The Day the Music Died

Radio listeners couldn’t not hear Don McLean’s epic, catchy and all-so-mysterious hit tune “American Pie” when it was released in 1971. An 8-½ minute puzzle packed with allusive language and a lot of mood swings, the song made a star of the folk singer (now 77) and remains a popular singalong. Filmmaker Mark Moorman weaves together multiple layers – various interpretations of the lyrics, McLean’s own story and the tragic 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, and inspired the song.