Fans are ready to get the full story behind Don McLean’s iconic 1971 hit, “American Pie.” They’ll get just that with the release of a new, 90-minute documentary, The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s ‘American Pie,’ now airing on Paramount+.
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The documentary covers all elements of inspiration McLean drew from while creating the song. From his early days as a paper boy, shaken by the unexpected death of Buddy Holly alongside Ritchie Valens and Jiles P. Richardson, to his father’s passing, the state of America during that time and his musical inspirations, McLean covers it all as he shares what the song actually means to him.
“I wanted to write a song about America, but I didn’t want to write a song about America like anybody ever wrote before,” McLean says according to The Guardian. “The country was in some advanced state of psychic shock… All this bedlam and riots and burning cities.”
While the film answers long-pondered questions about the creative process for the musical masterpiece, it also takes time to acknowledge it’s relevance in today’s world. While 50 years have passed since the release of “American Pie,” are times really all that different?
McLean shares his hopes that the song will continue to educate new generations to make changes and re-gain existence of the highly-sought-after “American dream.”
“If it starts young people thinking about Buddy Holly, about Rock ‘N’ Roll and that music, and then it teaches them maybe about what else happened in the country,” McLean expressed.
“Maybe look at a little history, maybe ask why John Kennedy was shot and who did it, maybe ask why all our leaders were shot in the 1960s and who did it, maybe start to look at war and the stupidity of it — if that can happen, then the song really is serving a wonderful purpose and a positive purpose.”
The 90-minute documentary, The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’ is now available for viewing via Paramount+.
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