All language subtitles for The.Day.The.Music.Died.The.Story.of.Don.McLeans.American.Pie.2022.WEBRip.x264-ION10

[ethereal music]

- * MTV *

[wind whooshing]

- * A long, long time ago *

- This could, quite possibly,
be the greatest

song in music history.

- * I can still remember *

* How that music used
to make me smile *

- There's something
magical about it.

It's transcendent.

- * And I knew
if I had my chance *

- * That I could make
those people dance *

- * And maybe they'd be happy *

- * For a while *

- It feels like
it's always existed.

- * So bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

- * Drove my Chevy
to the levee *

* But the levee was dry *

- * Them good old boys were
drinking whiskey and rye *

- 90-year-old people
to 10-year-old kids,

everybody knows that song.

- * This'll be the day
that I die *

- * Did you write
the book of love? *

- "American Pie" is an epic.

It's "War and Peace."
It's the big novel.

- * If the Bible
tells you so? *

- It's woven into the fabric
of America and our culture.

- * Do you believe
in rock 'n' roll? *

I thought it was a cool idea.

I could go deliver the paper,

and one day
there was this story,

three rock 'n' roll stars
killed in a plane crash.

Buddy was now dead.

* Well, I know that you're
in love with him *

- This is where
the music died.

- * Dancin' in the gym *

The country was in an advanced

state of psychic shock.

And so, I said, "I got to have
a big song about America."

One day, it all came out
like a genie out of a bottle.

I knew I had the tiger
by the tail.

* The day the music *

Everything took off
like a rocket.

- It went to number one
so fast.

- * Bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

- "American Pie" blew up
the world.

- * But the levee was dry *

- I think I know
the album cover

as much as I know the song.

I mean, Captain America thumb,
it's iconic.

- * This'll be the day
that I die *

- "American Pie" was
really encapsulating

the experience
of a whole generation.

- * Now for ten years
we've been on our own *

- Everybody can relate
to that song.

"American Pie" drew you in
deeply.

- * But that's not
how it used to be *

I'm trying to do
a kaleidoscopic,

dream-like story
about America.

* The jester stole
his thorny crown *

I say "the jester stole
his thorny crown."

Elvis did not have
a thorny crown.

"A pink carnation," sure,
I went to a lot of proms,

but I never had
a pickup truck.

But I could have anything
I wanted in my songs.

* I saw Satan laughing
with delight *

- It's the kind of song
you dream about writing

that has meaning
and has depth,

has relevance to generations,
you know, ongoing.

all:
* Bye-bye, Miss American Pie *

- We're in the age of TikTok.

Meanwhile,
an eight-minute song is still

getting radio play
all over the world.

- * Singin', "This'll
be the day that I die" *

It is a masterpiece.

- No one's ever written
anything like it since.

- There's a reason it's
been around for 50 years.

* The day *

* The music died *

- This is
what the power of music is.

- [echoing]
* A long, long time ago *

[dreamy music]

You can see the house
I grew up in

in New Rochelle,
it's still there.

Being in the house
with my parents,

who I loved very much,

and they were great people,
but it was very restrictive.

I was white,
suburban, middle-class.

We believed in God.

We believed in the church.

We believed in our government.

I was ill quite a bit.

I had asthma and I would
be out of school

for weeks and weeks,

stuck in the house and looking
at kids playing outside.

And I developed differently
than they did.

* *

My father's idea
of what he wanted for his son

was a West Point guy,
an athlete, warrior,

intellectual, crew cut,
upright American boy.

And I thought,
"I can't be farther apart

from this guy than I am."

- * Well, now,
if your baby leaves you *

* And you've got
a tale to tell *

* Well, just take a walk *

- And that's when I first
heard Elvis Presley.

- * Heartbreak Hotel *

- "Heartbreak Hotel,"
magic, takes your brains.

- * You'll be lonely *

* You'll be so lonely,
you could die *

- It just seemed to me that

that image was
a very romantic image.

I've always been
in love with romance,

you know,
whether it was Robin Hood

or Superman
or the Lone Ranger,

and I started thinking
I could morph myself

into this somehow, maybe
if I could play the guitar.

I've never talked about this
in the song all these years,

but I talk
about "the sacred store,"

and the sacred store
is the House of Music

on Main Street
in New Rochelle,

and that's where I bought
my records,

and that's where I bought
my first guitar.

And I started to learn.
I learned three chords,

and I was off to the races,
but I drove everybody crazy.

I'd play records over
and over and over.

Bo Diddley and Gene Vincent,

all these great groups.

I fell in love
with Buddy Holly.

[dreamy music]

* *

He had a rollicking sound.

He was always full
of joy and exuberance.

* *

A happy country boy sound

with jingling
and jangling guitars.

And his songs were great.

There was something else
about Buddy Holly

that he is only 21 or 22.

He had a certain genius.

He was a serious guy,
you know.

Country people were serious.

You know,
they've been through a lot,

and they worked hard
for their money.

I mean,
you go to Lubbock, Texas

and all you see
are cotton fields.

Holly Tile was the company
that the father had.

Buddy would have been
laying tile floors

in bathrooms
or picking cotton.

- Where do you come from--
Lubbock, Texas?

- Lubbock, Texas, yes.
- Right after high school,

you started playing together?

- Yes, sir, that's right.
- You were a big hit right

from the start or has it
been sort of a long...

- Well, we've had a few
rough times, I guess you'd say,

but we've been real lucky
getting it this quick.

- He had made recordings
in Nashville,

which were not successful.

And then he went
to Clovis, Mew Mexico,

to Norman Petty's studio

and recorded many of
the same songs,

including
"That'll Be The Day,"

and suddenly he had
a number one record.

Norman Petty was
the difference.

He knew what to do
to commercialize Buddy Holly.

There was a--an alchemy.

He made magic.

And knowing it was not
only all over the country,

but all around the world.

[eerie atmospheric music]

* *

- We are very proud
Iowa farmers.

My grandfather started
the tradition

back in the 1920s.

This is my son, and now Andrew

and his cousin
are involved in it.

- This field has been
in our family for generations,

and it's really important
to us

because it's our livelihood,

but also there's no other field
in the countryside

that's got more history
than this field.

- This is a place
where one of the first

big rock 'n' roll
tragedies occurred.

It's very simple,

it's in the middle
of a cornfield,

it's not fancy,
no flashing lights.

* *

This is where the music died.

This is where the music died.

- * I can't remember
if I cried *

* When I read
about his widowed bride *

- In 1971, I was just
beginning to explore music,

and "American Pie" was one
of those songs.

I listened to it
over and over again.

I had no idea
that it had anything

to do about Clear Lake
or the farm that we owned.

- This story in
from Clear Lake, Iowa,

three of the nation's top
rock 'n' roll singing stars,

Ritchie Valens, J.P.
"The Big Bopper" Richardson,

and Buddy Holly died today
with their pilot

in the crash
of a chartered plane.

- In 1979, when a local DJ
named the Mad Hatter started

the first Buddy Holly tribute,

and then this gentleman,
Ken Paquette,

did the research and said,

"Okay, this is where
the plane crashed."

[country music]

* *

He put a monument out there,

and people started coming
searching for the place,

so I had our welder make
an extra big set of glasses,

and I mounted 'em out there,

and of course, that's kind of
turned into a little bit

of a monument in itself.

When Don's song came out,
it just lit up the enthusiasm

and the interest in Buddy
and in that story.

Buddy and Ritchie
and The Bopper,

the guys were so young.

Ritchie was only 17.

That fateful night,

they entertained
a couple thousand fans.

It all ended out here.

Now this is a pilgrimage.

People from all over
the world travel here.

We'll occasionally have
a hayride out here,

and we'll sing "American Pie."

Everybody knows that song.

That is the song of our lives.

- * A long, long time ago *

* I can still remember
how that music *

* Used to make me smile *

- "American Pie,
it's woven into the fabric

of America and our culture.

- * That I could make
those people dance *

- It just sort of feels
like it's always existed.

It's just ubiquitous
and predates

time itself or something.

- * The day the music *

- I'm told we're the world's
first all-vocal country band.

all: * Bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

- "American Pie,"
it's one of those songs

that I have known as long
as I can remember.

- I've been singing that song
my whole life.

- I remember my mother singing
that song to me, just as a song

that never leaves you,
it's just always there.

- By the time I remember
hearing that song on the radio,

I feel like I already knew
all the words.

* Did you write
the book of love? *

* And do you have faith
in God above? *

- When our manager mentioned
to us that Don was interested

in doing a special edition
of the song

for its 50th anniversary
and including us,

we didn't even have
to think about it.

