The 48-page book, which will follow the adventures of a lonely newspaper delivery boy in the late 1950s, is co-written by Judith A. Proffer and illustrated by Yoko Matsuoka.
- May 12, 2021
AceShowbiz - Veteran singer/songwriter Don McLean is aiming to appeal to a whole new generation of fans with the launch of a children's book inspired by his classic song "American Pie".
The musician has used themes from the hit tune for the storyline of a 48-page book of the same name, co-written by Judith A. Proffer and illustrated by Yoko Matsuoka.
The upcoming "American Pie" release, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the iconic track, will follow the adventures of a lonely newspaper delivery boy in the late 1950s, who "discovers the joy of friendship and music, eventually learning that when you recognize what truly makes you happy, you're never really alone."
In a statement, McLean says, "I am really excited to see the reaction from people about this book. We have all read many children's books to our kids and I am hoping this one stands up to the greatness of others we have put our kids to sleep with."
"American Pie" will be published by officials at Backbeat Books and released in September.
The original "American Pie" song was released in 1971. In January 2021, McLean opened up in an article piece for Songwriting magazine about how he wrote the hit single. "The song was started as a big song about America," he recalled.
"That's what I was attempting to do, but I didn't want to write a simple, Woody Guthrie-type song like 'This Land Is Your Land' or 'Jackhammer John'... all those great songs he wrote, that had that simple power of the 1930s," he added. "I wanted a song that was more about a modern America, a big song. A song that every other song I played live would lead up to at the end - and I did that bit well, because that's the way it's panned out ever since!"
