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Don McLean's 'American Pie' Manuscript Sells For $1.2 Million At Auction

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Singer-songwriter Don McLean's original manuscript and notes to "American Pie'' has sold at auction for $1.2 million.

McLean offered the wistful anthem that asks "Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died?'' at Christie's on Tuesday.

The 16-page document features 237 handwritten lines and 26 lines of typed text, including some that didn't make it into the final version of the song, CBS2 reported.

The 8-minute-long "American Pie'' was released in 1971. It was a No. 1 U.S. hit for four weeks in 1972.

"The day the music died'' refers to the Feb. 3, 1959, deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in a plane crash.

McLean, a longtime Maine resident, said writing the song was "part of my process of self-awakening; a mystical trip into my past."

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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