We Didn't Start The Fire

Payola (1960)

2007-05-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

Many disk jockeys were exposed for taking bribes to pay certain songs on the radio, thus biasing the record sales. Top national disk jockey Allen Freed was convicted of payola. American Bandstand TV dance show host Dick Clark was accused of payola but found innocent.

Syngman Rhee (1960)

2007-05-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

Syngman Rhee was the first President of South Korea, serving from 1948 to 1960. His method of rule became unpopular, and he was forced to resign by a student-led democratic movement.

U-2 (1960)

2007-05-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

The United States had been sending the secret U-2 high-flying spy plane over the Soviet Union to take pictures and gather information, when one was shot down by a Russian missile. The pilot Gary Francis Powers was taken prisoner and later released in an exchange for a Soviet spy who had been arrested in the U.S.
An interesting note is that Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was stationed at the military base where Powers' U-2 took off for the flight. No connection was ever made, but it did seem suspicious,

Edsel is a no-go (1959)

2007-05-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

Ford Motor Company came out with a new car, the Edsel--named after Edsel Ford. The car was to fit in between the Ford and Mercury, but it was the wrong car at the wrong time and lasted only a few years until it was discontinued.

Castro (1959)

2007-05-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

Dr. Fidel Castro--who received his doctoral college degree at Columbia University in the U.S.--overthrew dictator Batista and started up a Communist dictatorship in Cuba.

Hula Hoops (1959)

2007-05-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Hula Hoops became a national fad. Everywhere, you would see children and even adults trying to spin the large plastic hoop around their waste. TV celebrities would also display their skills with the hoop. The fad peaked and died out quickly.

Mafia (1959)

2007-05-01T16:16:00.000-07:00

The Mafia was one of the most powerful gangs in the U.S... Their empire was international...Mafia leaders met in upstate New York to get better organized.

Space Monkey (1959)

2007-05-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

Ham the space monkey was sent up in an American space satellite as a prelude to sending a man in space. He was a mean little guy who would often try to bite the workers who put him in the space capsule.
Ham was not really a monkey, but a chimpanzee. The actual year he went into space was 1961.

Ben Hur (1959)

2007-05-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

Ben Hur was a spectacular movie starring Charlton Heston. It was set around the time of Christ.

Buddy Holly (1959)

2007-05-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

Buddy Holly was a popular singer and leader of the Crickets rock group. He was killed in a plane crash, along with singers The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. In the 1980s, the hit song American Pie referred to his death in the line "...the day the music died."

Children of Thalidomide (1958)

2007-05-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

Children of women who took the drug Thalidomide during pregnancy were born with only stubs for arms. After this tragedy, the drug was taken off the market.

Starkweather homicide (1958)

2007-05-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Charles Starkweather was a serial killer who made the news 1958 because of his gruesome murders. Starkweather and his girlfriend, Caril Fugate, went on a killing spree of 11 to 15 people over a span of a month and a half. They were captured and he was executed in 1959.

California baseball (1958)

2007-05-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team moved to Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Giants moved to San Francisco.

Charles de Gaulle (1958)

2007-05-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

Charles de Gaulle returned to power as the leader of France.

Lebanon (1958)

2007-05-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

U.S. President Eisenhower ordered U.S. Marines into Lebanon at the request of Lebanese President Chamoun to help stop riots that were occurring in the country.

Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

2007-05-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

The Bridge on the River Kwai was a 1957 Academy Award winning movie about a World War II Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.

Chou En-Lai (1957)

2007-05-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

Chou En-Lai (Zhou Enlai) was the Premier and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China (also called Red China by Western journalists). He was a popular and practical administrator during the "Great Leap Forward" of 1958 and later pushed for modernization to undo damage caused by the "Cultural Revolution" of 1966 to 1976. Zhou was largely responsible for the re-establishment of contacts with the West during the Nixon presidency.

Sputnik (1957)

2007-05-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

Sputnik was the name of the first orbiting satellite sent into space by the USSR. Turmoil over its launch in the United States initiated the race for supremacy in space.

