Don McLean: How He Wrote American Pie, Vincent and His Friendship with Pete Seeger. Part One 

I"ve always loved this song 'American Pie' but had no idea of all that it meant. As a 76 year old boomer, this gives me perspective. I might be listening to this all day. The video of the song is fantastic. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. My heart mourns for the values we have lost. America can be better than we are now.

I saw Don McLean perform a year or so ago in Los Angeles. I had no idea the scope of his material, he played a lot of old swampy blues, and his ability to get an entire audience of boomers like myself up out of our seats, stomping, singing, cheering him along. He was phenomenal. Great interview !

I saw Don McLean qt the Palais Theatre in St Kilda Melbourne Australia circa '77-'78 just Don and an Acoustic guitar, I had no idea till that night the sheer beauty and purity of his voice.....it was breathtaking ......so am surprised to hear him say he never got respect....my hat is off to you Don.....Total Respect!!

I really like the fact that the interviewer doesn't "filibuster" when asking questions, unlike so many talk show hosts.

I like how Don tells it. Very relatable and sincere.

This man is a national treasure. Truly. There won’t be another. Thank you for this!

A fan and follower of Joe. He in my view is master interviewer. Respectful, patient, low key, pertinent questions, letting the star open up. Perfect

Vincent. A timeless song I hope he covers in the next part.

One of my life's greatest experiences, was hearing Don sing "Vincent" Live on WNEW -FM, one Sunday Morning. I believe it was 1976. Accompanied, only by His Guitar, His Voice, the Song ... Glorious.

Never had the opportunity to see Don play Live, but I always felt his music deeply. At 62, still do when I hear the songs from back when…Don, Woody, Pete etc. Wish Don all the best. A gem of a man, beautiful human being.

You’re knocking ‘em Dead Joe. Grew up not far from Don and now live not far from Pete Seeger’s old place. First song I learned on guitar...Vincent. Excellent interview Joe.

This channel is doing a great and vital service to music history, delving so much deeper than the sound bytes of mainstream media.

First ever interview I’ve heard from Don M, the man has a good look on reality. I like his attitude

"American Pie" will be observing its 50th anniversary in 2021-That's the sign of a true classic.

I seen Don McLean in 1971 at a concert hall in Toronto, opening for the James Gang. The Joe Walsh led power trio's gear was set up on stage and up front, center stage, was a lonely microphone and a stool. Well, this unassuming young man walked on stage with his harmonica and acoustic guitar strapped over his shoulder and sat down. You see back in those days folk acts would be brought on a tour as openers for rock acts sometimes. It wasn't long into his set when shouts of "ROCK N" ROLL' were being yelled from the balcony. He weathered the cat calls and continued with his set.. Then he tried to get us to sing alone to a new song that was just released on the radio that week. That didn't happen, we were there for power chords from one of the best bands around. We didn't know that 50 years later that sing along would become the infectious ditty that it did, is still going strong.

I love hearing his wisdom throughout the years.

It’s amazing how many of the greats credit Elvis as their inspiration. He is the King Of Rock And Roll for good reason.

I caught his act at The Great Southeast Music Hall in Atlanta in about '73. Small venue and everybody sat on the floor. I had seen P,P&M and The Lettermen in concert before and no one else. I remember he broke a string and re-strung while talking, pulled it up into tune and never missed a beat. I was twenty-two doing four sets a night in Underground Atlanta at the time, drunk and stoned and sad all the time. He blew me away.

I guess that's your success. Its spontaneous just u and the person. That comes over and its good u r a fan like us. U have a rare gift. Just special

He was always a great folkie to me. He never tried to go mainstream but just wrote somebfolk songs that turned into hits. Loved that.

Probably one the most honest interviews yet! In 1971-72 I was stationed at Keesler AFB, 19 years old and the first time I was on my own away from home! There was a row of small bars just outside the west gate! There was one really small bar with a great looking bartender that was really laid back! The entertainment was a jukebox! And every night I probably played American Pie at least twice, it was one of those songs that made me long for my friends back home! Looking forward to the 2nd part of the interview! Thanks Joe!

I was around 12 when I began playing music too. I started going to drum lessons in school when I was 12 and for my 13th birthday I got a drum kit. I’m now 17 and I now play drums, guitar, bass and piano. Music changed my life forever, I now want to be a music teacher when I leave school.

Don is a man who lives on his own terms. This realism comes through in his music and conversation. I would say he is a unusual genius. Self taught. I love his lyrics and the lifestyle he has. A wandering minstrel.

