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Fascination Street

Throwback: Don McLean - Music Legend / American Icon (American Pie)

·33 min·3 clips
Don McLean reveals why he wrote an 8-minute song when radio hits were only 3 minutes.
The episode is a throwback interview with Don McLean from August 2021, released to mark the 50th anniversary of 'American Pie'. The host intentionally avoids deep discussion of that song, noting it has been covered extensively elsewhere. McLean talks about the confidence behind writing an 8-minute song when radio hits averaged 3 minutes. He shares that 'Vincent' remains beloved, citing a recent funeral where it was sung. McLean recounts the difficult process of getting his first album 'Tapestry' released after many rejections. He details the story behind 'Killing Me Softly', explaining how songwriter Laurie Lieberman wrote a poem after seeing him perform, which was later used without her credit. McLean describes performing 'Empty Chairs' with Garth Brooks in Central Park in 1997, where a lighting rig caught fire mid-show. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he stayed busy by launching a YouTube channel with 173 remastered tracks from 11 albums, releasing a covers album 'Still Playing Favorites', and working on a children's book 'American Pie: A Fable'. He also mentions a documentary, a play, a movie, and receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. McLean sold the handwritten lyrics to 'American Pie' at auction for $1.2 million, believing it should have fetched more. He discusses his upcoming world tour, noting delays due to the pandemic, and ends with a performance of 'Vincent' dedicated to the host's wife.

As heard by us

Don McLean sets American Pie aside for a fiery Garth Brooks story and a substantial Empty Chairs performance.

Fascination Street returns to Don McLean for a throwback episode that sidesteps the usual American Pie mythology and finds its center in a different memory.

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Why you'd press play

You get Don McLean revisiting the Garth Brooks Central Park night, a lighting rig fire, and Empty Chairs taking over the room.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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