- * Can music save
your mortal soul? *

- We certainly felt
a sense of responsibility,

just being handed the reins

to such an important,
iconic song.

- * With a pink carnation
and a pickup truck *

- Don put a lot of trust
in us, and so, luckily,

he was thrilled
with what we came up with.

He just added his vocal
to the mix and it was magic.

all: * Bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

* Drove my Chevy to the levee,
but the levee was dry *

- The day the music died
was such

an earth-shattering moment,

and then Don actually
put it into words,

what everybody was feeling,
but wasn't really able to say.

He used such incredible
imagery and metaphors

that allowed the audience
to inject their own

personal meaning
into the song as well.

[dreamy music]

* *

There's a lot of things that
can unify us in strange ways.

We're united in our grief
and sense of loss.

That is what Don was able

to articulate
through "American Pie."

Just the imagery
of that chorus alone,

the idea of a bunch
of good old boys

drinking whiskey
and rye and singing,

"This'll be the day
that I die."

It's a horrible thing
to be singing about,

yet they're all singing
about it together.

- * And the three men
I admire most *

* The Father, Son,
and the Holy Ghost *

- When he wrote it,
we were kind of

on the tail end
of the two-minute pop song.

Meanwhile, he comes out
with this eight-minute song

that gets played on the radio,
and that's unheard of.

- * Bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

- Now we're in the age
of TikTok

where people don't want
to see anything

longer than a few seconds.

Meanwhile,
"American Pie" is still

getting radio play
all over the world.

- * Singing "This'll be
the day that I die" *

- We were on tour in Europe.

I was at some bar
at 1:00 in the morning,

and then
"American Pie" came on,

and everyone sang every word,

and no one spoke any English.

- * Bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

* Drove my Chevy to the levee *

- There's something
magical about it.

Everyone knows that song.

Everyone on the planet can
sing a chorus of that song.

It's transcendent.

- * Singing "This'll be
the day that I die" *

[cheers and applause]

[cheerful music]

* *

- My father wanted me to work,

so I thought
it was a cool idea,

I could go deliver the paper,

and that would be fun.

I had a Sears Roebuck
fat tire bike.

It had no gears or anything.

It was like riding
a cast-iron lawnmower,

is what it was like.

I like the romance
of throwing the paper,

and "Yes, I'm the paper boy,
that's right.

I'll have your paper tomorrow,
don't worry."

You know, this kind of thing.

It was cold.

February in those days
was cold.

[echoing]
* February made me shiver *

And you can see my house,

there's kind of a stoop,
there's a cement block,

and they would throw
the papers on that,

and they'd be bound up,

and so you'd cut it open

and start putting
the papers in your sack.

And one day I opened it up,
and there was this story.

[echoing]
* Bad news on the doorstep *

Three rock 'n' roll
stars killed in plane crash,

and it was my guy
who was killed.

Buddy was now dead.

I was in absolute shock.

Man, I read the whole story.

I think I might have actually
cried, it was that personal.

I felt like, you know,
you lost your first love,

or you broke up
with your first girlfriend.

You know, that dark,
horrible thing

that comes over a teenager,
you know,

and it's like the end
of the world.

* *

All of a sudden,
you get this horrible death

personally affecting me
with this pain

that I never had
experienced before.

So it just hurt.

Can't intellectualize it.
It hurt me.

And then when that
"Buddy Holly Story: Volume 1"

came out right after,

that just did me in

because there were so many
beautiful songs on there.

[echoing] * Something
touched me deep inside *

You know, I was
so touched and moved

by this beautiful face,

and nobody talked about him
'cause he was dead.

Americans didn't talk
about dead people.

Onward.

[eerie atmospheric music]

* *

- The original
Winter Dance Party,

it was kind of a mishmash.

It was kind of
a last minute tour

that was put together
all over the Midwest

in the middle of January,
when it was cold and windy

and snowy and had
a lousy bus without a heater.

The heater kept breaking down,
so you can imagine

how cold it was on that bus.

[rockabilly music]

* *

Buddy and Ritchie
and The Bopper,

these were the rock 'n' roll
stars of the day.

They all had top hits,
and it was a thrill to have

this group of artists come
to little old Clear Lake, Iowa

to perform on the stage
at the Surf Ballroom.

* *

From the Surf, they were
scheduled to go to Minnesota.

Even in today's day and age,
those are long treks.

So when they got
to Clear Lake,

Buddy was tired of riding
on that cold bus,

and so he asked
Carol Anderson,

who was the manager
of the Surf,

to find a plane
so they could fly to Fargo

and play
in Moorhead, Minnesota.

[muffled music]

[music getting louder]

[Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba"]

- * Para bailar La Bamba *

* Para bailar La Bamba *

* Se necesito
una poca de gracia *

- The show that night
was a fabulous show.

I mean, you can imagine.

It was unbelievable.

- * Arriba, y arriba *

* Y arriba, y arriba *

* Por ti seré,
por ti seré, por ti *

* Yo no soy marinero *

* Yo no soy marinero,
soy capitán *

[muffled]
* Soy capitán, soy capitán *

- The show ended
about after midnight.

Waylon Jennings
and Buddy had this exchange.

Buddy said,
"I hope the bus breaks down."

And Waylon says,
"I hope the plane crashes."

- [muffled]
* Para bailar La Bamba *

* Para bailar La Bamba *

* Se necesito
una poca de gracia *

[tinny]
* Una poca de gracia *

* Para mi, para ti,
y arriba, y arriba *

[somber music]

* *

- And Carol was the manager,
he was the one that put 'em

in the station wagon
and took 'em out

to the Mason City Airport.

- I put 'em in the airplane,

and I talked to all three
of those boys that night

before they got
in the airplane.

They were just kids.

* *

- They took off about 1:00,
and to be honest,

they weren't
in the air very long.

- I could see the taillight
of the airplane,

and the aircraft,
in my opinion,

was going down slowly,

and it went down about
three miles northwest of us.

I said to the man
in the tower with me,

who was a weatherman, that
the airplane was going down,

and he said, "No,
that's an optical illusion,"

but I'd watched a lot
of airplanes,

and I hoped I was wrong.

- Well, the FAA report says
it was pilot error.

Roger Peterson, who was
a young Clear Lake kid,

got disoriented
and actually just wasn't able

to read the instruments
correctly,

got discombobulated,
and thought he was going up,

and he was really descending,

and just flew the plane
into the ground.

They couldn't have been
in the air more

than three or four minutes,
maybe four or five miles.

Their plane came down
at a very high rate

of descent because one
of the wings cut

a trench into
the frozen ground.

They skidded about 500 feet
with the tail going up,

and because there was
a little bit of a ridge

at the fence line.

Jerry Dwyer actually
got up the next morning

and went out
and got in a plane,

'cause he'd heard
that they had not

reached their destination.

In just a couple of minutes
after he was airborne,

he radioed back
to the airport,

and then they called
the Sheriff.

- I did call to make sure

that the people got out there
as quick as they could.

I was hoping that some
of the people were still alive

or maybe all of 'em,

and it turned out they weren't,

any of them.

- It was a very tragic scene.

A lot of officials,
photographers.

Something that Clear Lake
never wished to be famous for.

- Three of the nation's top
rock 'n' roll singing stars,

Ritchie Valens, J.P.
"The Big Bopper" Richardson,

and Buddy Holly died today
with their pilot

in the crash
of a chartered plane.

- A lot of family members
heard it on the news

rather than being notified.

So it was a gruesome scene,
and it was a real tragedy.

* *

[laid-back music]

* *

- I grew up in the middle
of America.

I grew up in Oklahoma.

Dad worked in the oil fields,

Golden Gloves boxing champion,

former Marine Corps
Korean War.

My mom was a housewife,

former singer who gave it up

to raise six children,
and I was the baby of the six.

Mom loved Patsy.
She loved Aretha, Jack Greene.

Dad was more
of the working man's stuff,

so Jones, Haggard, Buck Owens,

and there I was, the guy
that was taking it all in.

Me and my mom hung out a lot
because I was the baby.

So some days, you know,
you'd be sick for school.

We had one car,
so we'd have to drive Dad in

and out of Oklahoma City
and go pick him up.

And in that car ride,

I remember
hearing "American Pie"

for the first time
and just loving it.

- * Oh, and there we were,
all in one place *

* A generation lost in space *

- The youth that's
in those drums,

the youth that's in that piano,
that's all over the place.

- * Come on, Jack be nimble,
Jack be quick *

- And this soft voice
that is so confident

it earns its place among
all that activity going on.

