#don mclean

[emo--chanel]

thank you for participating in this very important professional scientific study!

#polls #music poll #sweet caroline #neil diamond #piano man #billy joel #american pie #don mclean #take me home country roads #john denver #tiny dancer #elton john #mamma mia #abba #we will rock you #queen #holding out for a hero #bonnie tyler #jennifer saunders #shrek 2 #don't stop believin' #journey #journey band #poll #me #tumblr polls

[70s-music-tourney]

#70s music #70s #polls #don mclean #john denver

[best-overplayed-song]

fun facts

American Pie is about evolution of rock & roll through the sixties, following the 1959 plane crash that led to the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. He also references many of the major events during the sixties

Producer Stock Aitken Waterman worked on You Spin Me Round for 36 hours straight (fueled by cocaine). Dead or Alive frontman Pete Burns said: "It was the sound of the underground. It was a sound that was fundamentally only accessible at gay clubs, and he’d taken it out of gay clubs and put it onto mainstream radio, which was a triumph"

#best overplayed song bracket #tumblr bracket #tournament poll #polls #don mclean #dead or alive

[thegaycousin-upgrade]

#hallelujah #Lenard cohen #american pie #don mclean #take me to church #hozier #hallelujah is a Jewish song #stop changing the lyrics #to make it Christian #music #meme

[katenepveu]

important music poll

The teenager has "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "American Pie" on a playlist and of course we both sing along whenever they come on, which always (1) gives me a delightful moment of cross-generational connection and (2) makes me wonder how widespread it is that people know these very long wordy and weird songs. Especially since I did not indoctrinate the kids with either song, unless you count playing the Muppets version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" when they were toddlers.

If you'd like to sing along now, or if you're one of today's lucky ten thousand who doesn't know one or both songs, see behind the read-more.

And please do reblog for a wider response!

#music #polls #queen #bohemian rhapsody #don mclean #american pie #mine-ish #reposted to fix embarrassing cut and paste error

[affiches-concerts]

Don McLean, 1972.

#Don McLean #1972

[elvismentions]

#elvismentions #elvismentions 1 year anniversay music event #elvis #elvis presley #bob dylan #american pie #don mclean #rock n roll history #rock n roll #music #music lyrics

[n3wy0rkd011]

Do you believe in rock ‘n’ roll? Can music save your mortal soul?

#american pie #don mclean #rock ‘n’ roll #rock n roll #rock n’ roll #rock ‘n roll

[pineapple-coffee]

gattaca (1997) / “vincent” by don mclean

#I still have such deep feelings over this movie #and Vincent is THE song for them #gattaca #jerome morrow #vincent freeman #don mclean #jerome x vincent #ethan hawke #jude law #freemorrow #do these two have a ship name?

[fleetshotter-minstrel]

#don mclean #vincent #1970s music #vincent van gogh #youtube

[vandafag]

#love wins! #simon and garfunkel #donovan #the byrds #don mclean #60s music #folk rock #is this funny idk

[70s-music-tourney]

Bonus Poll using other popular 70s songs from artists we already featured

#70s music #70s #polls #fleetwood mac #abba #queen #don mclean #donna summer #marvin gaye #elton john #billy joel

[best-overplayed-song]

fun facts

American Pie is about evolution of rock & roll through the sixties, following the 1959 plane crash that led to the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. He also references many of the major events during the sixties

Tom Cochrane wrote a demo called "Love is a Highway" in the late eighties, but shelved the song. Several years later he revisited it, and it became "Life is a Highway"

#best overplayed song bracket #tumblr bracket #tournament poll #don mclean #tom cochrane

[aboutoriginality]

Watch "Don McLean - American Pie (Lyric Video)" on YouTube

🥧

#don mclean #american pie #Youtube

[hit-song-showdown]

Year-End Poll #23: 1972

[Image description: a collage of photos of the 10 musicians and musical groups featured in this poll. In order from left to right, top to bottom: Roberta Flack, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Don McLean, Harry Nilsson, Sammy Davis Jr., Joe Tex, Bill Withers, Mac Davis, Melanie, Wayne Newton. End description]

More information about this blog here

I mentioned in a previous poll how fast culture changed in the 1970s, and that doesn't feel like an exaggeration. This was the final year of the draft and more American troops were being taken out of Vietnam. As American troops were coming home, The Today Show aired a "while you were away" segment to go over how the culture has shifted while they were overseas. Most, if not all, of this segment was a joke, but it shows that even at the time people were aware that something was changing and it was changing fast. To paraphrase historian Rick Perlstein, they left a country where The Sound of Music was the most popular movie, and they came home to a country where the most popular movie was Last Tango in Paris.

To get back to the music, it feels wrong not to shine the spotlight on Don McLean's American Pie. For one, I probably could have used the lyrics as the blurb for one of the 60's polls and saved myself a lot of time. The lyrics themselves show this changing cultural shift as well, reflecting on how aimless this new generation felt. It's hard not to put a 2020s lens on everything. But looking back at a time that was rife with political scandals and politicians not seeming to care about the rising bodycounts affecting their citizens, I'd be lying if I said the sentiment doesn't hit home. "A generation lost in space" indeed.

However, in addition to the longest song on this poll, I also want to highlight one of the shorter ones. Specifically, Joe Tex's I Gotcha. Funk music is going to continue to grow in popularity this decade, even though the full extent of that cultural movement won't always be seen on the top of the charts. But the reason I wanted to highlight this song specifically is to use it as a prelude to what's coming next. If you listen to the song, pay attention to the chorus when the rest of the instruments drop out to put more emphasis on the percussion and how Joe Tex's rhythmic vocals play against the beat.

And for my third highlight, if the artist behind the tenth song sounds familiar, that's because the song was by Mr. Las Vegas himself. Or, if any Fallout fans follow this blog (and judging by the results on some of the 50's-60's polls, I know you're here), Mr. New Vegas. Speaking of gamers, Pong debuted this year as well.

I've rewritten this section multiple times, because I don't want to gloss over a specific moment in history, but it also feels jarring to bring it up in a poll with mostly unpolitical songs. After spending a few polls talking about how the war affected the American psyche, it feels important to reinforce that the people of Vietnam didn't have to be soldiers or reporters to see the war before their eyes instead of on a television set. 1972 also marks the year of the Christmas Bombings, one of the most horrific 12-day stretches in an already horrific war. Even though I don't go over every historic moment in these descriptions, it felt wrong not to bring this up. Even as this event would result in the general population's mistrust towards Nixon and the government growing even more rapidly, it wouldn't be enough.

Nixon no longer had to worry about reelection and it felt like the entire country was holding its breath before something major happened.

#billboard poll #billboard music #1970s #1970s music #1972 #roberta flack #gilbert o'sullivan #don mclean #harry nilsson #sammy davis jr #joe tex #bill withers #mac davis #melanie #wayne newton

[smbhax]

^ The Flight of Dragons opening by Don McLean, according to Wikipedia

^ The Last Unicorn opening by America--and the London Symphony Orchestra, again according to Wikipedia

Rankin & Bass that haunted my childhood : P

#animation #film #films #the flight of dragons #the last unicorn #flight of dragons #don mclean #london symphony orchestra #america band #rankin and bass #rankin & bass #unicorn #dragon #dragons #unicorns #fantasy #animated #1980s #songs #music #Youtube