Don McLean to perform at The Newton Theatre

NEWTON — Singer-songwriter and American Troubadour Don McLean will perform on Friday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m.

McLean will perform, in this intimate setting, his classic songs including "Vincent," "Crying" and top five song of the 20th century, "American Pie."

Don McLean’s career started as a teen in the late 1950s, performing at venues in New York, D.C., Philadelphia and Los Angeles and colleges throughout New York and New England. He appeared alongside artists like Brownie McGee and Sonny Terry, Melanie, Steppenwolf, Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Janis Ian and others.

While a resident singer at Caffe Lena in NY the New York State Council for the Arts invited McLean to become their Hudson River Troubadour. He accepted and spent the summer traveling from town to town in the Hudson Valley, giving talks about the environment and singing songs for whoever would turn up to listen. A year later, McLean was a member of the first crew of the Sloop Clearwater with Pete Seeger. They travelled the Atlantic seaboard giving concerts at each port and featuring in the news wherever they went.

In 1969, while recording his first album, “Tapestry”, in Berkeley, Cali. the student riots were happening outside the studio as McLean was singing "And I Love You So" inside. When the album was released it attracted good reviews and achieved some commercial success.

The transition to international stardom began with the release of "American Pie," which was recorded on May 26, 1971 and a month later received its first radio airplay on New York’s WNEW-FM and WPLJ-FM to mark the closings of The Fillmore East, the famous New York concert hall.

"American Pie" was issued as a double A-side single in November 1971, becoming number 1 on the USA charts and sending McLean to superstardom. Every line of the song was analyzed time and time again to find the real meaning. Don refused to sanction any of the many interpretations, so adding to its mystery.

Thirty years later, McLean's "American Pie" was selected as one of the five greatest songs of the 20th century in a poll by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry Association of America. The other four songs were "This Land is Your Land," "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "White Christmas" and "Respect."

The second single, "Vincent," became a hit in 1972. In the wake of the album “American Pie”, McLean became a major concert attraction. Later he also had massive success in 1980 with Roy Orbison’s song "Crying."

McLean credits his 1997 performance at Garth Brooks’ Central Park concert (attended by more than 500,000) as the beginning of a career comeback, bringing down the house with an acoustic rendition of American Pie.

Two years later Garth Brooks repaid the favor by appearing as a special guest on McLean's first ever TV special, broadcast on PBS and released as “Starry Starry Night” on DVD and CD. A month later, McLean wound up the 20th century by performing American Pie for President Clinton at the Lincoln Memorial Gala In Washington D.C.

In 2000, Madonna had a hit with a cover version of "American Pie," which prompted EMI to release a new “Best of Don McLean” CD that gave McLean his first top 30 album in almost 20 years.

Even more surprising than Madonna’s hit with McLean's song, was George Michael’s 2003 decision to record "The Grave," from the “American Pie” album, as a protest against the Iraq war.

In 2002 "American Pie" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and in 2004 McLean was inaugurated into the National Academy of Popular Music Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. In 2007 he shared his life story in Alan Howard’s biography. McLean continues to tour and release new material. He lives in Maine on a 300-acre estate with his wife Patrisha and two children.

Tickets for Don McLean are $69 for premium seating, $64 for orchestra and $59 for balcony. Purchase tickets by visiting www.thenewtontheatre.com or contact the box office at 973-383-3700.

The historic Newton Theatre, located at 234 Spring Street in Newton.