'American Pie' singer Don McLean arrested on domestic violence charge

The Associated Press
January 18, 2016 at 7:06PM
This Monday, Jan. 18, 2016 photo provided by the Knox County Jail shows Don McLean.
This Monday, Jan. 18, 2016 photo provided by the Knox County Jail shows Don McLean. (Dennis McGrath/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

CAMDEN, Maine — "American Pie" singer Don McLean was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge Monday in Maine, a jail supervisor said.

McLean was arrested and posted $10,000 bail early Monday at the Knox County Jail, Cpl. Brad Woll said.

The singer-songwriter lives in the town of Camden. A message left for the police chief there by The Associated Press was not immediately returned.

Woll said he did not know if McLean, 70, had a lawyer. Messages seeking comment were left through the singer's website and two representatives. A phone number listed under his name rang unanswered.

In 2013, McLean was fined $400 for driving his Chrysler too fast through a Maine school zone. McLean's attorney argued the school zone warning lights requiring a 15 mph limit were not flashing; police said they were on.

The attorney who represented McLean during his traffic case did not immediately return a phone message.

McLean's original manuscript and notes to "American Pie" sold at auction for $1.2 million in April. The 1971 hit was about the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959 — The Day the Music Died.

Singer-songwriter Don McLean
Singer-songwriter Don McLean (Dennis McGrath/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
FILE - In this July 3, 2012 file photo, Don McLean performs at the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
FILE - In this July 3, 2012 file photo, Don McLean performs at the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas News Bureau, Darrin Bush/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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