John Burnham Schwartz

Certain experiences you never forget, no matter how old you become.

It is one thing to recognise certain potentially useful affinities, and another to act on them.

In 1986, when I was 21, I lived in Tokyo for four months, boarding with a Japanese family and working for an American company.

Influenced by Pete Seeger and the Weavers, McLean proudly wore the mantle of troubadour in the early 1970s, when 'American Pie' topped the Billboard charts, and has never shed the cape.

Well, I actually wrote her a letter a couple of days ago congratulating her. The tone I tried to convey in the letter is, look, you are a part of a great American historical process.

It's so funny to get a call from Dustin Hoffman because he has that great voice.