Alan Howard [Howard - The Don McLean Story: Killing Us Softly With His Songs

Don McLean was born at 4 a.m. on October 2nd, 1945,the only son of Elizabeth andDonald McLeanof New Rochelle, New York. Until the age of seventeen Don lived at 15 MulberryLane in NewRochelle, in a neighborhood known as Larchmont Woods, just outsideof New York City. New Rochelle was a popular retreat for noted actors, artists,and authors who commuted to the suburb from Manhattan.

Today, as one travels through Larchmont and New Rochelle,along streets lined with expensive houses, past large schools and apartmentswith no undeveloped land in sight, it is difficult to visualize the NewRochelle of fifty years ago. Even as Don was growing up, forests were being nibbledaway by development, as large estates were subdivided by real estatedevelopers. "I think the gradual loss of the forest affected me. I lovedthe woods, and I think that I always wanted to be in the forest, in thewilderness, any place but in the city."

Don and his friends often played in the new houses going upall over Larchmont. There were obvious dangers. Sometimes blasting caps werepresent at the building sites, and they would explode if thrown. Naturally,this provided boys with endless excitement. But, as exciting as it was tocavort in an unfinished home, the new construction went hand in hand with thedestruction of the wilderness. Every new house meant a chunk of woods was gone.

The McLeans enjoyed an American suburban lifestyle.Their home was perched on the crest of a hill, overlooking Larchmont Woods . Inwintertime, kids rode sleds from the McLean house all the way down to thebottom of Mulberry Lane, where itended at Forest Avenue. In one direction the incline was particularly steep,and neighborhood children and adults went sledding until dark all weekend.

Donald and Elizabeth had a large group of friends with whomthey socialized. This eclectic mix of people included the announcer for theTommy Dorsey televisionshow, a cancer researcher, a man who produced television commercials, andvarious other professional types. When the party was at the McLeans, Donwould sometimes sing for the group. He says, "I like what Mick Jagger said,I started performing for family, only the shows gotbigger."

Family life was important to the McLeans, withfrequent visits from relatives. 15 Mulberry Lane oftenoverflowed with aunts and uncles. Dons Uncle Malcolm andAuntie Anita and their three children lived just one block away. Donsonly sister, Bette Ann, was 15 yearsolder than Don. When she was sixteen, Bette Ann went tolive with her grandparents, and when she was 21 she moved to California. Shewas always leaving and always coming home.

Dons parents came from very different backgrounds. Itcaused quite a stir when Elizabeth Bucci , an ItalianCatholic, marriedDonald McLean, a Protestantof Scottish ancestry. Italian girls just did not marry Protestant men.

The McLean clan traces its roots to the Isle of Iona in theScottish Hebrides, an area that has been home to many Scottish poets. McLeanancestors were revolutionary war heroes with children who had names like GeorgeWashington McLean. One ancestorwas a president of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Both Don'sgrandfather and father were named Donald McLean,which often lead to confusion since Don was also christened DonaldMcLean.

Don's great grandfather was a New York physician namedMalcolm McLean.Dons grandfather, Donald I, also went to medical school. Don did notknow his grandfather at all. He could have been a medical doctor, but he choseto spend his life as a farmer. He was suspected of bigamy, and in the 1970s,Don met many cousins he never knew he had.

Throughout his childhood, Don was very close to hisgrandmother, Olive McLean.Her maiden name was Carnwright, and her family was from Upstate New York. WhenDons grandparents were divorced, his grandfather wrote many letters toDons great grandfather complaining bitterly about his ex-wife andsuggesting that she be given nothing by the McLeans. With barely enoughfood to eat, Olive got a job as a bookkeeper for the Leheigh Valley Railroad,and she did the best she could with her three sons, Malcolm, Donald, andJohn. The boys hadbeen born in New York City in the early 1900s, at the end of the Victorian era,when teeming tenements existed next to "Millionaire's Mile."

Olive sent her oldest son, Malcolm, to live with his McLeangrandparents. He attended the well-to-do Horace Mann School and always carriedhimself with an air of pretension, even though he left school after the 8thgrade. Don's mother summed him up by saying, "He's a little guy whothinks he's a big shot." McLean claims that "such remarks by mymother reflected the tension between her and Malcolm McLeans family.Those tensions ruined my relationship with my cousins. In later years relationshave been restored, as we realized we were victims of our parentsdiscord."