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Now streaming on Paramount+ is The Day The Music Died: The Story Of Don McLean’s 'American Pie.' The film, which was directed by Mark Moormann and produced and spearheaded by music veteran, Spencer Proffer, features McLean throughout the film discussing both his artistic journey and the creation and life of the famed rock standard.
On January 15th, 1972, “American Pie” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first week of its month-long run. The song is the origin of the term “the day the music died,” about the February 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, but that's only a small part of what it's about.
Appearing in the film are Brian Wilson, Garth Brooks, “Weird Al” Yankovic, bassist Rob Stoner, and actor Peter Gallagher — who voices the children's book Don McLean’s American Pie: A Fable. In one of the more memorable moments of the film, Ritchie Valens' sister Irma meets with Don McLean prior to his performance at Clear Lake, Iowa's Surf Ballroom while paying tribute to her brother, Buddy Holly, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson at the last venue they performed at before the tragic plane crash.