Kerouac (1957)

2007-05-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

Jack Kerouac was the author of the best-selling book On the Road, which epitomized the Beat Generation of the late 1940s and early 1950s. Upon achieving fame, Kerouac became a serious alcoholic and died at an early age.

Mickey Mantle (1957)

2007-05-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

Mickey Mantle was a great baseball player for the New York Yankee team. He batted both left- and right-handed, hit at a leading batting average, as well as led the league in home runs.

Pasternak (1957)

2007-05-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

Boris Pasternak was a Russian poet and writer. He is best known in the West for his monumental novel on Soviet Russia, Doctor Zhivago. The book was also made into an award-winning movie.
Although he was celebrated in Russia as a great poet, his book was banned in the Soviet Union for many years.

Little Rock (1957)

2007-05-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

Nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround Central High School to keep the nine students from entering the school, because he believed black and whites should be segregated, despite Federal laws on integration. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock to insure the safety of the students. The crisis gained world-wide attention.

Trouble in the Suez (1956)

2007-05-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

After Britain and the USA withdrew their financial support for the Egyptian Aswan dam project, General Nasser nationalized the important Suez Canal. Egypt was then invaded by British, French and Israeli forces. Under pressure from the United States the invaders left Egypt and a UN emergency force was sent to Egypt.

Peyton Place (1956)

2007-05-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

The book Peyton Place became the number-1 best-seller. Teens often marked the "good parts" in the book, as they passed it among each other.
The book is quite tame according to today's standards.

Princess Grace (1956)

2007-05-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

Actress Grace Kelly left Hollywood to marry Prince Ranier of Monaco. She then attained the title of Princess Grace.

Khrushchev (1956)

2007-05-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

Nikita Khrushchev emerged as a leader in the Soviet Union after the death of dictator Josef Stalin. In 1956, he advocated reform and indirectly criticized Stalin and his methods. He became the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1974.

Alabama (1956)

2007-05-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

In 1955, African-American Rosa Parks sat in a Montgomery, Alabama bus seat designated "for whites only". She was then arrested for her act of defiance. That arrest resulted in demonstrations and a boycott of Montgomery buses by African-Americans that lasted until December 1956.
Since the boycott was costing downtown stores and white businesses considerable money, negotiations where made to stop the action. But it took a Supreme Court ruling in November 1956 that segregation on transportation is unconstitutional to finally integrate the buses.
This event was also a starting point for the Civil Rights movement of Martin Luther King and others.

Budapest (1956)

2007-05-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

Anti-communist riots took part in Budapest, Hungary. Soviet troops put down the revolt and arrested many Hungarians, especially students.

Bardot (1956)

2007-05-01T15:33:00.000-07:00

Brigitte Bardot was a popular French "sex-kitten" movie star.

Disneyland (1955)

2007-05-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

Disneyland opened in 1955 in Anaheim, California. It was a theme park, developed by Walt Disney and based around his cartoon characters. It was designated as a place for family entertainment.
An interesting and little-known fact is that although Disney forbade the serving of alcoholic beverages in Disneyland, he had a private suite in the park where bartenders would serve drinks to his personal guests.

Elvis Presley (1955)

2007-05-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

Singer Elvis Presley became a national phenomenon with such number 1 hit songs as Heartbreak Hotel, Don't Be Cruel and Hound Dog. He was called "Elvis the Pelvis" because of the way he shook his hips while dancing. Many religious leaders and school officials banned his songs, which only made them more popular. He later went on to be nicknamed "The King" as the most popular singer ever.

Peter Pan (1955)

2007-05-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

Peter Pan was a top Broadway play starring Mary Martin, who flew through the air as Peter Pan.

Davy Crockett (1955)

2007-05-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

Actor Fess Parker starred in the highly popular TV series Davy Crockett. A novelty song by that title became the number-1 hit for a short time.

Brooklyn's got a winning team (1955)

2007-05-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

The Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team finally won the World Series over the New York Yankees. They later moved to Los Angeles.

