Songwriters' Hall of Fame
"Game Over, I Win." After 40 years in the business. Don McLean's reaction to
being elected to the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.
Famed for his perennial 1971 #1 classic “American Pie,” an elegiac
eight-and-a-half minute folk-pop epic inspired by the tragic death of Buddy
Holly, singer/songwriter Don McLean rose to fame through the folks clubs of New
York City during the 60's. His follow-up to “American Pie,” “Vincent’” was also
a smash success, and McLean even became the subject of the Roberta Flack hit
“Killing Me Softly With His Song;” however, to his credit, he refused to let the
success of “American Pie” straitjacket his career. McLean enjoyed a renaissance
with the 1980’s “Chain Lightning,” a Top 30 album, which spawned a Top Ten smash
with its cover of Roy Orbison's classic, “Crying,” and his original "Castles In
The Air," reaching the Top 40.
"Don McLean his work, like the man himself is very deep and very compassionate.
His pop anthem American Pie is a cultural phenomenon, and people are still
trying to decode it after 35 years! He wrote other great songs like, And I Love
You So, If We Try, Wonderful Baby, Winterwood, and my personal favorite Empty
Chairs, which just kills me as a fan and a songwriter.” Garth Brooks' tribute as
Don McLean is inaugurated into the National Academy of Popular Music
Songwriters' Hall of Fame, June 10th 2004.
Other inductees in 2004 were: Charles Fox, Al Green, Daryl Hall & John Oates,
Barrett Strong & Norman Witfield.
Don McLean with Michael McDonald & Stevie Wonder
Don McLean with wife and children at the ceremony
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