He explains that the “marching band” means the military-industrial complex and “sweet perfume” is tear gas. McLean reveals that his oblique references to a king and a jester have nothing to do with Elvis or Bob Dylan, but he's open to other interpretations. The documentary answers some questions, but not all. The lyrics - dreamlike and impressionistic - have been pored over for decades, dissected for meaning. “American Pie” is packed with cultural references, from Chevrolet to nursey rhymes, while namechecking The Byrds, John Lennon, Charles Manson and James Dean. I’ve been fighting everybody my whole life,” he says. At over 8 minutes, radio stations balked at playing it, and McLean's record label, Media Arts, went bust just as it was to release the album “American Pie.”Īfter seeing the documentary, McLean was struck by a common strand in his career: “What I noticed was that I had to fight so many battles to get this thing done, to get everything. The addition of pianist Paul Griffin at the last minute was a “Hail Mary” stroke of genius that made the whole tune click.īut recording the song was just the beginning of trouble ahead. McLean - along with a few session musicians - rehearsed for two weeks without nailing the song, getting increasingly frustrated. Producer Ed Freeman was unimpressed with McLean's clutch of songs and didn’t think McLean was up to playing rhythm guitar on “American Pie.” He eventually relented. The documentary reveals that recording the album was not exactly a smooth process.
There are interviews with musicians - Garth Brooks, “Weird Al” Yankovich and Brian Wilson, among them - as well as Valens' sister, Connie, and actor Peter Gallagher, whose character's death on “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” promoted an onscreen performance of “American Pie.” The British singer Jade Bird, Cuban-born producer Rudy Perez and Spanish singer Jencarlos Canela speak to how the song has resonated far past America. Cameras capture McLean visiting the hallowed Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, the last place Holly and his fellow musicians played before their fatal flight in 1959. The 90-minute documentary incorporates news footage of the ’70s and uses actors in recreations.
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