The strands of Don McLean's career trace back to "American Pie" not only because it was his first and biggest hit and demonstrated his songwriting ability, but also because it expressed his musical taste. Right off the bat, McLean declared that, for him, "the music died" in 1959 when Buddy Holly's plane went down. McLean spent the rest of his career demonstrating his affection for the pop music that was made before that date, or at any rate, in the same styles and mostly before the British Invasion of the mid-'60s, mixing ...
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The strands of Don McLean's career trace back to "American Pie" not only because it was his first and biggest hit and demonstrated his songwriting ability, but also because it expressed his musical taste. Right off the bat, McLean declared that, for him, "the music died" in 1959 when Buddy Holly's plane went down. McLean spent the rest of his career demonstrating his affection for the pop music that was made before that date, or at any rate, in the same styles and mostly before the British Invasion of the mid-'60s, mixing in his original material with reverent revivals of hit songs from the era. In that context, his tribute to Marty Robbins, issued on his own Don McLean Records label, is of a piece with his demonstrated tastes. It's no surprise that McLean loves Robbins' music, which crossed over from country to pop, particularly in the second half of the '50s and the early '60s, or that he performs it so well here. What may surprise listeners at least a little is the song list. In his liner notes, McLean makes clear that he wanted to delve deeper than just the best-known Robbins songs, and he does. But that means that he ignores some of those Robbins signature tunes (a notable omission being "A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)"), and that he sings some songs not generally associated with Robbins, but very much associated with other performers. For example, while Robbins may have recorded "Kaw-Liga," it is really known as a Hank Williams' song; Williams wrote it and topped the country charts with it. And the overwrought "You Gave Me a Mountain" was a hit for Frankie Laine, not Robbins, with Elvis Presley also turning in a memorable rendition. By singing these songs, McLean doesn't really claim them for Robbins, he just introduces them into his own repertoire. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, and it may even suggest that he should take on tributes to Williams or Laine next. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi
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