Page 2 / MORE ART NEWS, REVIEWS AND THINGS TO DO : ‘American Pie’ Still on the Menu : Pop music: Don McLean, along with his ‘70s hit, is enjoying renewed interest. He sings Saturday at OCC.

A long, long time ago, singer-songwriter Don McLean was at the top of the charts with his breakthrough song, “American Pie.” Now he and it are back.

Country music superstar Garth Brooks has sung it in almost every show since his 1997 concert in New York’s Central Park, where Brooks introduced McLean as “my idol.”

More recently, Weird Al Yankovic used the music from the ageless anthem for “The Saga Begins,” his parody of Star Wars on his new “Running With Scissors” LP. And Madonna also plans to use “American Pie” in her upcoming movie, “The Next Best Thing.”

Why all the renewed interest in the legendary song as it nears its 28th anniversary?

“It’s something that’s turned out to be quite prophetic,” suggested McLean, who performs Saturday at Orange Coast College’s Robert B. Moore Theatre to kick off the college’s 1999-2000 season.

“In a general sense, it’s a song about loss . . . and how commercialism is the death of inspiration,” said the 53-year-old native of Rochelle, N.Y. “I had no idea we’d be where we are now as a society.

“When I wrote the song, I personally had just gone through an emotionally and psychologically scarred period,” he recalled in a telephone interview from his home in Maine. “At the same time, I was interested in the tormented America that I lived through in the ‘60s, and I wanted to write a big song that kind of summed up the fear and loathing of the Vietnam era.”

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McLean said it is only partially true that “American Pie”--which includes the plaintive words “I can’t remember if I cried/When I read about his widowed bride/Something touched me deep inside/The day the music died”--is about the death of Buddy Holly.

“I am a huge fan of Buddy Holly, and his death is something I tapped into, but that connection is only in the first verse. . . . It’s about America’s loss of innocence.”

Having such a huge hit so early in one’s career creates heightened commercial and personal expectations for more. Although he did produce more Top 40 hits--”Vincent,” “Dreidel,” “If We Try,” “Castles in the Air,” and a cover of Roy Orbison’s “Crying”--industry pressures became overbearing for McLean.

“What little of that success I’ve experienced was horrifying,” he said. “After ‘American Pie,’ I was this overnight sensation that was completely exhausted by all of the attention and demands. So over the years, I’ve returned to doing what I loved when I started out.”

After the “American Pie” LP, McLean’s albums for United Artists in the 1970s offered an eclectic mix, ranging from the soul-baring “Don McLean” (1972) to the traditional folk, country and bluegrass stylings of “Playin’ Favorites” (1973) to the socially conscious, folk-tinged ‘Homeless Brother” (1974). While none has garnered the acclaim of “American Pie,” McLean said he’s proud of his hits and misses.

“I never leave a song behind,” he said. “Popular or not, they’re all fair game when I’m making out my set list for concerts. I might play obscure selections like ‘Fashion Victim’ or ‘Infinity’ (both from 1991’s ‘Headroom’) just because I think they’re quality songs. Heck, I’d even play ‘Profiteering Blues’ (the Irving Bibo cover from 1992’s ‘Favorites & Rarities’) if I could find someone who can play all the crazy piano parts.”

McLean said he’s comfortable balancing the demands of his career and family life, which includes his journalist wife Patrisha, daughter Jackie, 9, and son Wyatt, 7. This year, however, has been quite busy.

He recently composed “This Is America (Eisenhower),” the title song for the forthcoming Broadway musical “Eisenhower.” In the works are a PBS special titled “Don McLean, American Troubadour,” and three new recordings, including an album of McLean originals, a children’s album and a Marty Robbins tribute LP, “Don McLean Sings Marty Robbins,” whom McLean considers “a country-and-western Irving Berlin.”

McLean--who will be backed Saturday by bassist Ralph Childs, drummer Jerry Kroone and piano-synthesizer player Tony Migliore--plays only about 60 shows a year. But he still loves playing live.

“When you walk off the stage after a well-received set, you feel ageless,” he said. “It’s never a burden. It’s an incredible high . . . this communion with people. At the very moment you share something with others, you define yourself--and that’s very exciting.”

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* Don McLean plays Saturday at Orange Coast College’s Robert B. Moore Theatre, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. $29-$37. (714) 432-5880.

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* 1999-2000 SEASON

Latin jazz, big bands and acrobats are on the schedule at the Robert B. Moore Theatre. F27