Friday was the 30th anniversary of Billy Joel’s Cold War history lesson, “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” In under five minutes, the single chronicles nearly a half-century of headline news and pop culture, from Joel’s birth year, 1949, to the recording of his 1989 album, “Storm Front.”
The Los Angeles Times did a check-in on the 59 people referenced across the track’s 117 headlines, in order (more or less) of mention in the song. Only five of those luminaries are still alive today. See it here