April 12, 2024      —–     Chart #241

Hello Music Friends,

Hey Music Buddies, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Today we are in 1972, big surprise right? Well 1972 may be the greatest year of rock and roll, but we can debate that later. This 1972 hit is one I am sure have enjoyed singing along with many times.  “Vincent” is a song by Don McLean, written as a tribute to Vincent van Gogh. It is often erroneously titled after its opening refrain, “Starry, Starry Night”, a reference to Van Gogh’s 1889 painting The Starry Night.

McLean wrote the lyrics in 1971 after reading a book about the life of Van Gogh. It was released on McLean’s 1971 American Pie album; the following year, the song topped the UK Singles Chart for two weeks, and peaked at No. 12 in the United States, where it also hit No. 2 on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 94 song for 1972. The song makes use mainly of the guitar, but also includes the accordion, marimba, and strings. In July 2020, the original handwritten lyrics went up for sale for $1.5 million.

McLean said the following about the genesis of the song:

“In the autumn of 1970 I had a job singing in the school system, playing my guitar in classrooms. I was sitting on the veranda one morning, reading a biography of Van Gogh, and suddenly I knew I had to write a song arguing that he wasn’t crazy. He had an illness and so did his brother Theo. This makes it different, in my mind, to the garden variety of ‘crazy’ – because he was rejected by a woman [as was commonly thought]. So I sat down with a print of Starry Night and wrote the lyrics out on a paper bag.”

Here he is at about age 70. Gives us all inspiration: https://youtu.be/MkUsi0aPmzU?si=M4VUVkDEekoqW48u

And just for fun, here he is performing live in 1972: https://youtu.be/4wrNFDxCRzU?si=_q2pr0uidNHYAodv

Beautiful guitar and lyrics that truly paint a picture in your mind. Don McLean brought us American Pie and Vincent on the same album. Both masterpieces as far as I am concerned. Enjoy this one and have a great day!

Keep Rockin’,

Stan Bradshaw