Saturday, November 11
Doors: 7:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm
$70 / $60 / $50
Don McLean will be at Struthers Library Theatre in Warren, Pennsylvania on Saturday, November 11, 2023, at 8:00 pm. Sponsored by Whirley DrinkWorks. Don McLean was born on October 2, 1945, in New Rochelle, New York, to Elizabeth and Donald McLean. By the age of five he had developed an interest in all forms of music and would spend hours listening to the radio and records that were around the house. Childhood asthma meant that Don missed long periods of school and while he slipped back in his studies, his love of music was allowed to flourish. He would often perform shows for family and friends.
In 1969, Don recorded his first album, “Tapestry”, in Berkeley, CA. The student riots were going on outside the studio door as Don was singing “And I Love You So” inside. The album was first released by Mediarts and attracted good reviews and achieved some commercial success. It succeeded in transforming Don McLean from an unknown to an underground sensation. FM radio loved the “Tapestry” album and very quickly, Don became a headliner in nightclubs and colleges across the country.
The transition to international stardom began in 1971 with the release of "American Pie”. "American Pie” was recorded on 26th May 1971 and a month later received its first radio airplay on New York's WNEW-FM and WPLJ-FM to mark the closing of The Fillmore East, the historic rock & roll concert venue. Thirty years later, “American Pie” was voted number 5 in a poll of the 365 “Songs of the Century” compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.
“American Pie” was issued as a double A-side single in November 1971 and charted within a month. Because of Don McLean’s FM-underground career which started with “Tapestry,” the “American Pie” album was played extensively on FM radio. This caused AM radio to play the full eight-minute song at the #1 position. “American Pie” then became the longest song ever to become #1. The single “American Pie” and the album “American Pie” were an international sensation, causing Don McLean to become an international superstar. Every line of the song was analyzed time and time again to find the real meaning. Don refused to sanction any of the many interpretations. The second single, "Vincent”, charted on 18th March 1972 going on to reach US#12, UK#1. The "American Pie” album remained at #1 in the UK for 7 weeks in 1972, and in the UK charts for 53 consecutive weeks.
In the wake of “American Pie”, Don became a major worldwide concert attraction and was able to call upon material not only from his two albums but from his extensive repertoire of American popular music, 1950s rock & roll and folk music, in addition to the complete catalogues of singers such as Buddy Holly, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Pete Seeger, and Frank Sinatra, just to name a few. “American Pie” was named one of the Top 5 Songs of the 20th Century by the RIAA, and in 2002 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Don McLean continues to receive honors for his musical discography. Throughout his career artists including Garth Brooks, Madonna, Drake, Josh Groban, Weird Al Yankovic, and others have recorded songs written by the Songwriter Hall of Fame member. In October 2019, McLean was bestowed with plaques certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for gold, platinum, and multi-platinum sales in the United States, as well as presentations from Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom were bestowed on McLean.
“As a songwriter your songs are like your children, and you are hopeful everyone loves them as much as you do, but rarely is that the case. I am so grateful that songs I have written have touched so many lives and have been recorded by so many great artists,” said McLean. “Today’s presentation has truly blown me away as I never realized the success that my songs have brought to these amazing people.”
Don landed a new recording contract with Time Life in 2020, with whom he released 11 albums containing 173 tracks as well as a new album “Still Playin' Favorites”. 2021 saw Don’s “American Pie” featured in the Avengers’ Black Widow and the new Tom Hanks movie Finch. Don received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, celebrated the 50th anniversary of “American Pie,” recorded a version of the song with a cappella group Home Free, resulting in the video which was #1 for 8 weeks on the country music video charts, a children’s book has been written, and much more!
McLean continues to license his music and lyrics to commercials, movies, and fellow artists. McLean’s body of work is published through Benny Bird Company, Inc and administered through Universal Music Publishing. Don McLean owns five trademarks. They are: Don McLean, American Pie, The Day The Music Died, Bye-Bye, Miss American Pie, and Starry Starry Night.