James Dean (1955)

2007-05-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

James Dean was a movie star who became a symbol of young people for his role in the movie Rebel Without a Cause. After completing his next movie Giant, Dean decided to drive his new 1955 Porsche Spyder to Salinas, California to enter in a sports car race there. His mechanic rode with him. On the way there, Dean's car was struck by another vehicle which crossed the centerline. James Dean was the only one killed in the accident. The driver of the other car had minor injuries, while the mechanic was thrown from the car and suffered some broken bones.

James Dean (1955)

2007-05-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Einstein (1955)

2007-05-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

Albert Einstein developed the Theory of Relativity in 1903 and was considered one the world's smartest scientists. He became a popular figure in the later years of his life. He died in 1955.

Rock Around the Clock (1954)

2007-05-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

Bill Haley and the Comets came out with what was considered the first rock-and-roll hit song, Rock Around the Clock. It was the theme music for the popular movie Blackboard Jungle.

Dien Bien Phu falls (1954)

2007-05-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

The French lose control over Indo-China, now known as Vietnam with the fall of the city Dien Bien Phu

Toscanini (1954)

2007-05-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

Arturo Toscanini was a world-famous conductor who died in 1954

Juan Perón (1954)

2007-05-01T15:13:00.000-07:00

Juan Perón was a popular leader in Argentina, elected first in 1946 and then again in 1952. Perón pursued social policies aimed at empowering the working class. His wife Evita was known for helping the poor. He was strongly anti-American and anti-British, confiscating much of the British and American-owed assets in Argentina. In 1955, he was overthrown by a military coup. It wasn't until 1973 that he returned to power. He died shortly afterward in 1974.

Roy Cohn (1954)

2007-05-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

Roy Cohn was the advisor to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the McCarthy Hearings on Communists in the movie industry and government.

Communist bloc (1953)

2007-05-01T15:09:00.001-07:00

USSR and their satellite countries formed what was called the Communist bloc.

Campanella (1953)

2007-05-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

Roy Campanella was the all-star catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. His career was cut short by a paralyzing car accident.

Rockefeller (1953)

2007-05-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

Nelson and Winthrop Rockefeller were grandsons of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller.
In 1953, Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Nelson as chair of the President's Advisory Committee on Government Organization. He served as Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. He was the 41st Vice President of the United States of America from December 19, 1974 to January 20, 1977.
Also in 1953, Winthrop Rockefeller--who was known as a playboy and hard drinker--moved from Florida and New York to Arkansas. It was jokingly said he moved there because he loved playing the banjo. Winthrop became Governor of Arkansas in 1966 and was said to be a great influence on future Arkansas Governor and U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Winthrop was probably the Rockefeller that Billy Joel was referring to, since his playboy antics were more in the news than things that Nelson was doing.
Nelson and Winthrop Rockefeller were the only brothers in U.S. history to serve as Governor at the same time.

Prokofiev (1953)

2007-05-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev was a famous Ukrainian composer who died in 1953.

Nasser (1953)

2007-05-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Gamal Abdel Nasser was the second President of Egypt after Muhammad Naguib. He was considered one of the more influential Arab leaders in history.

Malenkov (1953)

2007-05-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

Georgy Malenkov was a Soviet politician and Communist Party leader, and a close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. He briefly became leader of the USSR (March 1953-February 1955) after Stalin's death.

Joseph Stalin (1953)

2007-05-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union. He was a harsh leader who had millions of his people executed or sent to labor camps in Siberia. On his way to political power, he changed his name to Stalin, which means steel in Russian.

Santayana good-bye (1952)

2007-05-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Famed philosophy George Santayana died in 1952...

Liberace (1952)

2007-04-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

Liberace was a popular pianist and entertainer, who had his own TV show in the 1950s. He was known for wearing sequined tuxedos and having a candelabrum on his piano. He is credited with advising singer Elvis Presley to also wear "fancy clothes" during his performances. Women adored Liberace, because of his sweet smile and wavy hair.

