This year marks the 50th anniversary of Don McLean’s American Pie. McLean was an established singer-songwriter prior to his most celebrated and commercially successful album; we recently spoke with the legendary artist, who revealed some of the backstory behind the record that became part of the ‘70s music zeitgeist. Having reached number one within two weeks of its release in October 1971, the album was certified gold within six months. The chart-busting single, “American Pie,” clocking in at over eight minutes in length, was exceedingly long for radio in those days. According to McLean, the record company had initially chopped “American Pie” down to a “radio-friendly” two and a half minutes, and the shortened-single quickly rose to number one. As expected, this success had a positive eff...