For the Love of Lyrics and Lexicons: Lyrics from "American Pie" by Don McLean

American singer songwriter Don McLean's 1971 number-one single "American Pie" held the record for longest number-one U.S. hit (8 minutes, 42 seconds) for almost 50 years. It was the 1959 plane crash — when early rock and roll legends Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens were killed — that created the song's phrase "the day the music died."

Written and performed by Don McLean.