The 1960s singer Brian Wilson crowned as one of the purest voices in musicFor all the wizardry the studio could offer Brian Wilson, he knew none of it could outshine the oldest in music: a great voice, telling a great story. However, while Wilson admired the lyrical ambition of ‘American Pie’, it was McLean’s voice that perhaps made the deepest impact of all. He compared the quality of McLean’s voice to that of his Beach Boys bandmate Al Jardine, another singer whose tone possessed a rare ability to rise above the arrangement, saying, “his voice could cut through steel. It is perhaps the highest compliment Wilson could give, and perhaps that is why ‘American Pie’ has endured for so long. The song is enormous in ambition, packed with history, characters and unanswered questions, yet even if we solved every mystery, Mclean’s voice alone would keep us coming back.