Retroactive nomenclature the name that the land later comes to be known as: Native Americans and Aboriginal Australians are two examples. "The Day the Music Died" refers to the plane crash that took the lives of rock-and-roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson in 1959, but was not used popularly until 1971 when singer-songwriter Don McLean coined it in "American Pie". Retroactive nomenclature Retroactive nomenclature is the telling of the earlier history of a person, place or thing while referring to said person, place or thing by a name that came into use at a later
American Pie (song) American Pie (song) "American Pie" is a song by American singer and songwriter Don McLean. Recorded and released on the "American Pie" album in 1971, the single was the number-one US hit for four weeks in 1972 and also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In the UK, the single reached number 2, where it stayed for 3 weeks, on its original 1971 release while a reissue in 1991 reached No. 12. The song was listed as the No. 5 song on the RIAA project Songs of the Century. A truncated version of the song was covered