It's fabulous.

- * Oh, and as I watched him
on the stage *

- So I knew that song
backward and forward

before I could ever
play guitar or anything.

What I didn't know was
how much of a song

it would become for me.

* Bye-bye, Miss American Pie *

Especially early
in your career,

it was fun, man,
you'd try and shake it up,

so you'd do sing-alongs
at the end of the night,

and "American Pie" was
probably 90% of the time.

* Boys was drinking
whiskey and rye *

It was always what
we ended Willies with

when I played colleges.

We get a record label, and
probably about the third day,

there's a thing
called Bull Run.

Bull Run is this thing in DC

where they're gonna put
about 12 acts on stage.

People are going to know
the last two or three,

but all the ones up front,
they kind of sit through.

I'm one of those
sit through guys,

'cause we don't have
anything out yet.

Right after the first song,
the big downbeat,

something goes wrong,

Everything is out,

everything except my guitar
and my mic.

And the first line
out of my mouth--

I'll remember it
the rest of my life, was...

* A long, long time ago *

And you just watch
the whole place stop.

The guy going up to get a beer
stopped, turns, and you see it.

They came in.

They don't know
who this guy is,

but he's singing
probably the greatest song

in music history,

and they're all singing
with you.

And at that point,
not only did I have them,

more importantly,
I knew they had me.

But to take it on
to the next level

and see it happen there too,

it was just amazing.

[eerie atmospheric music]

* *

- I had been doing
extremely poorly in school.

I was a freshman
at Iona Preparatory School,

Catholic, taught
by Irish Christian brothers.

They looked like priests,
and it was very Dickensian.

My mother had gone away,
and I'm waiting

for this horrible
report card to come home.

My father's in a good mood.
You know, I think, "Oh, man,

when this happens, he ain't
gonna be in a good mood."

So the report card comes.

My father,
he looked at this thing,

and he said, "This is awful,

"and you cannot go on
like this,

and what is gonna
become of you?"

Course, it wasn't low-key.
He was yelling, you know,

'cause he had a temper.

He felt all this silliness
with music was impinging on

and diminishing my schoolwork.

So I went to sleep.

It's like 1:00 in the morning,
and all of a sudden,

my father has his arms
around his chest.

He comes in to me
and he's crying.

He's saying, "God, help me."

Ambulance came,
the police came,

and they had him wrapped up
on a stretcher.

They're bringing him
down the stairs,

and he just looked up at me
and he smiled.

Two hours later, I'm sleeping.

The door opens,
and my uncle is there.

He said, "There's some
bad news for you, Donny,"

and he told me.

"Your father died tonight."

[somber music]

I am ruined.

I mean, I was really mad.

That was very painful,
and it lasted a long time.

It was almost like
the happy '50s were over.

When my father died,
home left me,

'cause it wasn't
there anymore.

You can imagine how important
music became to me,

creating something
out of myself,

moving away from all this.

Once I had the guitar going,
this folk thing started.

I'd just write songs
and follow my instincts.

And I started playing
around town.

I would plan a concert
almost every month.

It was now about 1964,
so I was about 18,

and I had quit school

'cause I wanted
to be a singer.

- * John Henry,
when he was a baby *

* Settin' down
on his mammy's knee *

- But now I was learning songs

that had substance
of some kind.

They weren't little songs.
They were big songs.

Woody Guthrie's
"Roll On, Columbia"

was a big song
about the Columbia River

and the men that built
the Grand Coulee Dam.

- * There's a great
and peaceful river *

* In a land
that's fair to see *

- A song like
"Roll On, Columbia,"

you start about talking about

our country took
the challenge,

so you describe how it was.

- * Roll, Columbia,
won't you roll, roll, roll *

- And each time,
"Roll on, Columbia."

- * Won't you roll,
roll, roll *

- And then you're talking
about these mighty men labored

by day and by night
to build this thing.

- * Seldom you see
such a beautiful sight *

- Third verse,
you're understanding

what's happening.

And by the fourth verse,
you hear that chorus,

I mean, it all makes sense.

That's the key.

- * Roll on, Columbia,
roll on *

* Roll on, Columbia,
roll on *

* Your power is turning
our darkness to dawn *

* So roll on *

- "Tutti Frutti"
and "Don't Be Cruel"

are fabulous small songs,

and they changed the world
with those simple songs,

but these songs were
more complicated

and more interesting in terms
of what they're teaching you

about your country
and about yourself.

You know,
who are we as Americans?

A guy like me thought,

"Wow, gee, I could
write a song like that

"with a little chorus
in between and a little story,

and a little chorus,
and a little story,"

and that's
what "American Pie" does.

- * Well, come on,
let's go, let's go *

* Let's go, little darlin' *

* And tell me that you'll
never leave me *

- I'm Connie Valens.

Ritchie Valens was my brother.

- * Again, again, and again *

* Well now, swing *

- The classic car show,
it's about the time,

it's about the '50s,
just like my brother.

You know, there's still
an innocence there.

There's a purity.

[gentle music]

* *

We were born
in the San Fernando Valley.

Ritchie, he was just
real warm,

real loving, very protective.

He discovered he was a pretty
good singer and guitar player.

My mom used to say he could
make that guitar cry.

The next thing you know,
he's touring.

Everything was just
happening so fast.

He was 17 with a big dream.

My sister and I were
walking home from school,

and somebody said,
"Your brother's dead."

We just held hands and started
running towards our house.

[somber music]

Mama was sitting in the middle
of the living room,

and she turned around
and looked at me,

and she just looked so sad,

and she just said

that Ritchie had been killed.

I remember just dropping
to my knees

and putting my head in her lap,

and she just
put her hand on my head.

And that was the beginning

of a very dark time
in our lives.

* *

The Surf is the cathedral
of rock 'n' roll.

This is the last place he was,

and a little part
of him will always be here,

and every time I walk in,
I feel it.

And sometimes I just
come up on the stage,

and I stand where he stood.

And it's like
he's still with us.

He always will be.

- * Oh, Donna, oh, Donna *

- I first heard of Don McLean
and "American Pie"

in the '70s
when it was released.

- * Donna was her name *

- I thought he did
a beautiful job.

Obviously, he felt something

very near and dear
in the tragedy.

It was so heartfelt,

and the lyrics
are just beautiful.

I thought it was pretty cool

that somebody would
care enough to do that.

- * Oh, Donna, oh *

- We were all very touched.

It was another little bit
of healing for our family.

- There was this inch-square
advertisement

in the "New York Times,"

said, "Pete Seeger sings
for Hudson River sloop."

I got in my car,
and it was a little concert

in Garrison, New York,

directly across
from West Point.

And then I find
Osborne's Castle,

which is where
this event was held.

The castle was way up
on the hill,

but there was this low area
with rolling fields.

- * I'm gonna lay down
my sword and shield *

* Down by the riverside *

- Seeger, he plays banjo
on this plywood stage

and the one microphone,

and then during a break,
I introduced myself,

and he knew who I was
because I'd been writing him

since junior high school.

And he liked me and he asked
me to be on a concert in 1968.

And I got right involved
with that, right away.

all: * Bye, bye-bye,
bye-bye, bye-bye *

- He took me under his wing
and brought me around

and had me open for him
or be a guest on his show,

and then he put this gang
of singers together,

and I was part of that.

- * Well, I thought
I heard the captain say *

- Suddenly,
I'm in this whole world.

It's art, it's recordings,
it's live performing.

Seeger took us to the Newport
Folk Festival in 1969.

That was a big deal.

It's still one of the high
points of my entire life.

Van Morrison, James Taylor,
Muddy Waters was there.

Somehow or other,

they let the Everly Brothers
come to Newport--

rock 'n' roll.

- * Gimme
rock 'n' roll music *

* Whoo, any old way
you choose it *

- Wow.

They came on stage,
and they were incredible.

- * If you knew, Peggy Sue *

* Just how my heart yearned
for you, oh, Peggy *

- I had been reading,
you know,

what little bit I could,
and I knew

that the Everlys were
very close to Buddy Holly.

- * I need you, Peggy Sue *

- So after the show was over,

I had to say hello to them.

So I went to Phil Everly,
and I said,

"You know, I know
that you knew Buddy Holly.

Could you tell me a little bit
about him and what happened?"

He said, "We were very
good friends," he said,

"And Buddy decided
to take a plane

to get out ahead of the tour
to get his laundry done."

"He died for dirty laundry,"
I thought to myself. Wow.

Man, he's a human being

with a sack of dirty clothes.

