Don McLean is a Swiftie.
The iconic singer-songwriter behind “American Pie” and “Vincent” recently spoke about Taylor Swift’s extraordinary success in an interview with The standard.
McLean, whose song “American Pie (Parts I & II)” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in 1972, is impressed by Swift’s evolution from an up-and-coming country artist to a global star.
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“She is an example of what you can achieve with talent and really hard work,” McLean said, describing Swift as a “monster star, as big as the galaxy.”
McLean continued, “She works all the time and she does everything she does better than anyone else, whether it’s a video or a performance or writing songs or records or whatever… The only thing she has to do is stay happy.”
Reflecting on his own career, McLean says, “I have a lot of interests and they keep me going. I don’t walk around thinking, ‘Man, why don’t I have this?’ or ‘Why don’t I have that?’ – that’s the quickest way to become unhappy that I can imagine.”
McLean, who has sold over 50 million records worldwide, has received numerous awards, including induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame for “American Pie.”
In 2021, Swift sent McLean a message and a bouquet of flowers after her 10-minute version of “All Too Well” overtook his song “American Pie (Parts I & II)” as the longest song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“What an amazing artist!” McLean tweeted at the time, sharing Swift’s handwritten dedication, which reads: “Don, I will never forget standing on the shoulders of giants. Your music was so important to me. Sending love from one LONG SONGS writer to another. Your fan, Taylor.”
In the recent interview, McLean also discussed the challenges Swift faced in the music industry, particularly with regard to ownership of her early albums.
“The record companies are the biggest thieves on the planet. That was their business, stealing. You have to be very careful,” he said, referring to Swift’s legal battles to regain control of her discography from Scooter Braun, which led to her re-recording her first six studio albums.
