Great or awful

billy joel's  'we didn't start the fire'

Great or Awful?

Great or Awful?

Billy Joel’s tune We Didn’t Start the Fire is an earworm of the highest sort. It certainly has that effect on us, with the chorus running on repeat in our heads. But whether it’s a great song or an awful one is a debate that’s been going on since Joel released the number in 1989.

Tell Me More About Billy Joel

Tell Me More About Billy Joel

From an early age, Billy Joel lived up to his nickname, The Piano Man. At the age of four, he started taking piano lessons and showed a natural skill for playing the instrument. Born William Martin Joel on May 9, 1949, in the Bronx, New York, he would spend his early childhood in Long Island, New York. His family moved there when Billy was a year old. Joel’s parents played a big part in his interest in music. His father, Howard, was a classical pianist. Rosalind’s mother urged her son to take piano lessons early on.

What Was Billy Joel’s Creative Process for the Hit?

What Was Billy Joel’s Creative Process for the Hit?

The idea for the song stemmed from a conversation he had with a friend of musician Sean Lennon. At the time, Joel was 40 years old, and the young man was 21. He told Joel, “It’s a terrible time to be 21.” Joel replied that when he was 21, the Vietnam war and civil rights problems made everything seem awful. Lennon’s friend said, “But it’s different for you. You were a kid in the fifties, and everybody knows that nothing happened in the fifties.” Joel’s reply included references to various historical events from the time, including the Korean War.

Billy Joel Isn’t Even Impressed with We Didn’t Start the Fire

Billy Joel Isn’t Even Impressed with We Didn’t Start the Fire

According to Joel, the lyrics for We Didn’t Start the Fire came before he composed the music. Typically, it’s the other way around for him. In an interview for the book In Their Own Words, Joel recounts his feelings about the song. Regarding the music, he said, “It’s like a mosquito droning. It’s one of the worst melodies I’ve ever written. I kind of like the lyrics, though.”

How Popular was Billy Joel’s Hit?

How Popular was Billy Joel’s Hit?

We Didn’t Start the Fire hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.  Additionally, it became a huge success worldwide. The song received heavy rotation on radio stations and became one of his well-known tunes.

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