Singer-songwriter Don McLean will sing his celebrated hits “American Pie,” “Vincent,” “Crying” and other classics at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on July 5, 2012 at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 1 at 1 p.m.
As a teenager, young New York troubadour Don McLean purchased his first guitar, took opera lessons and began making contacts in the music business. He performed at venues including the Bitter End and Gaslight Café in New York, the Newport Folk Festival, the Cellar Door in Washington, D.C., the Main Point in Philadelphia, and over 40 colleges throughout the East Coast alongside artists Herbie Mann, Brownie McGee and Sonny Terry, Melanie, Steppenwolf, Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Janis Ian and others. He even turned down a prestigious scholarship to Columbia University Graduate School in favor of becoming resident singer at Caffe Lena in New York.
An early environmentalist, McLean traveled the Hudson Valley, giving talks about the environment and singing songs for whoever would listen. A year later, he joined the first crew of the Sloop Clearwater. With Pete Seeger, they travelled the Atlantic seaboard giving concerts at each port.
In 1969, Don recorded his first album, Tapestry, in Berkeley, CA. Outside the studio door, student riots were taking place; inside Don was singing “And I Love You So.” In 1971, American Pie was released and marked the closing of The Fillmore East, the famous New York concert hall. Some 30 years later, “American Pie” would be voted #5 in a poll of the 365 Songs of the Century compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.
McLean’s second single, 1972’s “Vincent,” reached #12 in the US and #1 in the UK#1 where its stayed on the charts for 53 consecutive weeks. Concert footage and other video clips set to McLean songs formed the 1972 award-winning produced Bob Elfstrom-produced film, Till Tomorrow. Tapestry was reissued followed by the self-titled Don McLean that included the song “The Pride Parade.” Playin’ Favorites became a top-40 hit in the UK in 1973 and included the classic, “Mountains of Mourne” and Buddy Holly’s “Everyday.”
Throughout the 1970s, McLean remained an in-demand concert performer. It was not until 1978, however, that he teamed with Elvis Presley’s back-up singers, The Jordanaires, for the hits “Chain Lightning” and the #1 “Crying.” The early 1980s saw further chart successes with “Since I Don’t Have You,” a new recording of “Castles in the Air” and “It’s Just the Sun.” He also released the country-based Love Tracks (1987), Favorites and Rarities (1992) and the recent Addicted to Black (2009).
A true American classic, his songs have been covered by Guns N’ Roses, The Fugees, George Michael and Madonna. In 2002, “American Pie” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and in 2004, McLean was inaugurated into the National Academy of Popular Music Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.
Tickets are $59, $49, $39 and $29*; all seats are reserved and available at all Ticketmaster outlets online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone: 1-800-745-3000. Doors open one-hour prior to show start time. *Additional fees may apply