Don McLean

Singer-songwriter Don McLean is synonymous with his generation-defining number one hit "American Pie," a sprawling, eight-and-a-half-minute-long epic that tells the story of the music of the 1960s and the cultural changes that followed in the decade's wake.

New Rochelle, N.Y.-born McLean began his career in the 1960s and released his debut album, Tapestry, in 1970, winning notice for his rich, baritone voice and his poetic songwriting style, which often touches on themes of love, loss and American life. "American Pie," inspired by the plane crash that claimed the lives of rockers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper - a tragedy McLean famously dubbed "The Day the Music Died" - was released in 1971 and became a cultural phenomenon.

While "American Pie" proved impossible to top, McLean continued to release new material throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including 1973's Playin' Favorites and 1978's Chain Lightning. He has been honored with numerous awards and accolades, including induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.