American rock Building Sound and the polished production values of soul, have been seen as influencing the Merseybeat sound, particularly the early work of The Beatles, and through them and others the form of later rock music. Some historians of music have also pointed to important and innovative technical developments that built on rock and roll in this period, particularly the Wall of Sound pursued by Phil Spector. Commentators have traditionally perceived a decline of rock and roll in the late 1950s and early 1960s. By 1959, the death of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens in a plane crash,
Don McLean 2012, the PBS network broadcast a feature-length documentary about the life and music of McLean called "Don McLean: American Troubadour" produced by four-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Jim Brown. McLean is one of the primary influences on the UK singer-songwriter Jake Bugg, who said McLean's song "Vincent" was "the first song I liked" after hearing it on an episode of The Simpsons. He devoured McLean's back catalogue and then delved into the artists that inspired McLean, including Buddy Holly and the Weavers. Tupac Shakur also cited McLean's "Vincent" as a personal inspiration. McLean is credited as the writer of Drake's song