American Pie
Don McLean
1972
Annual listening list: initial release cycle, with recent carryovers; not an original-release-date field. Release chronology remains partly unverified.
Release year not established
Release year not establishedDate review open
A first-release date was not established in the available metadata.
The large badge identifies this listening list, not a newly issued recording. Later reissues and renewed chart popularity do not replace an original release date. How years are assigned.
About Don McLean
Song-specific inspiration or recording background is not established for this entry. This sourced artist profile provides career context.
Don McLean began as a folk performer, including work supporting Pete Seeger's Hudson River cleanup efforts. Tapestry introduced his album career in 1970, followed by American Pie in 1971. His repertoire includes the extended title song, Vincent and Dreidel, while Playin' Favorites revisited folk and country material. Later recordings also brought his interpretations of songs by other writers, including Roy Orbison's Crying.
Artist background sources
Don McLean - Songwriters Hall of Fame biography
Folk and Seeger connection, early album sequence, selected repertoire and later interpretations. The source misnames And I Love You So, blurs Castles in the Air album placement, and uses a later Chain Lightning date; none of those claims is reproduced. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-17. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
Retained annual-list context
American Pie by Don McLean appears at number 3 in the reviewed U.S. year-end table for 1972. No reliable song-specific account of its inspiration was established in this review.
Annual-list context only; songwriting inspiration remains unestablished
Billboard year-end 1972 table (Wikipedia transcription)
Secondary transcription reviewed 2026-10-11: title, artist and annual chart association; not original release date or complete recording metadata.
Other appearances and versions
catalog version unspecified
Original release date and exact pressing/version are not independently established.
An annual chart year and an original release date are different. Similar titles may be covers or different masters; no audio fingerprint has been performed.
Sources and scope
Source-backed annual association (secondary source; not a complete discographic review)
Editorial artist-repertoire classification
Billboard year-end 1972 table (Wikipedia transcription)
Secondary transcription reviewed 2026-10-11: title, artist and annual chart association; not original release date or complete recording metadata.
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