THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

Don McLean exploded into my life when by chance, I heard his ballad "American Pie" on the radio. It was a complicated structure, almost a cantata, but it had a spontaneity that almost seemed improvised. But if you examined it carefully, a clear structure emerges but with touches of Christian revivals. 

I have called Don MacLean the "Shakespeare of Song." Even though, he was born in 1945, when I was nine years old, we have had strangely parallel careers. He delivered the morning newspapers in his hometown of New Rochelle, and he identified with country music. I delivered the morning Amarillo Globe, and identified with the music of Gershwin and Broadway. 

I discovered Don MacLean through his epic, The Day the Music Died, as I had attended Texas Tech and knew of Buddy Holly when he performed around Lubbock. My girlfriend Dorothy scheduled Holly to perform at Texas Tech. Holly grew up in Lubbock and sang western music as he was growing up. I grew up in Amarillo, always pursuing New York, Gershwin, and the musical theater scene. I wrote musicals every year through grade school, junior high, and Amarillo High School, where I edited the school newspaper, the yearbook, and wrote a musical show every year that I performed in, including "The Ballad of the Blue Rose." I cast my high school idol, Caroline Southwood to dance in the ballet.

But when I discovered MacLean's music, I thrived on his performances. No one has equaled his output. His lyrics are pure poetry, with intricate rhyme schemes and thematic metaphors. For me, he is the Shakespeare of the American Song.