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Feb 16, 2024 · Billy Joel gives Stephen Colbert a peek behind the curtain at his creative process and shares what motivated him to release his first new single in 30 years, “Turn The Lights Back On.”.
- 7 min
- 322.6K
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Jul 23, 2018 · Musician Billy Joel on his songwriting silence, the country today, and his ideal farewell. “I never felt like I was as good as I wanted to be. My bar was Beethoven.”
- Contributor
- Overview
- Harry Truman
- Doris Day
- Red China
- Johnnie Ray
- South Pacific
- Walter Winchell
- Joe DiMaggio
- Joe McCarthy
- Richard Nixon
In his Billboard Hot 100 hit “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” American songwriter Billy Joel rattles off a list of historical references in order to argue that his generation…well, like the title says, didn’t “start the fire” of global tragedy, scandal, and screw-ups. Some items in his list are obvious—the names of world leaders, Watergate, the invention of television—while some are obscure: What in the world is a “rock and roller Cola War”?
We did the research so you don’t have to. Here are the stories behind all 119 historical references Billy Joel deemed worthy of attention in 1989.
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, leading the country through the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. During World War II he was also the person responsible for the United States’ use of atomic weapons against Japan—a decision that resulted in the deaths of some 200,000 civilians.
A shining star of the movie musicals of the 1950s and the sex comedies of the 1960s, Doris Day was once the United States’ leading box-office attraction.
Communist victory in China’s 1945–49 civil war led to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, a communist government initially led by Chairman Mao Zedong. Mao’s goals were to create a fully socialist society—and, eventually, world communism.
Picture an American rock star with a little too much of a bad-boy image. Johnnie Ray was the Elvis of the early 1950s (and his oeuvre, full of suggestive dance moves and revolutionary lyrics, paved the way for the King’s stardom).
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical South Pacific premiered in 1949 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1950. Based on “one of the most remarkable books” to come out of World War II (at least according to The New York Times) and a sharp diversion from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s previous work, South Pacific was intended as a frank condemnation of racial prej...
Walter Winchell was a journalist and radio host whose mix of news and gossip attracted the attention of Americans from the 1930s through the 1950s. By the 1950s Winchell had turned ultraconservative in his punditry: he was a fan of Senator Joseph McCarthy, supporting—and spreading—McCarthy’s wild tales of communist infiltration of the United States...
Joe DiMaggio’s status as a star with the New York Yankees was only compounded by his 1954 marriage to actor and sex symbol Marilyn Monroe (who appears later in this list).
That’s U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy to you. This Wisconsin politician lent his name to McCarthyism, which describes a period in the early 1950s when McCarthy and his allies conducted a widespread communist witch hunt. Entertainers, CIA agents, army lawyers, and journalists were indiscriminately accused of spying for the Soviet Union.
Richard Nixon was elected vice president of the United States in 1952. (His presidential exploits, beginning in 1969, are covered later in the song.)
- Meg Matthias
Billy Joel has interrupted rehearsals for his first tour in nearly three years to sample the latest fashions for potential stage wear -— and he’s getting expert advice from his wife, model...
Mar 11, 2022 · But upon investigation, I realized the Joel reference in “Déjà Vu” has both a simple explanation and a deeper, more sophisticated resonance. First, Rodrigo has confirmed the line actually ...
- Steven Hyden
Jul 24, 2015 · Billy Joel: the EW interview. The entertainer, who's on the road this summer, opens up about headlining Bonnaroo and shares the stories behind his most enduring songs.
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Jul 12, 2024 · During an interview with Willie Geist, Billy Joel reveals how he winds down after his massive sold-out shows. See more this weekend on Sunday TODAY.
