Don McLean, the singer/songwriter who recorded the eight minute-plus pop epic in 1971, wants the world to know he's got nothing to do with the raunchy teen sex comedy of the same name--potential box office hit or no.
The musician's Los Angeles law firm this week issued a statement publicly denying any involvement on his part (or his song's)--going so far as to note, "Mr. McLean adds that he has not seen the motion picture."
What's McLean's glitch? The attorneys couldn't be reached for comment, but the way the press release put it, McLean just wanted to clarify his position to his "fans throughout the world."
On one front, though, McLean was crucial to American Pie--he allowed the filmmakers to borrow the title, put to double-entendre use in the R-rated flick.
McLean apparently is feeling quite chatty these days about his signature song, an ode Buddy Holly and the 1959 plane crash that killed the rocker as well as the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens (aka, "the day the music died").
McLean's camp is taking pains to note two further things about the tune: (1) The entertainer doesn't hate it; and, (2) it's not named after Holly's doomed aircraft.
McLean says the second point is the stuff of urban legend. With apologies to dessert mavens the nation over, McLean says "I created the term ['American Pie']."
In the statement, he says the plane rumor is bothersome to the Holly family and "suggests that the song is more about Holly's memory than it actually is."
As for the first point--the one about McLean allegedly resenting the song that made him famous--he says it's just not so. He says the story was sparked by "an off-hand funny comment I made backstage at a concert years ago." In any case, he says, "I am very proud of 'American Pie.' "
And now you know.
Just one more thing: In case you're looking for a cut of "American Pie," don't buy the American Pie soundtrack.
It's not on there.
Hope that clears everything up.