Nowadays, it seems that Billy Joel only makes headlines for unsavory reasons. There have been divorces, substance abuse issues and his daughter's recent suicide attempt. All told, you have to feel bad for the guy, as even when he ruled the pop charts, all anybody could talk about was the fact that he managed to become huge in spite of himself, suggesting that it was something of a novelty for a guy that unattractive and goofy to become such a massive pop star. And make no mistake: Billy Joel was (and in many respects still is) a massive star, with a number of multi-platinum albums, dozens of hit singles and at least one song ("Piano Man") that will outlast all civilization on Earth.
Just how brightly did Joel's star shine in his heyday? On this day in 1989, he saw his song "We Didn't Start the Fire" ascend to the top position on the Billboard chart. It was his third chart-topper (after "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" and "Tell Her About It") and by far one of the most absurd songs to sit at the top of the heap. The song's lyrics reference dozens of famous historical events and characters, all laid out in rapid-fire fashion with a shout-along chorus sandwiched in between. It must be the only #1 single in history to reference thalidomide, Richard Nixon and the Brooklyn Dodgers all in the same track. Joel never made it back to the top of the charts, but on the other hand, the video for "We Didn't Start the Fire" is one of the best of the 1980s.