FIRST TIME HEARING *DON MCLEAN* // VINCENT // REACTION!!!

FIRST TIME HEARING DON MCLEAN // VINCENT // REACTION!!! #donmclean #vincent #reaction BIOGRAPHY OF DON MCLEAN Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known to fans as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail",he is best known for his 1971 hit song "American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone"[4] about the loss of innocence of the early rock and roll generation.[5] His other hit singles include "Vincent" (about Vincent van Gogh), "Dreidel", and "Wonderful Baby"; as well as his renditions of Roy Orbison's "Crying" and the Skyliners' "Since I Don't Have You". McLean's song "And I Love You So" has been recorded by Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Helen Reddy, Glen Campbell, and others. In 2000, Madonna had a hit with a rendition of "American Pie". In 2004, McLean was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In January 2018, BMI certified that "American Pie" and "Vincent" had reached five million and three million airplays respectively.[6] Musical roots McLean's grandfather and father, both also named Donald McLean, were of Scottish origin. McLean's mother, Elizabeth Bucci, was Italian, originated from Abruzzo in central Italy. He has other extended family in Los Angeles and Boston. Though some of his early musical influences included Frank Sinatra and Buddy Holly,[8] as a teenager, McLean became interested in folk music, particularly the Weavers' 1955 recording The Weavers at Carnegie Hall. He often missed long periods of school because of childhood asthma, and although McLean slipped back in his studies, his love of music was allowed to flourish. By age 16, he had bought his first guitar and began making contacts in the music business, becoming friends with the folk singers Erik Darling and Fred Hellerman of the Weavers. Hellerman said, "He called me one day and said, 'I'd like to come and visit you', and that's what he did! We became good friends — he has the most remarkable music memory of anyone I've ever known." When McLean was 15, his father died. Fulfilling his father's request,[8] McLean graduated from Iona Preparatory School in 1963,[9] and briefly attended Villanova University, dropping out after four months. After leaving Villanova, McLean became associated with the famed folk music agent Harold Leventhal for several months before teaming up with his personal manager, Herb Gart, for 18 years. For the next six years, he performed at venues and events including The Bitter End and the Gaslight Cafe in New York, the Newport Folk Festival, the Cellar Door in Washington, D.C., and the Troubadour in Los Angeles.[7] Gart's 18-year tenure as McLean's manager ended acrimoniously in the 1980s. Following Gart's death[10] in September 2018, McLean wrote: I feel it is important to note that Herb did many good things for me in the beginning but could not deal with my success, as odd as that may sound. In about 1982 Herb told me his associate Walter Hofer who ran Copyright Service Bureau (a collection business for song publishers) had stolen $90,000 from my account but had "put it back". This was a cover story and a lie. Furthermore the amount turned out to be more like $200,000 and because Gart was now complicit in this crime I fired him. He sued me[11] but settled for a small amount and was never heard from again. There is so much of this in my business and artists usually sweep it under the rug but I don't. I want people to know the truth about my journey. McLean attended night school at Iona College and received a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1968.[12] He turned down a scholarship to Columbia University Graduate School in favor of pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter, performing at such venues as Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs, New York and The Main Point in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Later that year, with the help of a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, McLean began reaching a wider audience, with visits to towns up and down the Hudson River.[7] He learned the art of performing from his friend and mentor Pete Seeger. McLean accompanied Seeger on his Clearwater boat trip up the Hudson River in 1969 to raise awareness about environmental pollution in the river. During this time, McLean wrote songs that appeared on his first album Tapestry. McLean co-edited the book Songs and Sketches of the First Clearwater Crew, with sketches by Thomas B. Allen, for which Pete Seeger wrote the foreword. Seeger and McLean sang "Shenandoah" on the 1974 Clearwater album. McLean still thinks about his experiences of working with Seeger: "Hardly a day goes by when I don't think of Pete and how generous and supportive he was. If you could understand his politics and you got to know him, he really was some kind of modern day saint."[7] Recording career