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Did you lose your childhood crush to someone dancing in the gym?
Bad news on the doorstep?
Not for fans of American Pie legend Don McLean, who is returning to the area for a concert at The Ridgefield Playhouse this month.
McLean, now 72, is one of America’s most enduring singer-songwriters -- forever associated with his classic hits “American Pie” and “Vincent (Starry, Starry Night).”
Since first hitting the charts in 1971, McLean has amassed more than 40 gold and platinum records worldwide and in 2004 was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.
"Botanical Gardens," McLean’s 19th studio album and first in eight years, was released in March to rave reviews with critics calling it one of his most reflective albums.
McLean returns to The Ridgefield Playhouse at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 21 as part of the Doyle Coffin Architecture Singer Songwriter Series and Pepsi Rock Series powered by Xfinity.
If you're not from "the generation 'Lost In Space'" -- or too young to remember McLean's famous ballad -- you can listen to "American Pie" by clicking here.
The song was inspired, first and foremost, by the deaths of musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P “The Big Bopper” Richardson in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959 – the “day the music died,” according to the song. McLean was a 13-year-old newspaper delivery boy "back in the day" and said he mourned their deaths greatly.
For tickets, priced at $69.50, call the box office at 203-438-5795, or click here: www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org
Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street in Ridgefield.
Another legendary music fact: "Killing Me Softly With His Song" by Roberta Flack was first recorded by Lori Lieberman in 1972: That hit song apparently was inspired by McLean, whose father died when he was 15.
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