The best part of my job is that I get the opportunity to rub shoulders with icons in entertainment, almost on a regular basis.  I have been doing this almost forty years, but I still get excited when I am in the presence of these heroes of the entertainment world.

A recent encounter in our dressing rooms at The Arcada Theatre was a prime example of the magic hat happens on a regular basis at our theatres.

Don McLean, the pop music icon who recorded one of the greatest Rock ‘N Roll anthems in history, “American Pie,” was taking a few minutes of quiet relaxation just after his sound check.  Known as the “American Troubadour,” Don was to appear later that evening to perform all his hits including, “Vincent,” “Crying” and “Castles In The Air.”

As I entered the room like I usually do to welcome the acts performing that day, I saw Don sitting quietly on the couch.  I try very hard not to impose upon their “quiet time,” but as soon as he saw me that wide and welcoming Don McLean smile filled the room.

We have worked together several times over the years, but one of the best moments I hav had was back in December of 2013 when I had Don and another folk music legend, Judy Collins on the same bill.  It was an incredible night!

Earlier that day I had received a call from then Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.  His Chief of Staff got me on the phone to speak with the Governor.  I was both excited and worried, “Why is the Governor calling me?” I wondered.

“Hi Ron, I wanted to know if I can come to see Don,” he asked. 

So not only did the Gubernatorial motorcade pull up in front of the theatre, but the Governor also himself came up on stage with a proclamation making December 6, 2013 Don McLean and Judy Collins Day in the State of Illinois.  How cool was that?

Don and I reminisced about that show.  “I never really got to know Judy until then” he said.  “I thought she was a bit snooty.  But she actually was wonderful!  What a time we had,” he said.

When I asked him about “American Pie,” he said, “That song really took me about ten years to write.  It was a culmination of events any my feeling that occurred during those things that made me put those words together.  Of course, the plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper became the center of the song, but the words are like a snapshot of the times.”

“American Pie” is a nostalgic look back at the age of innocence of the 1950s wrapped within the turmoil and political strife of the 1960s.  It is one of those songs that practically everyone knows.  It doesn’t matter how cold it is outside, when that song comes on the radio in the car, the window automatically goes down and my humble and off-key rendition is shared with the world!

Sitting with Don McLean continued my realization about the few legends that still perform today.  “I just love performing, even to this day,” Don said.  “I still get excited, and I just love to see the reaction of the audiences when they hear my songs.”

I think it is a bit Ironic that a song about “The day the music died” was the catalyst that sent Don McLean into another stratosphere musically.  As we lose more and more of the music icons each year, it is the songs like “American Pie” that will continue to connect the future with the past.  Although the opening lyrics may need to be changed from, “A long, long time ago,” to “A long, long, long time ago,” generations to come will know about Buddy, Richie and the Big Bopper because of that song. 

I thanked Don McLean that day.  He gave us a great gift, one that will last forever, or as long as music is around.  “American Pie,” a song about when the music died will ironically live on.