"We Didn't Start the Fire"

"We Didn't Start the Fire" is a song included in Billy Joel's 1989 album Storm Front. Both the album and the song received several Grammy nominations including Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The lyrics contain historical events and notable figures from 1949 to 1989. This song has been used by many educators as a tool to teach historical facts.

In this article we will concentrate on the musical events mentioned in the song and appropriate links will be provided for further information.

1949

• Doris Day - Actress/singer Doris Day made two films namely: It's A Great Feeling and My Dream is Yours.
• Johnnie Ray - Singer/songwriter and musician signed a contract with Okeh Records.
• South Pacific - A musical composed by Richard Rodgers with Oscar Hammerstein II as lyricist. It opened in Broadway on April 7, 1949.

1951

• The King and I - This musical opened in Broadway on March 29, 1951, again with Richard Rodgers as composer and Oscar Hammerstein II as lyricist.

1952

• Liberace - The flamboyant pianist and entertainer had his television show premiere on KLAC-TV in Los Angeles.
• Sergey Prokofiev - Russian composer of the 20th century who passed away on March 5, 1953 in Moscow, Russia due to cerebral hemorrhage.

1954

• Arturo Toscanini - Conductor of the NBC Symphony who had his final concert on April 4, 1954.
• Rock Around the Clock - This song by Bill Haley and the Comets had its debut on May 10, 1954.

1955

• Peter Pan - 0n March 7, 1955, Peter Pan was broadcasted on NBC.
• Elvis Presley - On November 21, 1955, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" signed a contract with RCA Records.

1959

• Buddy Holly - On February 3, 1959, singer/songwriter Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash.

1960

• Chubby Checker - Singer/musician Ernest Evans, more popularly known as Chubby Checker, had a huge hit with his song "The Twist."

1961

• Bob Dylan - Musician, singer/songwriter Bob Dylan signed a contract with Columbia Records.

1962

• British Beatlemania - John, Paul, George and Ringo, collectively known as the Beatles, joined the EMI Parlophone label.

1969

• Woodstock Festival - Thousands attended this music festival held in a dairy farm in Bethel, New York featuring rock and roll artists and bands.

1974

• Punk rock - A new music genre was introduced by musical groups like The Ramones, Richard Hell & the Voidoids and Sex Pistols.

1983

• Heavy metal, suicide - Concerned parents accused the group Judas Priest and Metallica, as well as musician Ozzy Osbourne that their music contained subliminal messages of suicide.

1989

• Rock and Roller Cola Wars - The two biggest softdrink companies, Pepsi and Coke, used popular musicians in their ads to boost sales.
  
  To hear the song and view the complete lyrics, visit this Web site.