What inspired Don McLean to write, "American Pie"?!
Question: The Death of Buddy Holly in 1959
Answers: The Death of Buddy Holly in 1959
the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens
There are many theories. Here is what Wikipedia an Don himself have to say.
Don McLean's most famous composition, "American Pie," is often interpreted as describing the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper in an airplane crash on February 3, 1959, spawning the phrase, "The Day the Music Died." McLean has stated that the lyrics are also somewhat autobiographical and present an abstract story of his life from the mid-1950s until the time he wrote the song in the late 1960s.[citation needed] The hometown legend is that "the levee" is his hometown bar, the Beechmont Tavern near Iona College.[citation needed] "American Pie" symbolizes the ongoing radical and tumultuous changes in popular music during this period, evolving from the often raw, upbeat sounds that marked the earliest days of rockabilly and the rock eras of the 1950s to the darker, more introspective, often cynical and increasingly socially conscious music of the late 1960s, driven by the sweeping social upheavals and volatile political atmosphere that had engulfed and defined America by the end of the decade.[citation needed]
Don McLean's "American Pie" has remained the subject of intense scrutiny and philosophical interpretation for more than 30 years as music historians, scholars, professors of modern American literature, and his fans alike continue to search for its 'deeper meaning.' In interviews, Don claims to be amused that many interpretations start with the premise that he never talks about the song nor has ever provided insight into the meaning of the lyrics
THE DEATH OF BUDDY HOLLY
the plane crash that killed buddy holly ritchie vallens and the big bopper
When Buddy Holly et al died in a plane crash.
[the day the music died]
:-)