GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — “Bye, bye, Miss American Pie. Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye and singing ‘this’ll be the day that I die. This’ll be the day that I die.’”
For five decades, people from different generations, countries and walks of life have been singing those world-famous lyrics, written and sung by Don McLean.
Little did McLean know, his 1971 hit record influenced Grand Rapids in a major way, several decades later.
“Well, somebody said, you know, ‘there’s 5,000 people in Grand Rapids who’ve sung your song and it’s being seen by millions and millions of viewers,’” McLean recalled. “So I checked it out and I said, ‘I couldn’t believe it.’ It was like a Spielberg video for somebody. You know, it’s a tremendous video, just on its own, for the song. And they used a solo version. There’s no background musicians in that. It’s just me and guitar.”
It may be hard to believe now, but more than a decade ago, in 2011, Newsweek named Grand Rapids “Most Boring City in America.”
Community members responded with a citywide “Lip Dub” to a live version of McLean’s “American Pie.”
WATCH: The Grand Rapids LipDub
Thousands of Grand Rapids community members joined in on the more than eight-minute-long video, which not only went viral, but also set a new world record for largest lip dub video.
The May 22, 2011 grand production reportedly cost tens of thousands of dollars, included a major shutdown of downtown Grand Rapids and filled the streets with marching bands, motorcades and even some explosives.
Fast forward to Friday, June 17, 2022. McLean brought his 50th anniversary tour behind “American Pie” to DeVos Performance Hall.
Friday afternoon, Black Pigeon Studios invited McLean to reflect on his legacy and the influence “American Pie” had on the Grand Rapids community.
“I got a chance to look around and it’s just a beautiful city. It’s got a lot of vibrancy and youth and the architecture’s interesting… I’m excited about tonight… and I was happy to do this event,” McLean told FOX 17.
Black Pigeon Studios says the event aimed “to bridge the gap between Hollywood and Michigan. BPS wants to create an environment where ‘Hollywood industry’ intersects with local Michigan industry. This is crucial for the development of Michigan’s Film, music, art community and local economy.”
So where does Grand Rapids, and its 2011 lip dub, fit into bridging that gap?
“Everything’s going to be part of that documentary. That’s the story. That’s what the movie is about, really, is this journey and then what’s happened after. And that’s where the lip dub gets included because here, it’s over here,” McLean explained.
50 years after he wrote the song, McLean is ready to tell the story of “American Pie” with a documentary.
“The documentary is called The Day the Music Died: The Making of Don McLean’s American Pie. It’s been in the works for two years. Mark Moormann is the man who’s making the movie. He’s the filmmaker. It’s the brainchild of a man named Spencer Proffer,” McLean told FOX 17.
“Really, the song American Pie and the album, but especially that song, took ten years to write. It started when I learned about Buddy Holly’s death when I was 15 as a paper boy. Ten years later…Phil Everly told me that Buddy Holly took a plane because he needed to do his laundry. And when he did that, he immediately changed everything in my head.
“I went home and I wrote the first part of American Pie. I knew I wanted to write a big song about America. I had no idea how I was going to do it. It was not going to be like any other song ever, and it took me three months to figure out where I was going with it.
“It’s a long story, but that’s the story the movie is going to be about, and you’re going to see it as if you were right here on my shoulder, living my life.”
“The Day the Music Died: The Story Behind Don McLean’s American Pie” documentary is scheduled to be released on July 1.
