Here is song number one of my Desert Island Discs:
American Pie by Don McLean.
In the early 70's, my Dad had 2 or possibly 3 cassettes in his car and played them on rotation. One album was Jim Croce but the staple diet was American Pie. I could easily have chosen Till Tomorrow or Vincent (the latter having one of the most perfect melodies ever in the line "But I could have told you Vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you" at 2 mins 19 secs), but I have selected the title track.
You certainly get plenty for your money here, eight and a half minutes about the story of the death of Buddy Holly. I makes me think of times in the car and of my Dad. He still loves this song and sings along readily. Never ever settle for the edited version, you need it all to appreciate the story and the quality of the melody. Not only does this song evoke multiple memories, it's a cracking tune!
Great choice for number one.
ReplyDeleteSurely one of the greatest 'riddle' songs ever - though I'm sure you've worked out all the allusions. (I had to enlist the help of the Internet - though even then some of them are not convincing or conclusive.)
ReplyDeleteBut you've got the additional evocation of yourself with your dad driving along, which is bound to make its feel even stronger.
I was going to mention a certain very abridged version of this great song by a certain artiste, which was a big chart-hit in a recent year - and which I actually liked a lot but which many others seem to have loathed, including the actual singer afterwards. I'd guess that you'd be in the latter category so I won't soil your blog here by mentioning it any further.
Yep, I agree with James, a fantastic choice to kick things off... Not in my eight (or won't be whenever I compile it) but a great song none-the-less.
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