Don McLean "I Want to Duet with President Yoon in Korea Next Year"

Don McLean (77), the original singer of the song "American Pie," which President Yoon Suk-yeol passionately sang at the White House state dinner during his visit to the U.S., expressed his desire to "sing together with President Yoon."

According to U.S. CNN and political media outlet The Hill on the 27th, McLean stated in a press release sent to these media that he was "invited to the White House state dinner the day before but was unable to attend due to being on a concert tour," expressing his regret and this wish.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, on a state visit to the United States, received a guitar autographed by American singer-songwriter Don McLean as a gift from President Joe Biden during a special performance at the state dinner held at the White House on the 26th (local time).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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McLean is a legendary American folk rock singer who was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 for "American Pie." He said, "I am honored to have been invited to the White House (dinner), but I could not attend because I was on an Australian tour," adding, "Watching the video of President Yoon singing yesterday, I thought it would have been great to be there." He also expressed hope, saying, "I hope that President Yoon, who practiced with the guitar I signed and gave him, will sing together with me when we meet later."

McLean even mentioned a specific time frame to CNN. He said, "I might go to Korea around next year and sing together with the President. If that happens, it will probably be another news story."

He was moved by the renewed attention to "American Pie," the song that made him a star, thanks to President Yoon's passionate singing.

McLean explained to CNN, "This song has a melody that is hard to find these days, but that is only the introduction of the song," adding, "This song is a rock and roll piece lasting 8 minutes and 30 seconds." He also said, "I feel thrilled that this song is still alive. Musicians are like alchemists. We deal with magic. Some of what we do fails, but if we are very lucky, some things have magic and survive forever."

American singer-songwriter Don McLean performing in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, in May last year [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

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He also shared a news video of President Yoon singing "American Pie" at the state dinner on his social media account. "American Pie" is a track from McLean's second album of the same name released in 1971, which gained explosive popularity by topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for four weeks at the end of that year.

The song is a masterpiece ranked 5th on the "Greatest Songs of the 20th Century" selected by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). U.S. President Joe Biden also recalled at the dinner, "This song was liked by my two sons, Beau and Hunter, when they were young. Beau passed away in 2015 from a brain tumor," and added, "Beau used to change the lyrics from 'whiskey 'n rye' to 'whiskey and dry' when singing."

Besides "American Pie," McLean is a singer-songwriter who created and performed many hit songs that were also very popular in Korea, such as "Vincent" and "And I Love You So."

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