Gee, the whole thing
started coming back.

Front and center, it was
absolutely haunting me now.

- * A long, long time ago *

When you look back
at Garth Brooks' career,

if you remember
anything from it,

you'll remember Central Park
will be the crown jewel.

1997, August 7,
beautiful night.

* And I knew
if I had my chance *

- Garth Brooks,
I'd heard about him singing

"American Pie"
from the beginning

when he was just
getting started.

Then bigger, bigger, bigger,
every year, bigger,

always singing this song.

So the big word now is that
he's gonna play Central Park.

- * With every paper
I'd deliver *

- So I get a fax,
he wants me to be on the show.

- * I couldn't take
one more step *

We had a million
people show up, live TV.

It could not be going better,

and then we go into our final
leg of our stuff,

and knowing that you're
about to tell these people

that Don McLean's gonna come
out and sing "American Pie,"

you were 16-foot tall.

You knew it.

Ladies and gentlemen,

it's a great honor
and a great privilege,

Mr. Don McLean.

[cheers and applause]

And when I introduced him,
God, he looked fantastic.

He came out with that smile,

and he gets to be the guy
in the cape.

And he wears
the cape well, man.

- Sing the chorus again!

* Bye-bye, Miss American Pie *

* Drove my Chevy to the levee,
but the levee was dry *

- He comes out,
and he just gets

that big old guitar going,
and it's just a little slower,

so you see all million
people just kind of lean in,

and everybody's
inner child comes out.

- * And I went down
to the sacred store *

* Where I'd heard
the music years before *

* But the man there said
the music wouldn't play *

I like a crowd that's happy,

And they were very happy.

It was a summer night,
and they were loose,

and they were ready,
and I love that.

both:
* Bye-bye, Miss American Pie *

* Drove my Chevy to the levee,
but the levee was dry *

- "American Pie" isn't
about a nation as much

as it is about that drive
of independence,

that drive of discovery,

that drive of believing
anything is possible.

Freedom within you.

Okay now, New York.

We want to hear
just you guys singing.

* We were singin'... *

all: * Bye-bye... *

- People found a road map
in this song

that is a million
different things

to a million different people.

"American Pie" is one
of those few songs

you can stand behind and go,

"This is what
the power of music is."

both:
* Bye-bye, Miss American Pie *

- Talk about the perfect night
needs the perfect ending,

how about pulling one
of the greatest

singer-songwriter artists
in history out?

How about him singing
his ass off,

and then, oh, yeah,
this could quite possibly be

the greatest song
in music history

that you get to end the biggest
night of your career on.

Don McLean!

[cheers and applause]

I think you're looking
at a 50-year-old song

that gets prettier every year,

classier every year.

This thing--
this thing is timeless,

because no one's ever written
anything like it since.

[country music]

* *

- I graduated in 1968

with this degree
that I knew I'd never use.

In 1969, I had just been
out of school a year

and I had a three-album deal
with Media Arts Records.

* And if she asks you why *

* You can then tell her
that I told you *

* That I'm tired
of castles in the air *

I moved up
to the Hudson River.

* Hills of forest green *

* Where the mountains
touch the sky *

I lived in this
little gate house

to an estate
in Cold Spring, New York.

It was pretty primitive.

No heat,
very cold in the winter,

but I rented it
very inexpensively.

* Save me from all
the trouble and the pain *

Up on the second floor,

there was a tiny
little bedroom,

and there was a chair
I put rockers on,

and I would rock
on that thing

and type on my little
typewriter and write songs.

* Why I can't remain *

I was writing furiously now.

I was inspired
by the people that I met,

the artists, the writers,

the scientists,
the political people.

And the first album
I made was called "Tapestry."

And I'm making "Tapestry"
in 1969

in Berkeley, California,
and there'd be a small riot

every day I was making
that record.

They are gassing the guys
coming to the sessions,

like, every day,
so I'm thinking,

it's crazy, what's gonna
happen to the country now?

Things are getting worse.

We had
had numerous assassinations

throughout the '60s.

The Kennedy assassination,

Martin Luther King,

and RFK.

We had the war in Vietnam.

Rage against Nixon

and the chaotic insanity
that was out there.

It broke up families,

tearing the whole place apart.

The country was
in an advanced state

of psychic shock.

Drugs everywhere.
Everybody's smoking dope

and sleeping
with everybody else.

And all this bedlam
and riots and burning cities,

and I'm always standing back
trying to read the signs.

All right, what's this mean?

You know,
and tried to put it somehow

in my simple way
into some of these songs.

I was working
on this second record,

but I wasn't happy with it,

and so I said, "I got to have
a big song about America."

I just really knew
I wanted to do this.

One day, I was up there
sitting on the little bed,

and I turned
this tape recorder on,

and I just started singing...

* A long, long time ago *

* I can still remember how that
music used to make me smile *

[recording] * And I knew
if I had my chance *

* That I could make
those people dance *

* And maybe they'd
be happy for a while *

* But February
made me shiver *

* With every paper
I'd deliver *

* Bad news on the doorstep *

* I couldn't take
one more step *

* I can't remember
if I cried *

* When I read
about his widowed bride *

[live] * But something
touched me deep inside *

* The day the music died *

I said, whoa.

What is that?

This whole thing was
coming up in me,

for all those years before
of thinking of Buddy,

and it all came out
right through

to the day the music died.

Every single word
I wrote just came

like a genie out of a bottle.

And I said to myself,
"Wow, I got something."

So I'm thinking
as a few weeks went by,

I don't want this
to be a ballad,

so I got to write
a hot chorus.

I waited a long time,

and then I came up
with this crazy chorus.

[recording] * So bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

* I drove me Chevy to the
levee, but the levee was dry *

* Them good old boys were
drinking whiskey and rye *

* And singing, "This'll
be the day that I die" *

* This'll be the day
that I die *

I had already written
about the idea,

the Holly thing was now
right front and center,

and so I said, "This'll
be the day that I die."

I had to have that in there.

You know, that way I keep it
flowing forward in the chorus.

It was from, "That'll
Be the Day That I Die."

Buddy learned that phrase

from "The Searchers,"
the John Wayne movie

where the Duke says,
"That'll be the day."

And there was a song
that Pete Seeger used to sing,

and it was called
"Bye-bye, My Roseanna."

And he would sing...

both: * Bye-bye, bye-bye,
bye-bye, bye-bye *

* Bye-bye, my Roseanna *

And that "bye-bye" thing
stayed in my head,

I think, from that one,
so I put it in there.

I chose "American Pie,"
because you're as American,

as apple pie, but I just
dropped the apple out,

and I said, "American Pie,
whoa, that's great."

I knew I had the tiger
by the tail.

[stirring music]

I got this hot chorus,

and I got
this beautiful opening,

and now I'm thinking,
well, where do I go with this?

'Cause I want to write a song
about America,

but I don't want
to write a song

like anybody ever wrote
about America before.

[birds chirping]

[stirring music]

* *

- I was second-generation,

'cause I grew up
in a Greek household.

I was born in San Francisco,
only there for a year,

in LA another year, and then
grew up in Gary, Indiana.

Before even I'm an artist,

I'm somebody who's just
interested in the humanities

and in history, you know,
and philosophy,

especially, and poetry.

And a lot of these people
that I've sculpted

have pressed
the boundaries of things.

They wanted
to see a better world,

they wanted
to be part of that.

Don, I had seen him in a show,

"The American Dream Machine,"
and I thought, wow.

It was so sensitive,

and he was reshaping how
I thought about the ecology.

I said I'd like to sculpt him,

and I think
the first time he sat,

he played the guitar
for ten hours straight.

Then he came here
and did the same thing

right in this very room.

He doesn't miss a thing.

He's very open to the muse,

so all that goes
into the music.

"American Pie" is
"War and Peace."

It's the "Moby Dick."
It's the big novel.

He has a narrative
like a dream.

You create all the characters
in your dreams,

so you're part of all of them.

You know,
the jester and the king.

He was there at the right time
and captured so much

of that history
that he was part of too,

but he knows
that history so well.

If Don hadn't written
"American Pie,"

no one would
ever have written it.

See, it's unique
to who he was,

where in space
and time he grew up.

We're in front
of my Freedom Sculpture.

You see the struggle
to break free.

And I wanted to put a poet
in my sculpture,

and the poet in my life,
besides reading Robert Frost

and T.S. Eliot and others,
was Don McLean.

Don's song, "American Pie,"
is an epic song,

not just because
of its length,

but because of its scope,

and I wanted to have some
sense of that in my sculpture.

"American Pie" is
an open-ended piece.