Love this interview. I could listen to him all day. Great story teller.

Love Don's phrasing......the best.

Joe, This is literally a dream come true. For about a year now, I fantasized about a road trip that ended with me knocking on Don's door and talking music. We would talk like old friends and make plans on how to save music. We would plot how to get a new generation to love lyrics, words, ideas, and truth. This interview got me half way there. I guess its up to me where I go from here.

Ahhh Haaa! Here it is! Just what I've been looking for!! Great interview Joe. I can relate to his asthma issues. I nearly died 3 times from asthma attacks as a kid. He's blessed to have overcome it and create so much incredible music. We are all blessed by you and Don's contributions to the music world. I look forward to seeing the upcoming vids on Don. Thanks again Joe!

This channel has so much to enjoy. Thankyou

Another great interview! The things we learn from all the back stories.

I don't know much about him besides "American Pie" but this guy is fascinating. Great interview!

as a black american this dude shook me open to all music AP stops my soul in freeze frame

Thank goodness - a Don McClean interview that talks about more than just American Pie. He wrote and recorded some wonderful work. Looking forward to watching Part Two... getting past American Pie. Well done, MHFM!

Look forward to part II. Thanks, - both you for providing and Don for sharing.

Awesome interview man!! I love this channel, whether you’re interviewing country giants or session players who’ve been on thousands of records! What with my senior year being taken away by this virus, it’s so nice to finish up my work and see a new video! Rock on man 🤟

Joe Chambers has a gift for interviewing. Unassuming. He's talking to a friend - a chat, but it's never boring. Good info for any music lover.

Outstanding interview! Its amazing how rare this is today. I appreciate the way you just let Don talk and elaborate without soundbite interruptions. Please keep it up Joe. These are treasures.

A very thoughtfully conducted interview. Looking forward to Pt. 2.. Thanks, Joe!!

What a great interview with, the great Don McLean. You should congratulate yourself Joe, for him agreeing to this interview. My guess is he agree's to very few. It's just as interesting listening to him in person as it is listening to his songs. Really looking forward to part two! Thx. for sharing.

I saw Don from the front row of a revolving stage at Ontario Place in Toronto many moons ago...I was so impressed by his connection to the people, it was a wonderful experience. "if I fail I'll find a way out of it"...taking that away with me.

Don McClean's "American Pie" is a national anthem of culture. From Buddy Holly all the way to the future. Thanks for this gem of an interview!

Thank you for this. It is so great. Love Don MacLean. I had every one of his 45s back in the 60s and 70s. Congratulations on 50 years.

Joe, I'm glad you didn't ask,"What does American Pie mean?" We all know it means, "I'll never have to work again (unless I want to)"

I feel soooo blessed to be led to this interview!!! Always looking for truth and positive vibes!!!

I saw Don and Judy Collins in Durham a few years ago. Still sounded great, with a rollicking version of American Pie. I liked his answer to'what does it mean?' "It means I never have to work again"(paraphrasing)

Really looking forward to part 2 What a terrific interview.

I have to say... life as we are living it would not be the same without Don McLean's contribution. He made it possible to step back and look more closely. Smell the roses you might say. This is my fav. interview so far BECAUSE even if he thinks he is slow.... he doesn't come off as such. lol He is on a different wave length as the rest of the artists.

Dad was a Pharmacist. He had his own store and had customers, where he knew 4 generations of their families. One thing, which he noticed, that in every case, where a child had asthma, at least one person in their household was a heavy smoker. It really stood out to him in the 1980's, because by then, there were many people who didn't smoke.

Thanks so much, as a songwriter I feel so blessed to be working in a time when all this great stuff is just a click away

Fascinating interview.Mclean's songs(especially during a live performance) seems to pull you in the middle of it from the story/meaning of those lyrics.He is gifted at getting your attention.Just proves all you need sometimes is just a guitar and a gifted singer/songwriter on stage that can make everyone there feel involve and sing along with him.Thanks Joe!...ken.

What a masterful interview Joe. You guided it perfectly to get this eloquent talent to open upon. Just a model vid. As always I'm awestruck. Huge thnx

Drove with my parents to LA, CA in a new Chevy station wagon with American Pie playing on the 8 track. So great! Love the interview and keep ‘em comin’.

This is such an interesting interview. I am looking forward to the second part. For I don't know how many years, we rode to school on the school bus everyday listening to American Pie on the radio. It seemed to sum up a whole epoch of music and culture that our young minds couldn't fully understand but it gave us something to hold on to, and to look toward the future.

