Billy Joel named 59 people in “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
After Brigitte Bardot’s death, only three are still alive.
The French film icon passed away this week, marking a major historical milestone
Bardot became the final living woman mentioned by name in the 1989 Billy Joel hit.
A data visualization shared on Reddit shows the lifespans of every person named in the song
Out of 59 figures referenced from Billy Joel’s lifetime, only three remain living today
Chubby Checker are among the last surviving names from the song’s iconic rapid-fire lyrics.
The final living figure is Bernhard Goetz, linked to a notorious 1984
Joel wrote the track while turning 40, calling it “the history teacher in me coming out.”
After a younger man claimed “nothing happened” in the ’50s
Joel began listing major events—and the song exploded from there.