It's not so specific

that you can't put yourself
in there.

What happens
with Don McLean's song,

and with this for me,
is if you leave it open-ended,

you're inviting people
to participate and to have

a dialogue with you,
to make themselves part of it,

and they become
very emotionally involved.

With Don, "American Pie",
there are little mysteries,

and Don is about mystery
with his music.

He even talks about his song,
"American Pie,"

being a kind of a dream.

Turning your dreams
into reality

is what we do as artists.

[Tim Hardin's
"Bird on the Wire"]

* *

I was working on this
"American Pie" song,

and I had eight or nine songs

that were going
to go on the album,

and now the question was
how to make

a good record out of it.

- * I have tried in my way *

- I heard a couple of records,

one by Tim Hardin
called "Bird on a Wire."

- * Tried in my way *

- Ooh, I liked that record.

There was some
nice things on there.

- * Free *

- Ed Freeman is the producer,

so I said,
I want this guy, Ed Freeman.

- Don came over
to my apartment in New York

and played me some songs,
and I wasn't

all that impressed, frankly.

But I needed a job,
so I thought, well, okay.

And then, slowly,
as we started working,

I started realizing,
oh, wait a minute,

this guy is the real deal.

- I had the album, I knew
how I wanted it to sound,

I had the producer.

It was all progressing,
but I didn't have the big one,

and the big one had
to blow them all away.

- I remember Don played me
the first verse

and chorus of "American Pie,"

and he said he hadn't finished
writing it at that point,

so I said,
"You should finish that,

that it sounds
like it could be a hit."

- Now I'm thinking,
well, where do I go with this?

'Cause I want to write
a song about the new America,

which is rock 'n' roll,
which is people's involvement

in politics and the connection
between all that,

rather than, you know,
"My Country, 'Tis of Thee,"

or "This Land is your Land."

* So bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

* I drove my Chevy
to the levee *

The chorus came out,
and then when I had that,

I said, well,
I've got the engine now

to get this thing going.

All I've got to do
is sing the slow part

of the song
to a rock 'n' roll beat.

In other words, and take
"A long, long time ago.

Did you write
the book of love?"

It's the same thing,
sped up to rock 'n' roll.

* Did you write
the book of love? *

* And do you have faith
in God above? *

And it must have been
a month or two later,

I wrote all the verses in,
like, an hour.

* Do you believe
in rock and roll? *

I was building it.
I could hear it.

I could feel it,
that something was going on,

bigger than me.

I was trying to create
some sort of an abstract,

dream-like story
about America.

* Well, I know that you're
in love with him *

* I, I saw you dancing
in the gym *

The song came to me
in one shot.

There were a lot
of spiral notebook pages,

and I say how the song
is gonna be constructed,

I make a little blueprint
of the song.

* In a coat he borrowed
from James Dean, and a voice *

After I wrote the whole thing,
I'm sure I sat down,

and I was still trying
to figure out

how to get out of it.

* And when he'd had
enough of that *

* He pinched the queen
and passed the hat *

You know, it couldn't end
and it couldn't fade,

so I didn't know what to do.

So I thought, well,
the only thing I can do

is slow down like it started.

Perfect. Exactly right.

* And the three men
I admire most *

* The Father, Son,
and the Holy Ghost *

- Then, of course, he finished
"American Pie," and I thought,

well, no radio station
is gonna play this thing

because it's 8.5 minutes long,

but it's a really good song.

- * Bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

I just knew I had something

that I thought was incredibly
great and fun,

but that nobody else might
dig at all.

* Singing, "This'll be
the day that I die" *

That's enough for today,
[laughs]

[martial music]

- Welcome to Philadelphia.

It's a beautiful city
on a beautiful day,

and it's my pleasure
to show you my hometown.

This building right here
is the true

ground zero
of the United States.

Independence Hall
established justice.

This is where the Declaration
of Independence

"promote the general welfare,"

The articles of Confederation

"ensure domestic tranquility,"

and the Constitution
of the United States

were all written and signed.

That is the birthplace
of the United States.

My name is Clark DeLeon,
and I saw Don McLean sing

"American Pie"
for the first time.

[dreamy music]

The story was that Don
performed "American Pie"

for the first time
at Temple University,

but I know this happened
at St. Joe's University

at the field house.

I am a columnist at
the "Philadelphia Inquirer,"

so I wrote about it,
I talked to Don McLean

and I just set
the record straight.

And then when I called him up,
he readily admitted it.

* *

It was March,
it was a rainy day.

My wife and I went
to see Laura Nyro.

Now, Don McLean was just a
throw in and the opening act.

So we got there,
and this field house,

I remember we were
sitting in the side.

He came out and was just--
immediately had the crowd,

but then he said,
"I've got this new song.

It's so new, I haven't
even learned all the words."

And he said,
"I'm gonna need some help

"from the audience here.

Can you--" and he holds it
to a young woman.

"Would you mind
holding these up?"

while he began the song.

- * A long, long time ago *

* I can still remember
how that music *

* used to make me smile *

In '70, I was still
doing double bills,

and I was opening
for Laura Nyro.

After I had written the song

and I had all the handwritten
pages and stuff,

I went and typed up something
so I could remember it,

and I seem to remember
that I had a little girl come

out of the crowd, and I gave
her the lyrics to hold,

and I sang the song.

* And while Lennon read
a book on Marx *

- The actual singing
of the song got lost

in my memory
of all these words, you know,

and you didn't know
what the song was about,

you just knew it had
a really snappy chorus.

And of course,
by the end of it,

everyone's
singing "American Pie."

It was great.

- * Bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

- What was the crowd reaction?

- Not much. Okay.

Because the song was
so different,

they never heard
anything like it.

* This'll be the day
that I die *

You know, you can
get immediate reaction

from an audience,
it doesn't necessarily

mean the song's any good.

You know, this had to be
made into a record.

* The day that I die *

- By the end of the song, you
knew something was going on.

He said, you might
be hearing this soon.

He said that from the stage,

and he was right.

[atmospheric music]

- One of the most talented
young singer-songwriters

I know,
his name is Don McLean,

and he's just written
a brand-new song

that has got me bugged.

I can't get it out of my head,

even though I can't
sing it right.

It's a history of
rock 'n' roll in six verses,

and it's got
a beautiful chorus.

Now, believe it or not,
this is the first time

I've ever sung the song.

* Long, long time ago,
I can still remember *

* How that music used
to make me smile *

- The record label,
they weren't entirely

secure about Don at all.

At one point, the head
of A&R called me up and said,

"This guy is a no-talent."

Those were his exact words.

- * The day the music died *

Now, I suppose
I have the drummers

and everybody else coming
in here.

- We recorded in studio A

at the Record Plant
on 48th Street.

- We started to work together.

It was a contentious
relationship.

- We had some terrible
disagreements.

We used to stand
out in the hallway,

and I would start
conversations with,

"The trouble
with you is, Don..."

[laughs]
You know?

- Oh, well,
he didn't even want me

to play guitar on the record.

- But I did not appreciate
his rhythm guitar playing,

and originally
I wanted to replace it

with a studio guitarist.

- I said, well, I'm playing
guitar on the record, okay?

Here I was, coming into his
life as crazy as I could be.

He wasn't all
that sane either,

but at the same time,
he brought in wonderful

players and wrote
some beautiful strings.

He was very talented.

And so, I was being
constantly thrilled.

I had "Empty Chairs,"

I had "Crossroads,"
I had "Winter Wood."

I had the album,
but I didn't have the big one.

* Did you write
the book of love? *

* Do you have faith
in God above? *

- "American Pie,"
we put together

in the rehearsal studio.

Don was not really comfortable
playing with a rhythm section.

What I did with Don
is I got him together

with a couple of players
who were very good,

but weren't hardcore
studio players,

and we rehearsed for two weeks.

- * Well, I know that you're
in love with him *

- It was just myself,
Don, Freeman,

and I believe,
the drummer, Roy Markowitz.

So it was just Don
and a rhythm section,

kind of bare bones.

- We started rehearsals.
This is a struggle.

In a way, "American Pie,"
it kept sounding like a polka,

and it really annoyed me.

I said, this is really bad.

The day we're
recording "American Pie,"

we still didn't have it right.

The groove, we don't have it.

To Ed Freeman's credit,
he would come up

with things that would
just save everything,

and he brings a young man

to the session
named Paul Griffin.

- We added the electric guitar

and Paul Griffin on piano
at the last minute.

I had worked
with Griffin before.

I knew he was the right guy.

