Don McLean, still singing about America, will bring his hits to The Coach House

He’s the man who drove his Chevy to the levee, met a girl who sang the blues and sang dirges in the dark.

Don McLean can still remember how that music makes him smile.

As one of the country’s most-enduring singers and songwriters forever associated with hits “American Pie,” “Castles in the Air” and “Vincent (Starry Starry Night),” the 71-year-old folk-rock crooner continues to tour North America and the rest of the world, performing to audiences while also releasing new material.

He’s heading to San Juan Capistrano for a concert June 16 at The Coach House with plans to sing and play songs that first hit the charts in 1971 and later garnered him more than 40 gold and platinum records worldwide.

But it wasn’t an easy start.

McLean was born in New Rochelle, N.Y. Childhood asthma caused him to miss school. Though he slipped in his studies, his love of music flourished.

He bought his first guitar, took opera lessons, swam and developed breath control, improving his asthma.

At age 16, he already was making contacts with executives in the music industry. He became friends with musician Jim Croce and, for a six-year period, started performing at venues alongside artists like Steppenwolf, Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger.

“I remember I was working as a grunt — a third act on a three-act bill — and I started to develop a stage identity with music,” McLean said by phone. “I played in a high school gym, and the kids stood up at the end and gave a standing ovation. I figured then I released energy.”

After releasing his first album, “Tapestry” in 1969 to good reviews and some commercial success, McLean achieved international stardom in 1971 with “American Pie.”

The iconic lyric that repeatedly mentions “the day the music died” references the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Ritchie Valens.

The single was a No. 1 U.S. hit for four weeks in 1972.

“I wanted to write a song about America that was esoteric, that had secrets, that was mysterious, rollicking and contradictory,” McLean said. “I found a cool way to do it.”

“All of a sudden, I was getting respect and I didn’t know what to do, but because I was so low before, that was a good thing because I never looked down my nose on a struggling musician.”

McLean’s “American Pie” was selected as one of the five greatest songs of the 20th century in a poll by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry Assn. of America.

The hit was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003 and a year later, McLean was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.

Though McLean is most known for the historical and cultural song, he also received acclaim for tunes like “And I Love You So,” “Crying” and “Empty Chairs.”

For shows, the routine remains the same:

He plays on stage with five musicians, friends from Nashville he has known for years.

He may take a nap before taking the mic.

He carries his own guitar.

“When I sing, the audience kind of gets happy when I show up,” he said. “Then they start to listen and get into my world. It becomes this musical journey.”

“I see people smiling, some jumping up and down, and others wiping away tears,” he said. “I see a lot of emotions, a lot of different ages. Between them, there’s the lonely guy or there’s a date. There’s always something. I’ve been all those places so I know how it is.

“It’s a trip through the American Songbook,” McLean said. “And at the end, they feel happy and I feel happy.”

Don McLean will perform at 8 p.m. June 16 at The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Tickets are $59.50. For more information, call (949) 496-8930 or visit thecoachhouse.com.

kathleen.luppi@latimes.com

Twitter: @KathleenLuppi