Some songs don’t just chart. They burrow into the national bloodstream, get sung in cars and churches, and refuse to leave. Don McLean has written more than his share of those, and the Grand Ole Opry just made it official — again — with a backstage pile of plaques heavy enough to throw out a roadie’s back.

Following his second-ever appearance on the Opry stage, part of the venue’s historic 100th anniversary celebration and a nod to the upcoming 250th anniversary of America, McLean was presented with a sweeping set of RIAA Gold and Platinum certifications honoring both his own recordings and the songs of his that other legends have carried into new generations.

The headline number? “American Pie” is now a 6x Platinum single, with the American Pie album landing at 2x Platinum. “Vincent” earned its own Platinum single certification, and the celebration also acknowledged Josh Groban’s 5x Platinum self-titled debut (which features his recording of “Vincent”) and Perry Como’s Gold-certified And I Love You So album, anchored by Como’s beloved take on McLean’s title track.

RIAA SVP of Artist & Industry Relations Jackie Jones presented the awards, joined on stage during the night by Opry host Mike Terry and Austin Smith.

“Standing on the Opry stage is always meaningful, but to have this night surrounded by these songs and these awards made it especially moving,” McLean said. “When I wrote ‘American Pie,’ ‘Vincent,’ and ‘And I Love You So,’ I wasn’t thinking about plaques or numbers. I was thinking about truth, beauty, loss, love, and the country I knew. To see these songs still living in people’s hearts after all these years is the greatest honor.”

His Opry set leaned into that legacy, threading “This Is America (Eisenhower)” and “And I Love You So” into an extended, audience-on-its-feet rendition of “American Pie.” For a room built on storytelling, McLean delivered a masterclass.

The awards also doubled as a quiet tribute to the way great songs travel. Como gave “And I Love You So” the polished pop treatment that made it a standard. Groban introduced “Vincent” to a whole new audience decades after its release. McLean, for his part, sounds genuinely tickled to keep learning from his own catalog.

“I’m not a folk singer, I’m not a rock singer, I’m not a pop singer. I’m an American singer who sings the American songbook,” McLean said. “Hearing ‘And I Love You So’ by Como teaches me how a great pop singer handles my song. I always learn things. Hearing Groban do ‘Vincent’ is the same. An emerging great pop singer doing my song and teaching me something about the song at the same time.”

Jackie Jones framed the night in plain terms. “These awards represent more than sales milestones. They are a symbol of how songs show up and become a part of people’s lives. From ‘American Pie’ and ‘Vincent’ to ‘And I Love You So,’ Don McLean’s catalog continues to connect generations and achieve lasting cultural resonance that defines the very best of American music.”

UMe, which continues to steward McLean’s recordings, echoed the sentiment, calling “American Pie” a recording that has carried “this kind of cultural weight for more than five decades.”

McLean himself put the bow on the night with the kind of line you’d expect from the guy who wrote “Vincent.”

“The beautiful thing about a song is that once it leaves you, it goes out into the world and finds its own life. These songs have traveled farther than I ever could have imagined. They’ve been sung by great artists, played in homes, cars, churches, concert halls, and now on the Grand Ole Opry stage. That is the miracle of music.”

Revisit the catalog that started it all and stream Don McLean on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1gRNBaI4yn6wCCTvRhGWh8