By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS
mdrahos@record-eagle.com
July 04, 2008 12:00 am INTERLOCHEN -- If creating the fifth greatest song of the 20th century brought Don McLean more notoriety than he was comfortable with, it also allowed him to surround himself with the natural places and wide open spaces he craves. More than three decades after scoring a mega-hit with the 1970s rock anthem "American Pie," the musician lives on a peaceful 175-acre estate in coastal Maine, where he gardens, raises horses and works on select projects like the album he calls his "final statement," due out this year. While not exactly a recluse, he relishes his personal freedom, preferring not to answer the phone when he's not traveling and refusing to use a computer, e-mail or pager. "I have been free since I started being a musician and I do not want to relinquish that, either by having excessive communication or by having excessive success, which can be a form of slavery," said McLean, 62. The singer will perform at Interlochen's Kresge Auditorium at 8 p.m. Saturday as part of a six-date concert tour in July. A product of the 1960s New York folk scene, McLean recorded his first album in 1969 and was launched to superstardom two years later with the nearly nine-minute autobiographical "American Pie." While he refuses to discuss the lyrics, he told CBS News in 2007 that the song used rock 'n' roll and the story of rock 'n' roll -- starting with the death of Buddy Holly in a 1959 plane crash -- to tell "the story of America." Over the years, it has been played on the radio more than 3 million times in the U.S. alone. While the song isn't part of the WKLT playlist, it is requested "once in a great while" on the station's all-request show "Lunch at the Leetsville," said host Terri Ray. "It's just so long it's hard to play," Ray added. His songs also have been performed by artists including Madonna, Josh Groban, Fred Astaire, Chet Atkins, Elvis Presley, Perry Como, George Michael and Coolio. Still, he said he never really found an American audience "à la rock, folk, pop, whatever" because of his music's inability to be pigeon-holed. And although he's done well for himself, using the knowledge from a finance degree to hold on to the rights to all his songs, he said he's never been a commercial artist. "I like meeting people and singing for them, signing autographs and hearing their stories and seeing their faces," he said. "It was never about money. It was always about idealism, finding my place in the world, and giving back to people." Ironically, while he's no longer the person who wanted to change the world with his music, McLean may be remembered for doing just that. "American Pie" was voted No. 5 in a poll of the greatest 20th-century songs compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts -- behind only "This Land is Your Land," "Somewhere over the Rainbow," "Respect" and "White Christmas." "I'm delighted, I'm touched," McLean said. "But the thing that amazes me most is that I'm able to continue working, singing, after having basically confused the audience. And that's good. It means I've reached them with the real me, not the 'American Pie' me or the 'Vincent' me or the 'Castles in the Air' me, but with everything I've done." Tickets for his Interlochen concert with a handful of Nashville sidemen range from $24.50 to $39.50 at 800-681-5920 or tickets.interlochen.org.
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