DON MCLEAN / Rock- und Folk-Sänger Don McLean, 70er Jahre. (Photo by kpa/United Archives via Getty … [+]
In the first three parts of this exclusive interview series with singer/songwriter Don McLean, 76, we covered a lot of ground, including his biggest hits “American Pie” and “Vincent,” fear, his views of current music, advice to aspiring musicians, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and more. Here, we focus on McLean’s audience demographics, climate change, his early influences in music, and touring. Following are edited excerpts from a longer phone conversation.
Jim Clash: Do you ever tire of playing your big hits on tour? I mean, you must have played “American Pie” thousands of times.
Don McLean: I have probably a dozen songs that millions and millions of people know that qualify as hits. Those are a big part of my repertoire people expect to hear when they pay money to see me. I don’t perform for my own gratification, but to entertain, give people something. I would not ever not sing the songs they expect from me. The idea is not to go to the theatre with the express purpose of disappointing the audience [laughs]. Ask Mick Jagger the same question about “Satisfaction,” which he’s sung for 60 years. I never forget how I looked forward to seeing something when I was a teenager, when I had no money and was a nobody. I waited months after I had bought tickets for that particular thing. If the show had been canceled for any reason, I would have been devastated. Therefore, you don’t cancel shows. Number two, if I went and they did something completely weird and not what I had expected, that would be disappointing, too. I still think of the people out there [in the audience] who don’t have money, or free time to waste.
Clash: Do you find that now you have a mix of older and younger people at your concerts?
McLean: It’s still mostly older people, but there are young people and families, also.
Clash: Does being an older person give you some leeway when addressing audiences?
McLean: I’m having a blast being where I am right now, because I can pretty much say anything, and nobody can do anything to me [laughs]. My son said, “Well, dad, you’re way unfiltered,” but I’ve been that way all of my life. I don’t think it’s living if you have to be filtered. Today you can’t say a damn thing. Look at Roseanne Barr. She had the best thing in the world going, a TV series and everything, and then she said one of her dumb things. Bingo – it was over. That’s extreme, don’t you think? Give me a break.
Singer Elvis Presley performing Hillbilly Heartbreak on stage in Hollywood, California.
Clash: Who inspired you as a musician, other than, of course, Buddy Holly?
McLean: Oh God. Josh White, the Weavers, Carlos Montoya, Django Reinhardt. I saw [Bob] Dylan in 1962 at Carnegie Hall with a bunch of other musicians, and he sang a song called, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” I was 17 years old, and I thought, “Man, that’s a song, I’ve never heard anything like it.” The Everly Brothers were also one of my favorites. There’s 50 people that come into my head, and I can’t name them all.
Clash: How about Elvis Presley?
McLean: Elvis Presley was massive. The first time you laid eyes on him, and heard his songs, you understood he was in a class by himself. In my neighborhood, middle class, everybody had a Bo Diddley record, a Little Richard album, the Everly Brothers, but not everyone had an Elvis record. Elvis was a little more dangerous, a little bit greasy. But I adored him.
American singer-songwriter Don McLean sitting on a rock overlooking the Hudson River near his home … [+]
Clash: You mentioned climate change earlier.
McLean: I was with Pete Seeger for seven years. He was very avant garde, had moved away from the anti-war/civil rights thing in the mid-1960s, and became adamantly involved in the environment. He read like crazy, knew all of these progressive scientists. I got involved, and it was fascinating. The scientists would give lectures, and say that, in 50 years, this is going to happen, and that is going to happen, unless we do something right now. Well, 50 years later, it’s all happening exactly like they said it would. That’s creepy. You can argue all you want about whether or not people caused it, but it’s happening.