Don McLean Wasn’t Country, But He Wasn’t Far Off

'Bye, Bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry...'

When you hear it, you can't help but sing along.

Don McLean's 'American Pie' was more than a classic, it became an anthem to 'the day the music died'.  It wasn't Country Music, but it didn't matter.  In 1971 and 1972, you couldn't get away from the song...and you didn't want to.

But on a personal level, it wasn't 'American Pie' that made me a Don McLean fan.  It was a song he did about Vincent Van Gogh, a song some people called 'Starry Starry Night', but was actually just simply entitled 'Vincent'.

No, Don Mclean will never go down as one of Country Music's greatest artist's.  He'll never be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  And there's a very good reason for that.

He wasn't Country.  But he wasn't far off either.