The Day The Music Died (2022) ***

 

If there ever was a song that is worthy of its own movie, Don McLean's 1971 classic “American Pie” is it. Inspired by the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, the song is so much more than an elegy. It is the Great American Novel, condensed into an 8 minute song with the most sing-alongable chorus in Rock-n-Roll. Each verse is a treasure trove of artistic references and symbolism, and millions of person-hours have likely gone into parsing the lyrics in college dorm rooms across the U.S.

Currently streaming on Paramount+, the documentary “The Day The Music Died” explores the tragedy behind the song, and it attempts to plumb the secrets of the song itself. It succeeds more at that first part than the second.

We all are vaguely aware that Buddy Holly and some other musicians died in a plane crash. Quite a few musicians have died in plane crashes, however, and I knew few details of the crash that killed Holly. For example, country singer Waylon Jennings was a member of Holly's band at the time, and was supposed to be on that fateful flight. He gave his seat to Richardson, who had the flu, an act of kindness that saved Jennings's life and cost Richardson his. “The Day The Music Died” does assume that you know who these artists are, spending very little time on their music. That's fine for those who are up on early rock-n-roll, but I couldn't tell you who the Big Bopper is or name one of his hits for you, and “La Bamba” is the only song I know by Ritchie Valens. So, the film provides exquisite detail about the crash, its location in Clear Lake, Iowa, and its legacy, but you have to already know a little background about the musicians, themselves.

The documentary is hit-or-miss when it comes to exploring McLean's song. There's a lot of material here, and I learned a lot about the writing of the song, and a lot more than I cared to about McLean, himself. What I was really hoping for was a blow-by-blow of what each verse in the song means, and you only get a taste of that. McLean denies, for example, that “the king” refers to Elvis or “the Jester” to Bob Dylan, but he does not elaborate, and I'm not sure I take him at his word. Truth be told, McLean comes off as something of a pompous jerk, and he ultimately obscures more than he reveals. Likewise, interviews with artists who have covered the song, like Garth Brooks, are somewhat interesting, but they do not ultimately reveal much about the song itself.

In the end, “American Pie” may simply be too much song for any one examination. Like the Grand Canyon, it is too big to look at the whole thing and also get into the details in one sitting. “The Day The Music Died” can be forgiven for failing to completely illuminate the song in an hour and a half. For fans of the song, it is still well worth watching.

3 stars out of 5