[piano music]

- Griffin had never heard
the song in his life,

so here we are trying it
for the first time.

* *

- We stumbled
through a few takes.

Paul Griffin, he didn't
really know what to do

with the first verse,
and he was very nervous.

* *

- And they put my guitar
in his earphones.

[guitar riffing]

And I hit that thing hard,
and I play it loud.

And all of a sudden, Griffin,
he starts playing this thing.

[lively piano]

He's going, "Whoa!"
And he starts playing

the piano like
a gospel stride piano.

* *

He's just rolling and rocking

and kicking it here
and backing off there and,

you know,
just changing everything

as we're moving along and
building from verse to verse.

- Paul Griffin was the hero.

He was just an amazing cat.

Gospel, jazz, chops--

just such a monster.

- * Them good old boys were
drinking whiskey and rye *

I'm kicking his ass, you know,
and he's kicking my ass,

and the two of us together
making the drummer go

where he's supposed to go,

and everybody else falls
in line.

- The track was just,
like, so rocking, man.

- Well, I knew we were
where we were supposed to be.

It felt great.
It was jumping and,

you know,
it was what I wanted.

* Bye-bye, Miss American Pie *

- There was that one take
where it was just magic,

and it just happened.

- * Boys were drinking
whiskey and rye *

Paul Griffin, he came in
at the last moment,

and Hail Mary pass,
saved the whole dang thing.

I said, that's it!

- When they finished,
I just hit the talk back,

and I said,
"Y'all better come in here

and take a listen to this."

And everybody was high-fiving

each other and dancing around.

It was clear to everybody,

we all knew it was great.

[dreamy music]

* *

Well, then we did the vocals.

- I sang the song probably
about 30 times,

singing things that were very
riffy, you know, high notes.

Ed didn't like that.

- We went to the mat
about that more than once.

What I ended up doing is
recording a lot of vocals

and then splicing together the
parts

that I considered iconic.

But we got it, in the end.

- Well, finally, we got
a coherent mix and vocal.

Everything was right,
and it was very good.

- I think the only thing

that we were in agreement
about,

is that we were
both fiercely committed

to this song being
a masterpiece.

We were not leaving the studio

until this thing
was brilliant,

and we didn't, and it is.

[country music]

* *

- You have freedom
to be whoever you want to be.

You have a right
to dream in the US.

It's the American Dream.

RCA Studios is definitely
one of the most

beautiful studios I've ever
been in my entire life.

My second record,

"Different Kinds of Light,"
I cut here.

But now I've got to return
and do this amazing song here.

* February made me shiver *

[indistinct]

"American Pie" in the UK,

literally everywhere
at the end of a night.

Yeah, everyone will have
a beer in hand

and be singing that
in a comraderie way.

I just remember being
extremely struck by that song.

This thing about the melody
that feels completely timeless.

- Are you ready?
- Yeah, I'll give it a go,

see what happens.

* A long, long time ago *

- Think it's
the album cover, right?

I think I know the album cover

as much as I know the song.

I mean,
the Captain America thumb,

I mean, come on.

It's this chord.

- Yeah, I think it's--
- Whatever that is.

Honestly, this song
is terrifying to cut.

I woke up this morning, had a
little panic attack about it.

I think she did too,
because it's such an iconic

song you've heard
a million times.

It is so ingrained in people's
mind,

and so to even dare touch it

or try to reinvent it
is pretty crazy.

- * A long, long time ago,
I can still remember *

* How that music used
to make me smile *

* And I knew
if I had my chance *

It made me feel sad when I was
singing the start of the song.

The somberness of, you know,
"Bye-bye, Miss American Pie,"

the story of that,
I felt that pretty heavy today.

* So bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

* Drove my Chevy to the levee *

To be telling a story
like Don's,

to be telling a story
like "American Pie,"

with Dave, with these
incredible musicians,

and to be a part of that,
I feel, like,

genuinely, truly honored.

* This'll be
the day that I die *

It is a masterpiece.

There's a reason it's been
around for 50 years.

* Oh, did you write
the book of love? *

* And do you have faith
in God above? *

* If the Bible tells you so? *

- I'm Rudy Perez, and I was
born in Pinar Del Río, Cuba.

I remember the first time
I heard "American Pie,"

it must have been in '76.

It was a song that drew you in
deeply.

- * Real slow *

- Everybody can relate
to that song.

"American Pie" crossed
generations

and is still resonating
with people today.

- * You both kicked off
your shoes *

* Man, I dig those
rhythm and blues, oh *

- With the turmoil
that's still going on,

that song is still
very up-to-date.

I mean, it's just magical.

- * But I knew I was
out of luck the day *

- When I listen
to "American Pie,"

it just reminds me
of what America means to me.

America means freedom.

- * Bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

* Drove my Chevy
to the levee *

* But the levee was dry *

- I think the song
"American Pie" has just always

echoed through
the United States' history.

It's almost like
a national anthem of sorts

to a lot of people.

- * This'll be the day
that I die *

"Newsweek" magazine came out
with this big article

about the top ten dying cities
in the United States.

My hometown, Grand Rapids,
Michigan, was one of them,

and we were like,
you know what,

we need to strike back
against this.

- * When the jester sang
for the king and queen *

- We were like,
let's make this lip dub video

and just pack it full
of everyone

with all the energy
and fight back

and say, this is who we are.

The track that I chose,
"American Pie,"

it felt so full of Americana

and this hope for the future,

and it felt representative
of the city

and what we were trying to do.

- * No verdict was returned *

- We loved it
because it spoke to dark times

in our country's history,
as well as to our hope

that we could change it
and that we could

uplift ourselves
to a higher place.

- * The music died *

- Grand Rapids, Michigan was
"American Pie."

- * Bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

- All of these
people singing it

out in the streets together,

they associated
with that song,

and they knew that it meant
something

and that it did represent
what this town was about,

the all-American story
that we still idealize,

that we still want to be true.

- * The day *

* The music died *

[funky music]

* *

- "American Pie" really hit
the nail on the head.

The record company,
they loved it

and sent me over to a man
named George Whiteman,

who was
a fashion photographer,

and he had a big studio
and long-legged ladies were

coming in and kissing Georgie,
"Oh, Georgie."

He says, "Hi Don, you know,
I heard the record.

Great record. Come on inside.
I'm gonna paint your thumb."

So he painted my thumb,

and then I looked
down the guitar.

And the thing is that
there are children's

nursery rhymes
in "American Pie."

You know, "Jack be nimble,
Jack be quick."

So he went one step further--

"Little Jack Horner sat
in the corner,

"eating his Christmas pie,

put in his thumb
and pulled out a plum,

and said,
what a good boy am I."

That's not in the song,
but the implication is that,

you now,
it's another nursery rhyme.

I said,
absolutely right, perfect.

I would have never thought
of it in 100 million years.

[stirring music]

And then, about two weeks
later, we get the word

that United Artists is
buying Media Arts Records.

Mainly because
they love "American Pie."

They think it's a hit record
and a hit album,

and they're all excited.

* *

Everything took off
like a rocket.

* Bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

* Drove my Chevy to the levee *

* But the levee was dry *

- It went from zero
to number one so fast.

- * This'll the day
that I die *

* This'll be the day
that I die *

"American Pie" blew up
the world.

* Now, for ten years
we've been on our own *

* And moss grows fat *

- The album and the single
became number one,

and it stayed up there
for weeks and weeks.

- It was the longest
hit record

that had ever been released.

- Three minutes was the limit
to any song,

but "American Pie" just
broke that rule.

It was just
a complete phenomenon.

- People heard the short
version of the song

on the radio, and they heard
the long version on the album,

and they called up all
the radio stations and said,

we want to hear
the whole thing

when you play the top 40.

So now they all had
to make decisions,

do we play
this one guy's song?

We've got to give him
8.5 minutes?

But they did it,
played it off the album.

- * Bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

- There was a radio station,
I remember,

in New York that played it
over and over,

end to end with nothing else
for eight hours in a row.

- * This'll be the day
that I die *

- It was just unheard of.

- * This'll be the day
that I die *

So I'm thinking,

this is amazing,
and I'm loving it.

There's never been
a phenomenon

like "American Pie."

I was smiled on.

I was as surprised as anybody

that I could make magic.

[dreamy music]

* *

- The more I listened to it,

I thought, wow,
this is like an epic.

"American Pie" was
really encapsulating

the experience
of a whole generation.

We were witness to the death

of the American dream.

We went through
both Kennedys being shot,

Malcolm X, Martin Luther King,

Vietnam, you know,
hippies thought we were gonna

take over the world
with love and peace...