This interview is interesting, because the interviewer let the Don Mclean talk. And didn't try to push him into talking firstly about his main/bread&butter songs. He just allowed it to develop!

Joe, another great interview. Can’t wait for part two!

His two hits are really undeniably good.....❤...

Best one yet! Don in his folksy way just opens up and tells it like it was. How he "Had a chip on his shoulder." and other issues.in his life. I always like Joe that you allow the guest to lead the conversation and when it's appropriate you jump on to clarify or have the guest expand on that thought or important nugget of their history! Great post! Keep them coming!

I always thought his “Castles in the Air” is his best. I got his first album before anyone ever heard of him. It was called Tapestry.

Liked him beginning, today, just a real person that took him along way, voice so real, helps you see life thru his music, so “real”.

Wow great interview Joe! Don is such an interesting guy.I’m looking forward to part two.

Thanks heaps for the opportunity of seeing and hearing iconic artists who created the soundtrack to many people's lives. Love your interview style.

Watching this interview and Mr McLeans RU-vid channel prompt me to meet him and befriend him. He comes across as my kind of guy. Plus I play guitar and am working on the piano.

I saw Don this year with my son & granddaughter it was epic such a legend

Great interview Don! I am a fan of yours! Your wise words had made an impact on my life!

Great interview. I sing at community suppers for charity and every time I do a cover of Vincent, the audience gets a bit quieter as they begin to listen. I seem to get the most applause when singing that beautiful song. I make not a penny and consider each time time I do a cover I do as a tribute to the writer, the artist. Thanks Don and thank you Joe. I saw a Don MCLean concert on Public Tv out of NYC when I came home from the Air Force in December of 74. Don was playing in front of a college audience. Pete Seeger had a show in the 1960's on Public Tv, Rainbow Quest. I think Buffy Sainte-Marie may have been on the last episode of Rainbow Quest. Both Pete & Buffy were blacklisted. Joe, It would be awesome if you could interview Buffy Sainte-Marie. Buffy is loved around the world and received Canada's highest honors. I was assigned to an Air Force Base in England during '73 & 74'. I was so happy to hear Buffy Sainte-Marie's music being played on the BBC. I wonder if Don watched and remembers Pete's Rainbow Quest series. Thanks again guys.

Terrific interview Joe! I like that Don tells it like it is from his point of view. Obviously, the song American Pie is a classic. The lyrics of that song are just incredible! However, it's the kind of song that you either love or hate. I really love that song but my wife hates it. It always amazes me how music has such a strong effect on people. Anyway, looking forward to your next video with Don....Be well & stay safe...... 👍👍😉😉

I met Don as a busker on 16th st mall in Denver in 2009 ... didn't really believe him at first... cool guy

Well, you said it was coming - and here it is. Great interview, Joe. Looking forward to P2.

I so much enjoy these videos! People seem so relaxed and there seems to be so much honesty expressed.My goal is to hear them all.

Absolutely brilliant interview. Love this channel. Grew up with Don McLean songs. Vincent & American pie

Man did Don nail it when he said music was no more fun when it got to the late 70's, music was great in the 50's and 60's but not now

I'm still listening, but I'm hoping to hear about Don's banjo playing, I only know about it because of an interview I once did with Warren Hellman, who started the free Hardly Strictly festival in San Francisco. Warren told me he was taking banjo lessons from Roger Sprung . He wanted to hire a banjo player to play at his birthday party, and Roger suggested Don McLean, who was about 20. So, Warren hired him.

Unreal ! Story . Great interview! This iconic man is still hear! Who was their when Rock and Roll hit !

What an honest and truthful interview,,thank you,

It's reassuring to know that others see movies when they write. Groovy.

I remember American Pie (I was in 5th grade). But it was the album with "Oh My, What a Shame" and "The More You Pay (The More It's Worth)" on it. I feel like it shaped my teenage years. I listened to that album over and over and tried to write like Don McLean. I ended up getting a music degree and I became a music therapist. I liked Don's big hits (esp. Vincent), and I had all his records, but it was that one album, which was either untitled or just called "Don McLean." On the Amazon, The Pride Parade, If We Try . . . Those songs meant to much to me and influenced who I am today. This album was on United Artists but I am pretty sure it is out of print. The BEST album! I was also a huge Beatles and Beach Boys fan, so maybe that has something to do with why I connected so easily with his music. I am so grateful for Don McLean and his contributions to American music.

