Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for his 1971 song "American Pie", which was a number-one US hit for four weeks in 1972 and stayed put at 2 for 3 weeks in the UK, as well as a hit for Madonna in 2000. McLean\'s other well-known songs include: "And I Love You So", sung by Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Helen Reddy, and Glen Campbell, among others; "Vincent", a tribute to the 19th-century Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh; "Crying", a cover of the Roy Orbison song and a surprise number 1 hit in the United Kingdom in 1980; and "Castles in the Air", which McLean recorded twice. In 2004, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.\n', '

McLean\'s grandfather and father, both also named Donald McLean, had roots originating in Scotland. The Buccis, the family of McLean\'s mother, Elizabeth, came from Abruzzo in central Italy. They left Italy and settled in Port Chester, New York, at the end of the 19th century. He has other extended family in Los Angeles and Boston.\n', '

Though some of his early musical influences included Frank Sinatra and Buddy Holly, as a teenager, McLean became interested in folk music, particularly the Weavers\' 1955 recording At Carnegie Hall. He often missed long periods of school because of childhood asthma, particularly music lessons, and although McLean slipped back in his studies, his love of music was allowed to flourish. By age 16, he had bought his first guitar and began making contacts in the music business, becoming friends with the folk singers Erik Darling and Fred Hellerman of the Weavers. Hellerman said, "He called me one day and said, \'I\'d like to come and visit you\', and that\'s what he did! We became good friends — he has the most remarkable music memory of anyone I\'ve ever known."\n', '

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