And it didn't happen.

For me,
"American Pie" is the eulogy

for a dream
that didn't take place.

It was real important
that way.

I think we all needed it.

It was an acknowledgement
of what we had been through,

and in a way, because it was
an acknowledgement,

we could move on.

[stirring music]

* *

- Here we go, Don McLean.
Take two, mark.

- I feel like I want
to talk about the actual

writing of the song.

- Okay.

I'm trying to do
a kaleidoscopic,

dream-like, impressionistic,

yet understandable thing.

The first verse
of the song is biographical.

* Long, long time ago *

* I can still remember
how that music *

* Used to make me smile *

Buddy was like a lost brother

or somebody that died
in the war or--

there was this yearning
I had in me always,

and I could never talk
to anybody about it,

because it was just all in me.

* The day the music died *

So let's see now,
the second verse--

how's it go?

Do you remember?
[laughs]

* Now do you believe
in rock 'n' roll? *

* Can music save
your mortal soul? *

"Can music save
your mortal soul?"

See, that's the theology
in me coming out.

In the church, they only talk
about your immortal soul.

I'm saying, can music save
your mortal soul,

as a man, now, being alive?

* Well, I know
that you're in *

"Well, I know that you're
in love with him

"'cause I saw you dancing
in the gym.

You both kicked off
your shoes."

* You both kicked off
your shoes *

"Man, I dig those
rhythm and blues."

So this is all me,
little old me,

seeing other kids being happy

and hearing the music
going on behind them,

and seeing other things happen
that I wasn't a part of.

"Yeah, I was a lonely
teenage broncin' buck."

Now, that's a take off
on having bronchial asthma.

I was "bronching,"
but I was still a stallion,

you know what I mean?

* I was a lonely
teenage broncin' buck *

"With a pink carnation..."

* And a pickup truck,
but I knew I *

Sure, I went
to a lot of proms,

but I never had a pickup truck,

but I could have anything
I wanted in my songs.

Since my father died,
I have no family.

You know, I have my mother,
but my mother

and I went sort of
different ways.

* Oh, for ten years
we've been on our own *

That's me talking,
"For ten years I've been

"on my own.

Moss grows fat
on a rolling stone."

I think I was
putting on weight.

I thought I was,
you know, getting fat

and lazy and stuff.

* When the jester sang
for the king and queen *

"When the jester sang
for the king and queen."

Now, there's been
this discussion

about the jester
over and over.

You know, 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.

The king, I say, "The jester
stole his thorny crown."

I didn't
mention Elvis Presley,

because Elvis did not
have a thorny crown.

Jesus Christ has
a thorny crown.

If I'd wanted to say Elvis
instead of the King,

I would have said Elvis.

I say James Dean in the song.

So what you have is this
mythology that I'm inventing

of this insulting,
happy jester.

Oh, I'll just grab
the king's crown off his head

and see if he laughs at that,

see if that's funny.

* And while Lennon read
a book on Marx *

"And Lennon read
a book on Marx."

Well, that applies to both
John Lennon and the real Lenin.

[chuckles]

Communism radicalized
John Lennon,

and Lenin was radicalized
by Marx.

So now the next verse is...

* Helter-skelter
in the summer swelter *

"Eight miles high" definitely
came from the name of a song.

* Eight miles high
and falling fast *

I thought that
was a great song.

The "eight miles high" idea,
I loved that.

Now, there was a song
that Josh White used to sing

called "Bottle Up and Go."

* There I am in the grass *

* Mm-mmm a forward pass *

* You got to bottle up and go *

So that was the idea
of a forward pass in the grass.

* The grass, the players tried
for a forward pass *

"With a jester
on the sidelines."

That meant,
this wasn't funny anymore.

This wasn't funny at all.

* The halftime air was
sweet perfume *

* While the sergeants played
a marching tune *

And then the rest of the lyric
is about the people trying

to take over,
and they would be pushed back

by the marching band, the
military-industrial complex.

* The marching band refused
to yield *

I was always marching
against the war in Vietnam.

We were constantly
being pushed aside

in this relentless desire
to destroy Southeast Asia.

* There we were
all in one place *

"The generation lost
in space."

We're out in the middle
of an endless universe.

None of us are important
except to each other,

and we're all lost in space,

because the war was hotter
than it ever was before.

* I met a girl
who sang the blues *

* And I asked her
for some happy news *

"I met a girl
who sang the blues,

I asked her
for some happy news."

Well, you see,
I'd gotten the bad news

in the front of the song.

Now I'm asking her
for some happy news

at the end of the song.

* But she just smiled
and turned away *

And you know how it is
when a woman

or anybody smile
and turn away like that?

She knew something, but
she wasn't gonna say anything.

She doesn't give me good news.

* And I went down
to the sacred store *

* Where I'd heard the music
years before *

"Went down
to the sacred store."

Now I'm going back
to New Rochelle.

They said, "The music doesn't
play anymore, Don."

The country was headed
in the wrong direction,

toward an evil god
of some sort,

and that's how the song ends.

* And the three men
I admire most *

* The Father, Son,
and the Holy Ghost *

"The three men I admire most,

caught the last train
for the coast,"

so even God has been corrupted.

He's going to Los Angeles.
[laughs]

[bombastic music]

* *

- "A long, long time ago lived
a lonely newspaper boy."

I'm Peter Gallagher.

I'm an actor and singer.

I'm here to read an audiobook

all inspired by Don McLean's

epic, "American Pie."

"He never missed a porch
or a sidewalk

with his finely crafted fling."

What this song
and this story provides

all of us is the chance
for us to recognize

what we share
in terms of the past.

"His bike transformed
into a stealthy steed."

It's just a whole world
in there,

and you can hear and see in it

what you need to hear
and see in any given moment.

"The newspaper boy gently
picked up the guitar

and slung it
over his shoulder."

I was eager to contribute
to something

that might make people feel
connected again.

"Something had touched him
deep inside."

- * We started singin' *

* My, my,
this here Anakin guy *

* May be Vader someday later,

* Now he's just a small fry *

Well, in 1999 when "Star Wars"
was coming out

with the "Phantom Menace,"
so I knew I wanted

to write a song parody
about "Star Wars."

And I flashed on the idea
of using "American Pie,"

because it's one of my
all-time favorite songs.

* We finally got to Coruscant *

I think "American Pie"
is eternal.

There's some magic
baked into that song.

* How good the boy could be *

* *

When "The Saga Begins"
came out,

it was a huge hit
on Radio Disney,

so a lot of pre-teens were
listening to the song.

They didn't
know "American Pie,"

they just thought,
oh, it's a funny Weird Al

song about "Star Wars."

The following year,
Madonna did a cover version

of "American Pie,"
like, kind of a disco version,

and all these
kids were thinking,

how come Madonna is doing
an unfunny version

of a Weird Al song?
[laughs]

- [singing in Spanish]

* *

- I remember
when you called me.

"Hey, doing the remake

"of 'American Pie,'

our version,
putting Spanish in it."

I was like, man,
are you kidding me?

What an honor, no-brainer.

- I mean, it's such a classic.
- It's just so powerful.

[singing in Spanish]

- Jencarlos,
he really understood

how to, someway,
say the same story

of the original song,
but in Spanish.

I knew about the song
since I was like 12.

My dad had it.

It's such an impactful song.

- [singing in Spanish]

* Again, bye-bye,
Miss American Pie *

- You know how many times
growing up that song played?

- I've been singing this song
as a fan for so many years.

* Them good old boys *

I see it as us,
from our culture,

tipping our hats off
to the original.

* The day that I die *

Still, to date,
that song has transcended.

It's still so inspiring.

What a masterpiece.

- * And there we were
all in one place *

* A generation lost in space *

When I first heard
"American Pie," I said,

hey, what is this
new record I'm listening to?

You know,
and I listened and listened,

and I was so blown away because
he takes you on a journey.

It's like,
each verse is different,

he goes
through different phases.

I love the melody,

and of course,
Don's lyrics are really great.

* You both kicked
off your shoes *

"We both kicked off our shoes,

and I dig those
rhythm and blues."

* As the flames climbed high
into the night *

Don, well, he's up there
with the best of them.

He's just a very,
very talented songwriter,

and he deserves his success.

Thank you.

[cheering]

all: * We were singin'
"Bye-bye, Miss American Pie" *

- I was doing a TV show

called "Zoey's
Extraordinary Playlist,"

and after my character dies,

the entire cast sing
"American Pie."

all: * Singing, this'll be
the day that I die *

- It was amazing to see just

how powerful
that song is, still.

