Don McLean after “American Pie”
“American Pie” brought him fame, but McLean continued to record other songs for the next decades. His third album, “Don McLean,” was released in 1972 and peaked at number 23 on the Billboard 200 chart. One of the songs on the album, “The Pride Parade,” is about the overwhelming feelings the singer had to deal with as a result of his fulminant success. “Playin’ Favorites,” his fourth album, was released in 1973 and included McLean’s cover of Buddy Holly’s “Every day.”
Don McLean performs at the 2014 Stagecoach Country Music Festival – Day 2 at the Empire Polo Club on April 26, 2014, in Indio, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/WireImage)
McLean’s final studio recording for United Artists was the 1974 album “Homeless Brother,” whose title was inspired Jack Kerouac’s book “Lonesome Traveler.” McLean moved briefly to Arista Records, where he released his “Prime Time” album in 1978. After a disagreement with Clive Davis, the Arista chief, McLean no longer had a record contract in the United States but released his single “Chain Lightning” by Festival Records in Australia and EMI in Europe. As a consequence of his international success, the singer signed a new deal in the United States with Millennium Records in 1981.
Further chart success followed in the 1980’s with singles “Since I Don’t Have You” and “It’s Just the Sun.” The “Don McLean Classics” album was released in 1992 and featured new studio recordings of “Vincent” and “American Pie.” The singer continued to record, and his latest album, “Addicted to Black” was released in 2009.