What kept ‘American Pie’ off the top of the charts?
A true epic in every sense, ‘American Pie’ is one of those songs that beautifully pays homage to the Great American Songbook, and the history of rock and roll. Frankly, Don McLean must be thrilled to have written a song of this calibre, and he’s been rightfully celebrated for it in the years since its release.
Now, you might want to argue that ‘Vincent’ is a better song and deserves far more of the praise, but there’s something special about how McLean goes full raconteur for eight minutes and bares all in an emotional tribute to his idols on ‘American Pie’. Not only is he telling the fabled story of ‘The Day the Music Died’, where Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper were all killed in a plane crash, but he also goes in depth to acknowledge the changes that came in the decade following, where attitudes shifted and innocence was lost.
The thing is, while it might seem as though it has universal appear, it is very much ‘American’, as evidenced not only by the song title, but also the themes that are explored. While it was a hit around the world, reaching number one in five countries, it had the most resonance in the US, and the UK only ever managed to get it up to a peak position of number two in the charts.
So what was the UK listening to at this time, and what were we as a nation deeming more culturally relevant than ‘American Pie’? It almost feels absurd to consider that the song never received the same level of adulation on our island, but there were, in fact, two songs that were able to beat McLean’s masterpiece to the top spot.
What kept ‘American Pie’ from reaching number one in the UK?
When ‘American Pie’ first climbed into second place, Chicory Tip were enjoying life at the top of the charts with ‘Son of My Father’; a cheesy number that marked the beginning of a new era in pop music. Criticise the song all you want, but there were a number of factors that made it a worthy hit in the UK, as well as in a handful of other countries worldwide.
For one, it happened to be one of the breakthrough hits for Giorgio Moroder, who wrote and produced the track for the Kent-based group, long before he went on to become a disco pioneer known for working with the likes of Donna Summer, Blondie and David Bowie. Thanks to Moroder’s influence, it was also one of the first hits to make prominent use of a Moog synthesiser, and because he wrote the song alongside German lyricist Michael Holm, the song was adapted to feature English lyrics when it was offered to Chicory Tip.
However, once Chicory Tip got knocked off top spot, McLean had the perfect opportunity to make the position his own, but instead of claiming it for himself, McLean paved the way for Harry Nilsson to take the number one spot with ‘Without You’.
One of the most heartbreaking songs of all time, Nilsson’s cover of the Badfinger track was full to the brim with emotion, and was arguably even more impassioned than ‘American Pie’ was. It wasn’t ever a hit for the Welsh group, and their original version is largely ignored despite going on to become a pop standard in the years after, and its poignance lives on through the fact that its two writers, Pete Ham and Tom Evans, later committed suicide after their careers failed to take off and they were swindled by their manager. It might have kept ‘American Pie’ from taking place at the top, but you can hardly say it wasn’t deserved.