It really is timeless.

- * I met a girl
who sang the blues *

- "Zoey's" was a show
that I was

executive music producer for
and produced a lot of songs,

none better or bigger
than "American Pie"

for the finale of the season.

- * I went down
to the sacred store *

* Where I'd heard the music *

- As a songwriter,
it's the kind of song

you dream about writing,
that has meaning

and has depth, has relevance,

and is something
that continues to be relevant

to generations,
you know, ongoing.

- * In the streets,
the children screamed *

* The lovers cried
and the poets dreamed *

"American Pie" has always been
a part of my life.

You know, when my dad drove me
to preschool,

we were listening to it.

My dad wanted me to know
the history of that song,

because it's important.

It's heavy.
It's meaningful.

* And the three men
I admire the most *

There's a world that's
created with this song

that is our world,
but also isn't.

It's more tragic
and it's more beautiful.

* The day *

* The music died *

[stirring music]

* *

- Don, my name's Jeff Nicholas.
I'm president of the Surf,

I want to welcome you
to the Surf Ballroom.

- Pleasure to be here.
- I'd like to

show you the ballroom
a little bit.

- Definitely.
- Yeah.

So the ballroom was designed
to simulate walking out

on the beach and dancing
under the deep blue sky.

We kind of consider it

the soundstage
of American music.

- Well, it's certainly
an important place.

- * American boy *
- * American boy *

- * Invented rock 'n' roll *
- * Rock 'n' roll *

- All that stuff
from the late '40s

right on through
to the mid '60s,

that music is the essence
of everything.

- * They caused a sensation *

- So here we are, walking
on the stage of American music.

- * Shook up the nation *
- * American boy *

- The original stage ended
right here.

- So you mean Buddy would
be standing here?

- Buddy would have stood here,
Waylon would have stood here,

and Tommy also would
have been here,

and you know,
Carl Bunch, the drummer,

was still in the hospital
in Green Bay

with frostbitten fingers
and toes.

They mixed and matched.
Buddy would play drums,

and Ritchie would play drums,
and everybody,

they just figured out a way
to make the show.

- And I've been thinking
about Buddy Holly a lot.

When I came up with that
original part of the song,

it came out in a sad,
poignant way.

- When "American Pie" came on,
that was the time I believed

that the focus started
to be back on those guys.

- Well, I remember
the song was number one,

and they started
playing Buddy's music

on the radio again.

Buddy brought me to life,
I brought Buddy to life.

[laughs]

- Oh, my goodness.

- How do you do?
- How do you do?

What a pleasure
and an honor, Mr. McLean.

Thank you. Thank you.

I have a little something
I want to say.

I just want to thank you

for writing
"The Day the Music Died."

You immortalized my brother,
JP, and Buddy.

You took a terrible tragedy
and made rock 'n' roll history.

Thank you.
Thank you so much.

See that up there?

- I hardly don't know
what to say.

- A friend of ours
painted that,

and all around
that is our family.

Everybody signed it.

- Your brother
is very important,

more important now than ever.

- Ritchie was
a rock 'n' roll pioneer.

- He was.

- The first time
I heard your song,

I had to keep listening to it,

because I thought,
"Oh, my gosh.

"He's singing about my brother.

He's singing about the-- you
know, the day the music died."

- If the song helps people
love that music the way I do

and the way I did,
then that's something I did

in my life
that I'm very proud of.

We should never
forget this music.

- Never.
- And these guys were

incredibly important.

This was brand-new
at the time.

- Yes.

- Ritchie was only 17.
- He was only 17.

- So he started working
as a musician,

making some money, and then
he bought his Fender guitar.

- That's--yeah, that's right.

- So that's when he developed

that great sound
on that guitar.

- Yes.
- You know, it's that sort of

edgy, heavy sound, you know--

[imitates guitar]

You know, it's got
that thing to it,

very distinctive.

- * Para bailar La Bamba *

- You know, he sang
that traditional "La Bamba,"

which he probably sang
with your family.

- Well, he made it
rock 'n' roll though.

- Yeah.
What's it about?

- "Para bailar La Bamba,"
to dance the Bamba,

"Se necesito
una poca de gracia,"

we need a little grace.

"Poquito para ti,
poquito para mi,"

a little for you,
a little for me.

* Una poca de gracia,
para mi, para ti *

* Y arriba, y arriba *

Higher and higher.
- Great.

- Yeah.
- So it's simple lyrics,

but just so great.
- It is, yeah.

- Well, thank you
for coming here.

This is a big deal for me.

- Thank you so much.

God bless you.

- You take care now.
- I will.

both: Thank you.

[dreamy music]

- My name is Nelson Crabb,

and I happen to be the mayor
of Clear Lake, Iowa.

February 3rd of 1959,

I was a freshman
at Rutgers University.

Going back one Sunday,
when on the car radio,

I heard about this
terrible accident

just north of town here.

The car got quiet,

and, you know,
very, very sad time,

but tonight is when
we celebrate the music

of those three gentlemen,
and tonight is especially neat

because we have Don McLean's
"American Pie" here,

and that's very,
very neat for our community.

- Hey, everybody.

Welcome to Clear Lake, Iowa
and the legendary Surf Ballroom

for the 2022
Winter Dance Party.

Please welcome America's
legendary singer-songwriter,

the American troubadour,
Don McLean!

[cheers and applause]

- Well, all right!

So here we are,

50 years since
that song came out,

50 years.

It's incredible.

You take a time like this
to call that

"the day the music died"
from my song.

I am so touched, really,
to be here and to sing for you.

[cheers and applause]

* Did you write
the book of love? *

* Do you have faith
in God above? *

* If the Bible tells you so? *

* Now, do you believe
in rock n' roll? *

* Can music save
your mortal soul? *

* Can you teach me
how to dance real slow? *

* Well, I know that you're
in love with him *

* 'Cause I saw you dancing
in the gym *

* You both kicked
off your shoes *

* I dig those
rhythm and blues *

* I was a lonely
teenage broncin' buck *

* With a pink carnation
and a pickup truck *

* But I knew
I was out of luck *

* The day the music died *

Come on, sing it!

* Started singing,
"Bye-bye, Miss American Pie" *

* Drove my Chevy to the levee *

* But the levee was dry *

* Them good old boys were
drinking whiskey and rye *

* Singing, "This'll be
the day that I die" *

* This will be the day
that I die *

* Bye-bye, Miss American Pie *

- I think the song
"American Pie" is just one

of those heartfelt
American classics that just

makes you pause
and be grateful

for everything that you have.

- "American Pie,"
one of my favorite songs.

This night in 1959,
the day that music died,

but we believe
the music's still alive.

[orchestral cover
of "American Pie"]

* *

- It's a classic song.

It spans the generations,
everyone loves it,

and it just will
live on forever.

all:
* Bye-bye, Miss American Pie *

* Drove my Chevy to the levee *

* But the levee was dry *

* Them good old boys were
drinking whiskey and rye *

* Singing, "This'll be
the day that I die" *

* This will be the day
that I die *

- * Helter skelter
in the summer swelter *

* The birds flew off
with a fallout shelter *

* Eight miles high
and falling fast *

* It landed foul
on the grass *

* the players tried
for a forward pass *

* With the jester
on the sidelines in a cast *

- * Now the halftime air
was sweet perfume *

* While the sergeants played
a marching tune *

* We all got up to dance *

* Oh, but we never
got the chance *

* 'Cause the players tried
to take the field *

* The marching band refused
to yield *

* Do you recall
what was revealed *

* The day the music died? *

- * We started singing,
"Bye-bye, Miss American Pie" *

* Drove my Chevy to the levee,
but the levee was dry *

* Them good old boys were
drinking whiskey and rye *

* Singing, "This'll be
the day that I die" *

* This'll be the day
that I die *

- * Oh, and there we were
all in one place *

* A generation lost in space *

* With no time left
to start again *

* So come on, Jack be nimble,
Jack be quick *

* Jack Flash sat
on a candlestick *

* 'Cause fire is
the devil's only friend *

- * Oh, and as I watched him
on the stage *

* My hands were clenched
in fists of rage *

* No angel born in hell *

* Could break
that Satan's spell *

* As the flames climbed high
into the night *

* To light
the sacrificial rite *

* I saw Satan laughing
with delight *

* The day the music died *

* He was singing,
"Bye-bye, Miss American Pie" *

* Drove my Chevy to the levee,
but the levee was dry *

* Them good old boys were
drinking whiskey and rye *

* Singing, "This'll be
the day that I die" *

* This'll be the day
that I die *