Fun Facts about “American Pie”
Don McLean owns the phrase “American Pie” as a registered trademark, so he got money for licensing the title for the “American Pie” movies. This comes as a surprise for many since the serious song has nothing to do with the comedy series.
From “Pinkie Pie” to “The Day Guitar Hero Died,” the song has been used as a parody by many YouTubers in the recent years.
The song was snubbed at the Grammys and other awards, even though it was a critical success. However, 29 years after its release, it was enshrined at the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Joelle Carter and Jason Biggs are caught in bed by parents Molly Cheek, Eugene Levy, and Larry Drake in a scene from the film ‘American Pie 2’, 2001. (Photo by Universal/Getty Images)
Even though the original song was over 8 minutes long, many radio stations in the US had a policy that limited airplay to 3:30 minutes. As such, the song was banned from those stations simply because of its length. There were voices at the time that suggested McLean wrote such a long song as a protest against said policy.
The song was responsible for the revival of interest in Buddy Holly, who wasn’t much remembered in the 1960’s. McLean himself said in an interview: “By 1964, you didn’t hear anything about Buddy Holly. He was completely forgotten. However, I didn’t forget him, and I think this song helped make people aware that Buddy’s legitimate musical contribution had been overlooked. When I first heard ‘American Pie’ on the radio, I was playing a gig somewhere, and it was immediately followed by ‘Peggy Sue.’ They caught right on to the Holly connection, and that made me very happy. I realized that it was gonna perform some good works.”