Bardot death means just 3 stars mentioned in hit song remain alive | Music | Entertainment

The death of iconic French actress Brigitte Bardot means just three people mentioned in Billy Joel’s iconic We Didn’t Start The Fire global smash hit remain alive. The international sex symbol turned animal rights activist death at the age of 91 was announced on Sunday following a “sudden illness”.

Bardot died at her St-Tropez home, La Madrague, according to the animal protection charity she set up in 1986. Her cause of death was not made public, but Bardot was briefly kept in hospital in October for what her office called a “minor” procedure. It means just three individuals specifically named in Joel’s original 1989 version of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” are still alive.

They are Chubby Checker, born 1941, who is mentioned for popularising the dance craze “The Twist” in 1960, Bob Dylan, also born in 1941, who is namechecked for his influential folk music career and signing with Columbia Records in 1961 and Bernie Goetz, born 194, known as the “Subway Vigilante,” he was a major news figure in 1984.

While most individuals named are deceased, some members of groups mentioned in the song also remain alive, including two members of The Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and all members of Irish rockers U2.

The hit history-themed song written and performed by American musician Joel was released in September 1989 and served as the lead single for his eleventh studio album, Storm Front.

The song is a “list song” featuring rapid-fire references to 119 major political, cultural, and scientific events between 1949 – the year of Joel’s birth – and 1989. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1989 and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

The song argues that every generation faces global tragedy and scandal, and that Joel’s generation was not responsible for “starting” these issues, though they tried to fight them.

Despite its massive success, Joel has frequently stated his dislike for the song’s melody, once describing it as “terrible, like a dentist drill”.

The lyrics follow a roughly chronological order through the mid-20th century. Some prominent mentions include former US Presidents: Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan, whilst notable historical events include the Korean War, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Watergate scandal, and the launch of the H-Bomb.

A long list of pop culture icons includes Marilyn Monroe, Doris Day, Elvis Presley (“The King”), and Joe DiMaggio.

Alongside Bardo,t other prominent deaths over the past decade of famous people mentioned in the hit song include Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022): Referenced by the line “England’s got a new queen”, Fidel Castro (1926–2016) referenced for the Cuban Revolution and Doris Day (1922–2019) who is mentioned as a prominent 1950s star.