Don McLean III is an American singer-songwriter born on October 2, 1945.

In 1969 McLean toured with Pete Seeger, whom he credits for teaching him how to perform. While on tour he wrote his debut album Tapestry, which was rejected 72 times from labels before eventually being picked up by Mediarts. Mediarts was eventually taken over by United Artists Records, who were able to promote McLean’s second album American Pie to a wider audience. Both “American Pie” and “Vincent” from this album became #1 hits.

“American Pie” remained at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 21 days in 1972. At 8:36, it is the longest song to ever reach #1.

Subsequent albums did not reach similar commercial success to American Pie, however McLean embarked on numerous successful tours. McLean signed with Millennium Records in 1981.

As a songwriter, McLean’s most popular hits include “And I Love You So” for Perry Como, “Wonderful Baby” for Fred Astaire, and “The Grave” for George Michael.

“American Pie” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. McLean was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004, awarded by Garth Brooks.