Don McLean & Judy Collins to Play The Orleans Showroom, 7/18-19

Timeless artists Don McLean and Judy Collins will perform classic American hits at The Orleans Showroom July 18 and 19.

In 1969, McLean recorded his first album "Tapestry" in Berkeley, Calif. Student riots were going on outside the studio as Don was singing "And I Love You So" inside. The album was first released by Mediarts and achieved commercial success.

His transition to international stardom began with the release of "American Pie" in 1971. A month later, McLean's song first played on New York's WNEW-FM and WPLJ-FM to mark the closing of The Fillmore East, the famous New York concert hall. Thirty years later, the song was voted # 5 in a poll of the "365 Songs of the Century" compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 2004, McLean was inducted into The Songwriters Hall of Fame and has charted 40 gold and platinum records during his career.

Collins' rendition of Joni Mitchell's, "Both Sides Now" from her landmark 1967 album, "Wildflowers," has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Her version of "Send in the Clowns," a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical "A Little Night Music," won "Song of the Year" at the 1975 Grammy Awards.

In 2008, contemporary and classic artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Shawn Colvin, Arlo Gutherie, Joan Baez and Leonard Cohen honored her legacy with the album "Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins."

Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets start at $39.95, plus tax and convenience fees, and can be purchased at any Boyd Gaming Box Office, by calling 702.284.7777, or visiting www.orleanscasino.com.

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