“American Pie (Part 1)” / “American Pie (Part 2)” – Doyle’s Space: Music Hall of Fame – SOS Award

Released in late 1971, “American Pie” is one of the most iconic songs in American music history, written and performed by Don McLean. The single was issued as two parts: “American Pie (Part 1)” as the A-side and “American Pie (Part 2)” as the B-side, both extracted from his second studio album American Pie (United Artists, 1971).

Due to the song’s unusual length—over 8 minutes total—it was split into two for the 7-inch single format. This division, however, did not prevent it from becoming a cultural landmark. Written by McLean in early 1971, “American Pie” is a sweeping, allegorical ballad chronicling the evolution of American popular music and culture from the 1950s through the end of the 1960s.

The song famously begins by referencing the tragic 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson—a moment McLean termed “the day the music died.” The lyrics continue with veiled allusions to a range of musicians, events, and cultural shifts, including references believed to pertain to Bob Dylan (“the jester”), The Beatles (“sergeants” and “marching band”), The Rolling Stones, the Manson murders, and the turmoil of the late 1960s.

McLean himself has generally resisted giving a line-by-line interpretation, preferring the song to retain its mythic quality, though he confirmed that the first verse is indeed about Buddy Holly. While the full album version of “American Pie” runs approximately 8 minutes and 33 seconds, the single release split the track at around the 4:11 mark.

Radio stations at the time often played both sides consecutively, essentially broadcasting the song in its entirety. Later releases of the single, especially in the digital era, treat “American Pie” as one uninterrupted track. A notable cover version came from Madonna in 2000, offering a drastically shortened and modernized take; McLean praised her effort, though it divided critics.

Unlike traditional B-sides, “American Pie (Part 2)” is not a different song but the direct continuation of Part 1. On vinyl, listeners had to flip the record to hear the second half. While not usually played independently, Part 2 contributed to the complete narrative arc. It features some of the song’s most cryptic and intense imagery—

such as “the three men I admire most / the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost / they caught the last train for the coast”—suggesting the end of spiritual, musical, and cultural innocence. “American Pie (Part 1)” rose quickly on the charts, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 15, 1972, where it remained for four weeks. It also topped charts in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and charted in the UK, where the full-length version was later re-released.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it Platinum, and it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. Rolling Stone ranked it No. 5 on its list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” in 2021. McLean wrote much of the song in Cold Spring, New York, inspired by a sense of nostalgia and concern about the direction of American society. The manuscript of the original lyrics sold for $1.2 million at auction in 2015.

“American Pie” has been referenced in films like Born on the Fourth of July and The Sandlot, as well as TV shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy. In 2022, the song was the subject of a documentary, The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie, exploring its creation and influence. “American Pie” remains one of the most dissected and discussed songs in popular music, a poetic lament about lost innocence and the shifting tides of American culture.

Its split into “Part 1” and “Part 2” was a practical necessity, but the song has always been understood as a singular, epic narrative.