Legendary musician Don McLean chats with Trey Elling, ahead of his show at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, celebrating the release of “American Pie” 50 years ago. Topics include:

  • What the show consists of (2:33)
  • The key to a good story (4:03)
  • How he handled the success of “American Pie” poorly (8:24)
  • Exploring a variety of themes and styles with his music over the past 50 years (13:55)
  • Bob Dylan disliking the likelihood that he’s the jester character in “American Pie” (17:01)
  • The government’s role in many of the horrific events from the 1960s that the song discusses (22:49)
  • The assassination of JFK in 1963 (23:33)
  • Considering the song was inspired by his belief that the world was headed in a terrible direction, was his prediction correct? (29:25)