(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Don McLean - "American Pie"
Hit Number 1: January 15, 1972
Stay at Number 1: 4 Weeks
It was 13 years before 1972 that the plane with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) aboard it went down. The crash, caused by unideal snowy weather, killed all three of the young rising stars as well as the pilot. A 13-year-old Don McLean was working as a paper boy at that time, and he was a Buddy Holly fan. He was stricken hard by the unexpected death of Holly, and remembers folding the papers for his route with the front page of it detailing the crash. The crash continued to stick with McLean for years. He called it "the day the music died," a name that has since stuck when discussing the crash, and he used that same name in his song "American Pie".
The 1959 crash that killed Holly and company has long been something that has been memorialized. It's not only something that has gone down in music's history, but the history of American culture too. McLean's song is one of the most common references to the crash, but his song was more than just being about the crash. McLean also goes into detail, using weird little metaphors to describe the crash as well as American culture from 1959 to the present day of 1971. McLean has described the song as being about how the country lost its innocence after the 1959 plane crash, and takes us through a mini journey of all the crap that went down in the 1960s. The 60s was,,,, an interesting decade. The first few years were '50s hangover, then you had the British Invasion followed by the psychedelic era. And that's just the music. There was a lot of bad stuff that happened in the culture of the '60s, including murders of civil rights workers along with the protesting of the Vietnam War, and the controversy of drafting young men into unexpected duty. "American Pie" talks us through all of that, though it's hard to pinpoint what is what.
For decades McLean wasn't willing to talk about the lyrics of "American Pie", and what they were supposed to mean. All we knew for the longest time was that the opening verse was about McLean setting out on his paper route and reading the front page of the paper detailing Holly's death. It wasn't until 2015 that McLean finally shed some light onto the lyrics' meanings. The "king" is Elvis Presley, and the jester stealing his thorny crown is Bob Dylan and the rest of the folk revolution stealing Presley's thunder and changing the direction of pop music. McLean also says he alluded to Meredith Hunter's death at the Rolling Stones concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1969, though he didn't say what lyrics were supposed to represent that. McLean has said that the content of "American Pie" is how things were heading in the wrong direction. Most of the song sounds like pure nonsense, something that seems like it should've been a part of the psychedelic era rather than talking about it. But each of those lyrics are supposed to represent something from 1959-1971. Most of the references are music related.
"American Pie" has some neat trivia tied to it. At 8 minutes and 42 seconds, it remains as the longest #1 song in the history of the Hot 100. The length of the song is something that seems to irk some people, with some even saying they don't like the song just because of the length. I'm somewhere in the middle. I think the song is catchy, and the songwriting is some thinking man's poetry, almost left up to the listener to decide the meaning of the lyrics if they didn't already represent something else. I can always appreciate that. I also respect the craftsmanship of "American Pie" and the speed-up, slow-down effects it has are great touches. Not to mention the overall significance the song has today; it's easily one of the more recognizable songs to come out of the 1970s. But man, about 5 minutes into the song I'm over it. I don't think it's quite catchy enough to where it can sustain any kind of excitement for almost 9 minutes. Rarely could any song do that. With that being said, it's still a well-written song, and I've always had a respect for how it honors the legacy of Holly. Even though it may outstay its welcome, "American Pie" is still a pretty good song.
McLean never had any other big hits, but he's still around today, enjoying his many royalties from "American Pie". He's one of those rare one-hit wonders that have so much of a legacy built up from just their one single. McLean is even sometimes known as the "'American Pie' guy." I'd have to think that this is one of those songs that continue to get some level of airplay for many, many more years. One more thing that I'd like to point out is that if McLean's idea of "American Pie" is how things in America were trending downward, then maybe our old friend Don can get started writing another "American Pie" for today. I'm sure he could score another hit out of that.
GRADE: 7/10
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