Rocky Marciano (1952)

2007-04-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

Rocky Marciano was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He retired undefeated.

Englands new Queen (1952)

2007-04-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

On February 6, 1952, Queen Elizabeth 2 ascended to the throne upon the death of her father, King George 6. Her coronation didn't take place until June 2, 1953. This was a great event, not only in Britain but in all the countries of the British Commonwealth. It was also big news in the United States and many other countries as well. Filmed documentaries of the event circulated in Commonwealth countries for a long time after the event and every school child was taken to organized cinema screenings in school time.

Vaccine (1952)

2007-04-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

The vaccine to the dreaded disease polio was discovered by Jonas Salk and distributed to the world.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1952)

2007-04-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower ("Ike") had been Supreme Commander in the World War II fight against the Nazis. He later became a popular president of the United States. "I like Ike" was the motto of his followers.

The Catcher in the Rye (1951)

2007-04-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

The Catcher in the Rye was an extreme popular book among teens, as it epitomized their attitudes and feelings.

The King And I (1951)

2007-04-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

The King and I was a popular Broadway play and later turned into a movie starring Yul Brunner and Deborah Kerr.

Marlon Brando

2007-04-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

Marlon Brando became a top movie actor. He was famous for his brooding and mumbling acting style. He received an Academy Award for his role in "On the Waterfront" that brought him to be a top box-office draw. Many years later, he starred in the "Godfather" movie.

Sugar Ray

2007-04-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sugar Ray Robinson was the middle-weight boxing champion of the world. At the time considered pound-for-pound the best boxer ever. He was also highly personable and popular.

The Hydrogen Bomb (H-bomb)

2007-04-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Hydrogen Bomb was developed under the guidance of Dr. William Teller. It was many times more powerful than an Atomic Bomb and in fact required an Atomic Bomb to detonate. The United States exploded the first H-bomb, but a few years later the Soviet Union also exploded their version of the bomb.

North & South Korea

2007-04-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Korea was split into north and south after World War II. North Korea became established as a Communist dictatorship by Soviet Union and Red China, after Japan was defeated. In 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea, starting the Korean War. The United Nations entered the war to defend South Korea. The Soviet Union made the mistake of walking out on the U.N. vote, allowing the measure to pass. Since declaring war was not acceptable without the approval of Congress, President Harry S Truman declared the fighting a "police action" to allow the entry of American troops. The war resulted in a stalemate, and Korea is still divided to this day.

Marilyn Monroe

2007-04-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

Marilyn Monroe was a popular "sex symbol" movie star. She was married the author Arthur Miller and baseball hero Joe Dimaggio. She also was rumored to have relationships with President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, as well as mafia boss Joe Gianconna. She died under suspicious circumstances.

TV

2007-04-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

Television became popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Most large cities had only one station. Sets in those days had 10 inch screens and were in black and white. Color was introduced in 1951, but it was years later until color television became universally popular.

Studebaker (car)

2007-04-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

Studebaker was a popular car in 1950. The styling consisted of a torpedo front end and read window. People joked that the car looked like it was going backwards. The company went out of business in 1966.

Richard Nixon

2007-04-30T08:50:00.000-07:00

Richard Nixon was a member of the House of Representatives from California when he became involved in the trial of Alger Hiss, who was accused of being a Communist and a spy. Nixon presented evidence that help prove Hiss guilty in 1950. This advanced Nixon's political career, and he soon ran for the Senate and won. Nixon later became Vice-President under President Dwight Eisenhower. Years later, he became President of the United States.

Joe McCarthy

2007-04-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

Joe McCarthy was a Senator from Wisconsin. He was best known for his work chairing the Senate Committee on Government Operations, which focused on suspected communists in the government. He even investigated the Voice of America,
He was known for his brutal interrogations of suspects, resulting in ruining the lives of both guilty and innocent people. It was later noted that McCarthy would be careful not to interrogate suspects who might resist his efforts. Usually, he picked on people with weak personalities.
While investigating possible communists in the U.S. Army, the Army's attorney general Joseph Welch responded to McCarthy's interrogation of a young soldier. He told McCarthy, "Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" Since the hearings were broadcast on national television, millions realized that these interrogations were not right. The hearings soon ending and McCarthy was left in disfavor.

