Artists · Billboard Hot 100

Don McLean

Charting Nov 27, 1971 → Jan 30, 1982 · 91 weeks with chart power

Charted in 2 of 2 markets · crowned Artist of the Week in all of them — Billboard Hot 100 91 wk (2 crowns), UK Singles Chart 71 wk (5 crowns)

Compare with other artists →

Image credits

Photo: A Howard, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Honours

Artist of the Week

Billboard Hot 100
2 crowns
Longest reign 2 weeks (Jan 1972) · First crown Jan 1972
UK Singles Chart
5 crowns
Longest reign 3 weeks (Jun 1980) · First crown Jun 1972
Global Music Power
1 crown
19712012
First crown Feb 1972

Billboard Hot 100 · 91 wk UK Singles Chart · 71 wk Global Music Power · 136 wk

Peak Power: 2.41%; week of Feb 26, 1972
Career Power: 140; share-weeks
Crowns: 2; weeks crowned Artist of the Week

Peak Year: 66; June 1971 – June 1972
Peak Five Years: 83; July 1970 – June 1975
Top-five weeks: 9; weeks ranked 1–5
Longevity: 91; weeks with chart power
Dominance: 3.56%; week of Jan 15, 1972
Comebacks: 1; Mar 1981, after 8 quiet years

Ranked by weekly Power Share, part of the ChartReign Power model — not the chart's own positions. How it works →

Exponentially smoothed share of the week's total power (the primary metric).

Songs on the Billboard Hot 100

9 records · 140 share-weeks of Career Power

Power contributed is what each song earned this artist: their weekly Power Share, split across their songs (a featured credit takes its reduced share). Record Power is the song's own figure, the same for every artist on it. Bar length compares songs within this list.

Song	Peak	Weeks	On chart	Power contributedPower	Record Power
American Pie (Parts I & II)Apple Music	#1January 1972	19	November 1971 – April 1972	47.1	47.0
CryingApple Music	#5March 1981	18	January 1981 – May 1981	36.0	35.7
Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)/Castles In The AirApple Music	#12May 1972	12	March 1972 – June 1972	18.7	18.9
DreidelApple Music	#21February 1973	12	December 1972 – March 1973	13.8	13.8
Since I Don't Have YouApple Music	#23May 1981	14	April 1981 – July 1981	11.6	12.3
Castles In The AirApple Music	#36December 1981	14	October 1981 – January 1982	9.4	9.3
If We TryApple Music	#58May 1973	7	March 1973 – May 1973	2.6	2.6
Wonderful BabyApple Music	#93June 1975	3	June 1975 – June 1975	0.4	0.4
It's Just The SunApple Music	#83August 1981	2	August 1981 – August 1981	0.4	0.4

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At their peak

1971 in music →

Don McLean's best twelve months on the Billboard Hot 100 ran from June 1971 to June 1972. The most powerful artists over those weeks:

Ranked by Era Power over the same weeks.

Their decades: the 1970s, the 1980s.