McLean was born in 1951 in Yorton, Saskatchewan. His father was a Presbyterian minister, and he in lived Moose Jaw, Manitoba, before relocating at the age of ten to Winnipeg. His brother Grant had an extensive record collection, and when McLean was a teenager, his brother introduced him to folk, jazz, and blues music. McLean told LeBlanc, "I was a big Bob Dylan fan and really liked Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly. We also listened to ..