lot of sense, but also could be totally off base.

Black light posters do not make good web pages. What the hell did I just look at.

 

[audreyh1]

Wow, great candid interview. I love how he doesn’t mind sharing financial details. Boy, must have cleaned up after 2008!

 

[fidler4]

Good article. I just saw him in concert last Saturday at the Sagan Theater in LA (Beverly Hills). He put on a good show. When he sang American Pie the not so young crowd was up on their feet singing and swaying to the music. It sort of reminded me of a southern Baptist revival show. The energy of the song and of the audience was electrifying. I spent more time watching the people in the audience then Don Mclean.

 

[JoeWras]

We saw Don in concert in Elgin, Il probably 25 years ago. He mentioned that most songwriters sold the rights to their songs for quick bucks, but he didn't sell his, he kept the rights and the royalties all came to him.

He said that's why he was rich and most songwriters are poor, after they blow through the money.

Absolutely! Song writing is key, along with keeping control. Performing? Not so much.

There are plenty of songwriters who don't perform who had only one number 1 hit and retired on that if that hit makes it to compilations and gets on the radio hot list. This can be true even if they are 50% writers!

One songwriter who comes to mind is Holly Knight. Although she performed some, she made her cash with a string of writing huge hits for others. (80s hits such as "Obsession," "Love is a Battlefield" and "The Best," among others.) My favorite story about her is she came in as a trouble shooter for Aerosmith and changed one or two words to "Rag Doll." Actually, changed "rag time" to "rag doll." Bam, 25% writer credit. Joe Perry has been quoted as being annoyed because they had considered that too. But Holly came in (via the producer and record company) and had the chops to make it so and convince the producers and big cheeses.

 

[Zorba]

Thanks. Loved it. Saved it to read more carefully. From his Starry, Starry night. "This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you." Ah...


Short story. 30+ years ago. I had just finished my PhD and were doing the standard backpack Europe trip for a few months before joining the real world. We were staying in a hostel in Salzburg, run by some Australians, drinking beer when his American Pie came on. The whole room went wild , everyone (Dutch, Canadian, US, Australian, Kiwis) all knew the words to the song and we all started dancing on the tables. Good times. (The next few days - Munich and Bruges - were a bit of a blur.)