Joe Dimaggio

2007-04-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

Joe Dimaggio was a popular baseball player for the New York Yankees. In 1941, he set a Major League record of hitting safely in 56 straight games. He was affectionately known as "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper" until he retired in 1952. Dimaggio married actress Marilyn Monroe in 1954, but the marriage only lasted 9 months. In the 1980s, he became known as "Mr. Coffee" because of his TV ads for that brand of coffee maker. He was also mentioned in the song Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel.

Walter Winchell

2007-04-30T06:25:00.000-07:00

Born: April 7, 1897New York, New York

Died: February 20, 1972Los Angeles, California

Newspaper columnist and broadcaster who reported news and gossip items. His trademarks were his fedora (imitated by Matt Drudge) and his opening line, “Good evening Mr. and Mrs. North and South America and all the ships at sea.”
In song, Winchell was often a cynical lyric reference. In the Tony-award-winning "The Producers" musical, Leo Bloom (played by Matthew Broderick) sings, "I want to read my name in Winchell's column" during the song "I Want to Be A Producer"; the Cole Porter composition "Let's Fly Away," include the lines, "Let's fly away/ And find a land that's so provincial/ We'll never hear what Walter Winchell/ Might be forced to say." Pianist Buddy Greco's version of "The Lady Is A Tramp" features the lyric "why she reads Walter Winchell and understands every line." Winchell is also mentioned in Billy Joel's history-themed song "We Didn't Start the Fire".

The South Pacific

2007-04-30T06:20:00.000-07:00

Some of the most deadliest battles of World War II were fought in the south pacific. Japan took over nearly all the islands which drew America to go and free them.

Johnnie Ray

2007-04-30T06:16:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest of the transition singers between the crooners and the rockers, Johnnie was the only son of Elmer and Hazel Ray. After partially losing his hearing in a youthful accident, he began singing locally in a wild, flamboyant style that soon made him an international sensation. His early songs, such as "Cry" and "The Little White Cloud That Cried", were major hits, but his open bisexuality and brushes with the law caused his star to wane in the US. He remained popular in the UK and Australia until his death, which came after a lifelong intake of pills and liquor.

Doris Day

2007-04-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

DORIS DAY

singer/actor

Born: 3 April 1924
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
Best Known As: Squeaky-clean movie star from the 1950s

Name at birth: Doris von Kappelhoff
Doris Day started her singing career in the 1940s and hit it big with the million-selling "Sentimental Journey." In 1948 she started her movie career, hitting her stride in the 1950s with a series of romantic comedies, including Pillow Talk (1959) with Rock Hudson. Her singing career was just as hot as her acting career, and her hit from the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock movie The Man who Knew Too Much, "Que Sera, Sera," won an Oscar. After starring in a TV series (1968-72), Day turned her attention to political activism on behalf of animals.
When Day was widowed in 1968, she discovered that the fortune she had earned as one of Hollywood's top stars had been misappropriated by her lawyer, leaving her nearly penniless. In 1974 she won a court case against the lawyer and was awarded $22 million.

Harry Truman

2007-04-30T05:56:00.000-07:00

HARRY S. TRUMAN

During his few weeks as Vice President, Harry S Truman scarcely saw President Roosevelt, and received no briefing on the development of the atomic bomb or the unfolding difficulties with Soviet Russia. Suddenly these and a host of other wartime problems became Truman's to solve when, on April 12, 1945, he became President. He told reporters, "I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me."
Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, in 1884. He grew up in Independence, and for 12 years prospered as a Missouri farmer.
He went to France during World War I as a captain in the Field Artillery. Returning, he married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace, and opened a haberdashery in Kansas City.