‘I Feel Fine’: The Beatles song that cured the 1960s depression for Don McLean
In his 1971 hit ‘American Pie’, Don McLean paints a dark picture. Famously, the song discusses “the day the music died”, the 1959 plane crash that killed early rock ‘n’ roll innovators Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. Outside of this central event, he reflects on the profound cultural changes of the 1960s in the track, conveying his disillusion at his generation’s loss of innocence. Years after the song’s wide-reaching success, McLean would reveal that one track by The Beatles helped to alleviate the depression he felt in the decade.
The Beatles were the biggest band of the 1960s. Their constant innovation kick-started a revolution in popular music, with their strides in songwriting, production and business operations still reverberating throughout the music industry today. Whether it be the sugary pop songs of their early years, such as ‘Love Me Do’ or later, more experimental pieces like ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, across the decade until their split in 1970, The Beatles changed the musical landscape.
As a rock ‘n’ roll fan with his finger on the pulse, Don McLean counted himself amongst The Beatles fans in the US. Across his life, he has explained the personal impact that The Beatles had on him during the 1960s – the most tumultuous decade of the 20th century outside of the two World Wars.
For context, the world was on the brink of catastrophe during the early part of the decade. The Cold War reached its most perilous point with The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and adding to this, the social fabric of America was transforming as The Civil Rights movement kicked into gear. For Don McLean, things were exacerbated by his father’s death in 1961.
When sitting down with The Red Bulletin in 2022, McLean revealed that The Beatles’ song ‘I Feel Fine’, released in 1964, was the one that helped to alleviate the heavy burden of the period. “I was coming out of long-term depression when this record came out,” he said. “My father had died in 1961 and then JFK was assassinated, and America was in really bad shape.”
He explained how the song lifted him. “‘I Feel Fine’ came out on Beatles ’65 and it was the happiest song that I had heard in my whole life,” McLean recalled. “The happiness it gave me when listening to it took away all of the blues that had been there for years. It was a huge turning point for me.” He then disclosed that the track is partially responsible for his falling in love with music.
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