On 3 January 1972 Don McLean received a Gold record for his song “American Pie.” Recorded and released in 1971 on the album of the same name, the single was number 1 in the USA for four weeks in 1972. The song also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand while, in the UK, it reached number 2. American Pie’s repeated phrase “the day the music died” refers to a plane crash in 1959 that killed rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. In 1991 Don McLean, a man with an evident sense of humour, was quoted saying:
“So when people ask me what American Pie means, I tell them it means I don’t ever have to work again if I don’t want to.”