McLean touches generations> All ages at MCA date

They all knew the words. Whether they were grandparents, youngsters or middle-aged baby boomers singing an anthem of their generation, they all stood on their feet and sang, “Bye bye Miss American pie. Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. And good ole’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye, singin’ this’ll be the day that I die.”

Twenty-six years after “American Pie” made Don McLean America’s troubadour, he’s still bringing audiences to their feet with his tribute to Buddy Holly. Saturday night McLean delighted an appreciative, multigenerational crowd at the Maine Center for the Arts at the University of Maine in a rare performance in his adopted state.

McLean still continues to defy categorization. His repertoire at MCA ran the gamut from folk to rock to country to classics written in the ’30s and ’40s. In addition to his own work, he performed songs written by Holly, Roy Orbison, Hank Williams, Irving Berlin and Woody Guthrie.

While his voice has lost some of its crisp clarity over the years, it has gained a rich maturity. This was especially evident when he sang a cappella a haunting lyric about the trashing of the oceans by modern society.

McLean began his career as the “Hudson River Troubadour,” and sang in 300 river towns during the summer of 1968. Saturday, he sang several songs with only his acoustic guitar for accompaniment, just as he did that summer. But on most numbers, his three-man backup band — Tony Migliori on piano and keyboards, John Platania, electric guitar, and Ralph Childs, bass guitar — added depth and meaning to his performance. Migliori proved himself incredibly versatile, playing rock, jazz, blues and country with equal precision and alacrity.

McLean, 51, joked with the audience about his own aging and that of his baby-boomer generation. “I used to carry a little bag of stuff to smoke,” he said. “Now that little bag’s filled with fiber.” Giggles spread throughout the hall, as heads nodded in agreement.

Later in the show he told the audience that, “I used to be considered the king of depressing songs. And, I did write a lot of them. But these days, I figure every day above ground is a good day.”

McLean delighted the crowd with his newer material, “You’ve Got a Way About You,” “Better Still,” and “Darlin’ Girl,” which center on his family life in Camden and Castine with his wife, Patricia, and their two children, Jackie Lee and Wyatt.

But the audience reveled in his hits from the ’70s like “Empty Chairs,” “Castles in the Air,” “Crossroads,” “And I Love You So,” and “Crying.” They joined his loving tribute to Guthrie in “This Land is Your Land.” When he walked offstage after the rousing “American Pie,” cheers and shouts demanding “Vincent” brought him back for two encores.

Several of McLean’s 20 albums were for sale in the lobby, and a small crowd, ranging in age from a babe-in-arms to a white-haired matron, waited after the show for him to autograph their CDs, paper bags, and scrap paper.

Long after the names of his contemporaries and their lyrics have faded from memory, McLean’s work continues to live in America’s collective unconscious. “Vincent” is as beautiful and haunting a tribute to artist Vincent Van Gogh as it was when first performed more than 25 years ago. And the lyrics to “American Pie” are still instigating arguments.

“But if the jester was Elvis Presley, Dad, who were the king and queen?” asked a boy teetering on the edge of adolescence, as he walked to the parking lot after the concert.

“No, the jester was Buddy Holly.”

“Buddy who, Dad? But, Mike’s Dad said it was Elvis.”