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)