American Pie

Don McLean's second studio album, released on United Artists Records in October 1971, is one of the most consequential records in the history of American singer-songwriter music. It was the album that McLean had spent most of his twenties trying to make possible: he had been rejected by an estimated 72 record labels before United Artists agreed to release it.^[1]

The sessions were produced by Ed Freeman and took place primarily in May and June 1971 at Record Plant Studio A in New York City. Freeman took an unusual approach: he rented a rehearsal space and drilled the musicians for two full weeks before recording began, aiming for the kind of cohesion normally associated with a working touring band rather than assembled session players. McLean's vocal performance on the title track was built from 24 separate takes, with engineer Tom Flye making meticulous edits to assemble the final composite.^[2]

The title track, at over eight and a half minutes, became one of the longest singles ever to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent four weeks in early 1972. The album also produced McLean's second signature song, "Vincent," a meditation on the life and inner world of Vincent van Gogh. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 within two weeks of its release and was certified gold within six months.^[1]

The record established McLean as a singular voice in American music: deeply rooted in the folk tradition of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, but capable of an allegorical ambition and emotional scale that had no clear precedent. Its title song remains one of the most analyzed pieces of popular music ever written.