Bye Bye, Mr American Pie: McLean's wife seeks divorce

[NEW YORK] The wife of Don McLean, the singer of the classic song "American Pie", has filed for divorce after his arrest on domestic violence allegations.

Police detained the singer in January after wife Patrisha McLean called the police to their home in the northeastern state of Maine and he was later charged with misdemeanor offenses that included domestic violence.

In a divorce filing Thursday, Patrisha McLean cited abuse as well as adultery and asked for sole possession of their home.

The marital strife has played out publicly, with 70-year-old Don McLean on Friday taking to Twitter to defend himself, asking outsiders to watch a documentary to see the couple's life together.

"My wife has chosen divorce. She has chosen to characterize our 30-year relationship in a completely distorted and untrue manner," he tweeted.

"We raised two gentle, highly educated children in an environment of laughter, music and literature," he said.

McLean, who has denied the abuse allegations, earlier postponed a tour of Australia, saying he wanted time to work on salvaging his marriage.

"American Pie" released in 1971, is widely considered a classic of pop music with its account of the historical upheavals of the late 20th century.

The song recalls forlornly "The Day the Music Died" - the 1959 plane crash in Iowa that killed rockers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and "The Big Bopper" JP Richardson.

AFP