donnica59

<ul><li>The first song on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/blog/playingmysong/don-mclean-american-pie" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Don McLean</a>'s first album, "Castles In The Air" is about a disillusioned city dweller who leaves his socialite girlfriend because he's tired of their superficial lifestyle, while she is incapable of knowing anything else.&nbsp;</li><li><br></li><li>This is one of many songs McLean worked up in the '60s when he made the rounds on the folk music circuit, playing clubs and festivals on the East Coast.</li><li>He spent most of his time in New York's Hudson Valley, where he often performed with Pete Seeger.</li><li>In 1969, McLean was a crew member on a sloop called the Clearwater, which Seeger sailed to pressure politicians into passing clean water legislation.</li><li><br></li><li>During this time, McLean built a small following as he honed his skills.</li><li>By the time he made his first album, he had written, rewritten, refined and discarded hundreds of songs, finally settling on 10.</li><li>When he shopped it to record companies, he got rejection after rejection until Alan Livingston, formerly of Capitol Records, signed McLean to his new label, Mediarts.</li><li><br></li><li>In 1970, the album was finally released. Titled&nbsp;<strong>Tapestry</strong>, McLean beat Carole King to the name by a year. "Castles In The Air" was released as a single, but like the album, had little impact.</li><li><br></li><li>Soon after, Mediarts ran into financial problems, putting McLean in rough waters.</li><li>He kept writing songs for his next album, hoping something would work out, and they did: United Artists bought Mediarts and issued McLean's second album.</li><li>That album was&nbsp;<strong>American Pie</strong>, catapulted McLean to the big leagues.</li><li>"Castles In The Air" found a much bigger audience when his new fans dug into his catalog.</li><li><br></li><li>McLean released a new version of this song in 1981, which was his last hit, going to #36 in America and #47 in the UK.</li></ul><p><br></p>