Three Things You Didn’t Know About Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’

We may never know exactly what all the imagery means in Don McLean's "American Pie" but here are three things we now know about the classic hit.

I had a chance to interview the legendary Don McLean, just ahead of his appearance in Grand Junction on November 6. I found him to be very kind, personable, and open.

While we talked about a lot of things, somehow, the conversation kept coming back  to 'American Pie,' and I learned three things about this #1 smash hit

1)"American Pie" is still Don McLean's favorite song. Of all the songs he has written and recorded, he says this is his favorite because it means so much to so many people, and it's "been so interesting to follow the career of that particular song."

2) It took Don McLean three months to write "American Pie." He says he quickly wrote the first part, the chorus came later, and the body of the song  took "about a half hour or an hour."

3) Don McLean's first check from "American Pie" was $1 million. I asked Don after  the song went to #1, at what point did he realize he was a "star". His chuckling reply -"when I got a check for a million dollars from the record company.

Check out the video above for more of my conversation with Don McLean.