Don McLean is an American singer and songwriter born in New York.  He is most famously known for his second album American Pie—which contains two number one hits: “American Pie” and “Vincent.”

On this day, December 16, in 1971, Don McLean had a major break in the industry when he released the song “American Pie.”  The song was initially inspired by Don’s memories as a paperboy in 1959 and by Buddy Holly’s death.  It is partly biographical and partly the American story from the 1950s to 1980s.  It represents the evolution of popular music and politics by shedding the lightness of the 1950s to the darkness of the late 1960s.

The success that McLean experienced from “American Pie” made him an international star and renewed interest in his first album.  As a result, his first album was able to make the charts two years after being released.