Don McLean | Artist

Donald McLean III is an American singer-songwriter born 1945 in New Rochelle, New York. McLean is best known for his 1971 hit song "American Pie", an 8.5-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early rock and roll generation. That song was a US #1 hit for four weeks and later became a hit again when Madonna covered it. Another of his compositions "And I Love You So" was covered by Elvis, Perry Como, Helen Reddy and Glen Campbell. McLean started out as a folk singer, gaining attention playing venues such as Gaslight Cafe in NYC, Newport Folk Festival and LA's The Troubadour. McLean recorded his first album Tapestry in 1969 in Berkeley during the student riots. After being rejected 72 times by labels, the album was released by small startup label Mediarts. The album went nowhere but several of the songs were covered by other artists. McLean's big break came when Mediarts was taken over by major label United Artists records who promoted McLean's second album American Pie. The album launched two number one hits "American Pie" and "Vincent" and made McLean an international star.He has gone on to record 21 studio albums, standouts include the first three: Tapestry, American Pie and Don McLean, plus the 1976 live album Solo.

Artist Website: don-mclean.com

Featured Albums: Don McLean