'Bye bye Miss American Pie': $US1m-plus song manuscript for sale

By Madeline McMahon
Updated April 1 2015 - 4:18pm, first published 4:01pm
DonMcLean touring Australia in 2013. Photo: Greg Totman
DonMcLean touring Australia in 2013. Photo: Greg Totman

The manuscript for one of the most popular sing-along tunes of all time, "American Pie," will go on auction this month. The asking price: at least $US1 million ($1.3 million).

Christie's in New York will sell 16 pages of Don McLean's handwritten lyrics and typed drafts for his enigmatic 1971 hit about the American zeitgeist in the later part of the 20th century. The high estimate for the April 7 auction is $US1.5 million.

"'American Pie' has lasted 45 years now," McLean, 69, said in an interview. "Relevance is a hard thing to predict."

Rock memorabilia collecting is popular among wealthy baby boomers who are looking for alternative ways to invest. The most sought-after manuscripts are from the Beatles and Bob Dylan, said Leila Dunbar, a former Sotheby's executive who is a memorabilia appraiser and consultant in New York.

Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" sold for more than $US2 million in 2012, and the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" sold for $US1.2 million in 2010. Both were sold at Sotheby's.

The "American Pie" manuscript is a "wild card" because those other artists had more hits than McLean, Dunbar said. Still, "these are lyrics that have touched a lot of people and have mystery to them," she said.

Song's symbolism

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