10 Songs Written About Other Musicians
1. American Pie - Don McLean
Buddy Holly tends to be viewed as one of the missing links in the early days of rock and roll. Compared to the more celebrated acts like Chuck Berry and Little Richard, Holly's way with words and distinctive vocal hiccup was what made rockers out of everyone from the Rolling Stones to the Beatles. However, if you know anything about Buddy Holly now, it normally comes from American Pie.
Written in response to Holly's death, Don McLean's song acts as not only a celebration of Holly's life, but also a crash course in rock and roll from start to finish. Spanning over 7 minutes, every verse of this folk rock jam has its place in rock history, with the King referencing Elvis, the Jester referencing Bob Dylan, and even the Sergeants paying tribute to the Beatles in their Sergeant Pepper period.
While the rest of the song is wrapped around the fallout of Holly's death, the song works on two levels by showing the death of the innocence of the '60s generation, as the last verse touches on members of the 27 club as they depart from this Earth never to be seen again. As it stands, American Pie is both a reflection on the rock scene as a whole, something to be warned about as well as celebrated. So when you bust this song out at an acoustic jam, just remember the actual story at hand here.