I love what you are doing Joe!! This stuff is so great. I bought some guitars from you and whatever money you made is coming back to me through these videos! Thank you.

awesome interview. thank you again ....can't wait for part two

I grew up in Highland Falls across the river from where he lived in Cold Spring and later in Garrison NY. I think he moved up to be near Pete Seeger around ‘69. I remember when American Pie was a hit back in ‘71. We had always hoped that one day both he and Pete would show up somewhere in Beacon where Pete lived and do a small show. There was no internet back then so the only way you would get any news would be from one of the kids that lived in Cold Spring or Beacon. Growing up in that part of the Hudson was amazing. Don McLean, Pete Seeger, The Band, Orleans. Billy Joel lived and wrote all the songs on his Turnstiles album in my home town back in ‘76. That’s where the song titled “Summer Highland Falls” comes from.

Joe - you have my dream job! Great interview, as always.

Well I don’t care if the sun don’t shine and I don’t care if nothing is mine. Insightful as ever, Joe.

Another great, insightful interview

1971'/72 WAS A BIT OF A HUGE TIME FOR ME. HEARING AMERICAN PIE ROCKED MY WORLD JUST A LITTLE... OK A LOT! AND YOU ARE STILL PERFORMING! YESSS! WHAT AWESOME INTERVIEW.

Great interview Joe. Thanks very much. I smiled a lot watching/listening to this.

We need another Don McLean! We don't have real talent anymore. If you have a million songs in your head, maybe you could help me write a song about my Navy Brother, Al. He died from this virus. He was the greatest guy. Everyone really loved him!

Great intro Joe and of course great interview!

AP is one of the best songs ever written. Only Nashville accepted Don. It only accepts the very best.

By the waters of Babylon really touched me. It seemed to have been written to protest the Iraq war. It wasn't since it was written before the war but I opposed the war and it comforted me more than once.

Another great interview! Love these. Looking forward to the next part.

Castles in the air.....my favorite Don Mclean song ....great song writer

New Years Eve party, 1969 - American Pie was new and a big hit. We played it over and over, trying to figure out all the references. Thanks for a great interview!

Homeless Brother seems to have been written for today's world. Thanks for posting this.

love you Don McLean . So many good songs , much more than American Pie . I loved Prime Time . If you got something to say SAY IT . I had all the Don McLean albums . Vincent makes me cry to this day . Thanks for the great interview , they could not listen their not listening still , perhaps they never will . I could go on , but the music tells the story

Roots of America ! A by gone era! Today's kids don't/won't understand ! Ours times of today , computers/ software and basic human factors lost by hype ! The question I would like to ask Don how's the America Pie from then to today's world making a visual of lyrics statement with music from the folk lore roots! No way I want a hip hop Dylan revised-lol! Thank J.C. for getting Don's background /roots in perspective !

Awesome interview Joe .. and I love Don's songs and guitar mastery..

I was born in '55 so I don't really remember Elvis, and certainly not Buddy Holly. An hour ago, for me, Don McLean was the "American Pie"-guy, period. Now all of a sudden he is a three dimensional person, with stuff to say. I didn't get it when I was young(er) so now I need to go back and check him out. Thanks again Joe, for another good interview!

What an entertaining fella, never held back mate totally engrossed. Thank you 👍🎸😀

It's interesting that Don can't specifically articulate how he constructed certain songs, other than, lyrically, he began assembling certain impressions, memories and feelings - and yet, he is very gifted at creating word pictures that draw upon common experiences and widely known events - so well done that the listener is constantly filling in personal visions that meld both Don's lyrics with their own personal thoughts and private mind-movies. LESS detail and artful sketches allow the listener to fill in the meanings and visuals for themselves. And that is what all great songwriters know and tap into. They can't explain it, not like in a mathematical equation, but more like a painter telling what paints he was using, the music he was listening to while creating, and what was going on in the news when he created some masterpiece - the difference obviously being, a painter's vision is static and specific, while a recording artist uses voices, instruments and lyrics. Great art always supersedes the artist - and that is so true of American Pie, as Don was the creator and we all took it somewhere unique and different in our own individual minds. And Pie has now been so long iconic, that now we're each constantly processing it in different ways as we get older. Amazing!

Great interview of great artist/American iconic song

*The book whose name he can't remember is titled "Dear Theo," and I highly recommend it.*

American Pie showed how much of a scholar of the 60's he was. Likewise with Vincent how he appreciated Van Gogh.