D'Aiutolo, Olivia (August 17, 2015). "A Pinch of History: Amelia Simmons's Apple Pie". Fondly, Pennsylvania. Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020 . Retrieved June 11, 2018. McLean reportedly wrote "American Pie" in Saratoga Springs, New York, at Caffè Lena, but a 2011 New York Times article quotes McLean as disputing this claim. [14] Some employees at Caffè Lena claim that he started writing the song there, and then continued to write the song in both Cold Spring, New York, [15] and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [16] McLean claims that the song was only written in Cold Spring and Philadelphia. [14] Tin & Lint, a bar on Caroline Street in Saratoga Springs, claims the song was written there, and a plaque marks the table. While some have claimed other places, such as Saint Joseph's University, as where the song was first performed, [17] McLean insists that the song made its debut in Philadelphia at Temple University [14] when he opened for Laura Nyro on March 14, 1971. [16] However a 2022 documentary on the history of the song notes that particular concert actually occurred at the nearby Saint Joseph's University. [18] Three sequels and a direct-to-video spinoff series down the line, however, it’s worth reflecting on the specific magic that made American Pie the sensation its predecessors and imitators were not. Much of it has to do with the casting, which brought together several stars (or near stars) of tomorrow before they were recognizable faces. Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge were the only established comic talents – Levy, out of some mercenary sense of obligation, would be the only star to appear in all eight American Pie movies – and Alyson Hannigan had completed a couple seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Natasha Lyonne, Seann William Scott and Shannon Elizabeth were mostly unknown, and John Cho, who comments briefly on Coolidge’s Milf-y appeals, was still five years away from the first Harold & Kumar film.

Ernest Hardy (May 5, 2001). "Review of American Pie by Ernest Hardy". Film.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2001 . Retrieved September 25, 2019. American Pie". Metacritic. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012 . Retrieved February 20, 2010. a b c d "American Pie". Rotten Tomatoes. April 27, 2021. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019 . Retrieved February 20, 2010. Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2000" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015 . Retrieved December 5, 2015. McLean then answers some of the long-standing questions on the song's lyrics, although not all. He reveals that Elvis was not the king referenced in the song, the "girl who sang the blues" was not Janis Joplin, and Bob Dylan was not the jester, although he is open to other interpretations. He says that "marching band" means the military–industrial complex, "sweet perfume" refers to tear gas, and Los Angeles is the "coast" that the Trinity head to ("caught the last train for the coast") – "even God has been corrupted", he comments. He says that "This'll be the day that I die" originated from the John Wayne film The Searchers (which inspired Buddy Holly's song " That'll Be the Day"), and "Bye Bye Miss American Pie" is a reference to a song by Pete Seeger, "Bye Bye, My Roseanna". McLean had originally intended to use "Miss American apple pie" but "apple" was dropped. [19]

What to know

Released on February 28, 2000, [92] the song was a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in many countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Finland. The song was the 19th-best-selling single of 2000 in the UK and the ninth best-selling single of 2000 in Sweden. The single was not released commercially in the United States, but it reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to strong radio airplay. For all its catchy sing-along jauntiness, there’s little to really cheer about in American Pie. It’s devoid of hope. McLean did come up with a more upbeat verse where the music gets “reborn” at the end. But he ditched it. “Things weren’t going that way,” he says. “I didn’t see America improving intellectually or politically. It was going steadily downhill, and so was the music.”

American Pie". Archived from the original on March 16, 2020 . Retrieved June 30, 2018– via www.imdb.com. The Irish Charts – Search Results – American Pie". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved December 20, 2016. Pi Day Contest Winners". National Museum of Mathematics. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015 . Retrieved April 8, 2015.The Day The Music Died: American Pie – Watch Movie Trailer", Paramount Plus, archived from the original on October 5, 2022 , retrieved July 29, 2022