In the decades since, the lyrics have been endlessly dissected and discussed, and covers performed by such disparate artists as the Jonas Brothers and Madonna.

“American Pie” (the single) went to Number One in America and stayed there for four weeks. Because people put the needle on, if they don’t like what they hear, they take it off…so…’American Pie’ went on first.” But the way albums are, you got to put your best foot forward right out of the box.

I couldn’t figure out whether to end the album with ‘American Pie’ or start it. That will give you an environment that you get into. If you really like what I do and you want to get into it, you’ve got to start at the beginning and listen to the whole record. “That’s why I say the album is the real experience of American Pie. So it’s always been a bonanza.”Īlthough most people are familiar with the single, McLean believes the album in its entirety is where the real gold is. And whenever it got played on the air, I got paid twice from BMI. Mc Lean adds, laughing: “And then - whenever you played it - you had to play side one and side two. It was the commitment of people who cared enough to take the time to make their voices heard about this unique record, the one that everyone was talking about. This was remarkable for the time, considering there was no internet, social media, hashtags, or online petitions to drive the message home to the radio programmers. As McLean recalls, “Listeners called in to radio stations and said, ‘Hey, that’s not the song, this is the song, we want to hear it.’ So they played the album cut on Top 40 radio, and that’s how the eight minutes, twenty seven seconds got to be number one.” According to McLean, the record company had initially chopped “American Pie” down to a “radio-friendly” two and a half minutes, and the shortened-single quickly rose to number one.Īs expected, this success had a positive effect on sales of the album, and people wanted to hear the full-length album version of the song rather than the abridged radio cut. The chart-busting single, “American Pie”, clocked in at eight minutes and twenty seven seconds, which was exceedingly long for radio in those days.

Having reached number one within two weeks of its release in October 1971, the album certified gold within six months. Vintage Rock interviewed McLean, who revealed some of the back story behind the record that became part of the 70s music zeitgeist. Don McLean’s American Pie, the established singer-songwriter’s most celebrated and commercially successful album, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2021.

American pie song length