Wikipedia

Only the Good Die Young

"Only the Good Die Young" is a song written and recorded by Billy Joel from his fifth studio album The Stranger (1977), released in 1978 as its third of four singles.

"Only the Good Die Young"
A-side label of U.S. vinyl single
Single by Billy Joel
from the album The Stranger
B-side"Get It Right the First Time"
ReleasedMay 1978
Recorded1977
Genre
Length3:55
LabelColumbia
SongwriterBilly Joel
ProducerPhil Ramone
Billy Joel singles chronology
"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
(1977)		 "Only the Good Die Young"
(1978)		 "She's Always a Woman"
(1978)

Background

edit

"Only the Good Die Young" was controversial for its time, with the lyrics written from the perspective of a young man determined to have sex with a Catholic girl.[4] The song was inspired by a high school love interest of Joel's, Virginia Callahan. The boy/narrator believes that the girl is refusing him because she comes from a religious Catholic family and that she believes premarital sex is sinful.[5] He sings,

You Catholic girls start much too late,
but sooner or later it comes down to fate.
I might as well be the one.

Attempts to censor the song only made it more popular, after religious groups considered it anti-Catholic,[6] and pressured radio stations to remove it from their playlists.[5] "When I wrote 'Only the Good Die Young', the point of the song wasn't so much anti-Catholic as pro-lust," Joel told Performing Songwriter magazine. "The minute they banned it, the album started shooting up the charts." In a 2008 interview, Joel also pointed out one part of the lyrics that virtually all the song's critics missed – the boy in the song failed to get anywhere with the girl, and she kept her chastity.[7]

In 2023, Joel said of the song "It's occurred to me recently that I'm trying to talk some poor innocent woman into losing her virginity because of my lust. It's kind of a selfish song – like, who cares what happens to you? What about what I want? ... But on the other hand, it was of its time. This was written in the mid-'70s, and I was trying to seduce girls. Why bullshit about it?"[8]

Reception

edit

Billboard described "Only the Good Die Young" as one of Joel's "strongest and catchiest" songs.[9] Cash Box said that "Billy grabs the fun with a rollicking, handclapping beat, raspy sax solo and racy piano licks."[10]

Demo version

edit

A demo, included in the box set My Lives, is a slower, reggae version of the song. Joel reprised the song's motif in this version with a church organ. Joel has stated publicly that he changed the reggae beat to a shuffle beat at the request of his long time drummer, Liberty DeVitto, who hated reggae music.[6][11]

Track listing

edit

7" single (1978)

edit
  1. "Only the Good Die Young" – (3:55)
  2. "Get It Right the First Time" – (3:32)

Charts

edit

Certifications

edit
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[15] Platinum 30,000‡
United States (RIAA)[16] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

edit
  1. ↑ Mitchell, Matt (January 20, 2024). "The 25 Greatest Billy Joel Songs of All Time". Paste. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  2. ↑ Campbell, Al. Various Artists - Legends: For Your Love (2004) Review at AllMusic. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Billy Joel - Only the Good die Young".
  4. ↑ Sagert, Kelly Boyer (2007). The 1970s. New York: Greenwood Press. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-313-33919-6.
  5. 1 2 3 Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 242. ISBN 0-87586-207-1.
  6. 1 2 The Story Behind Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young". PerformerSongwriter.com archive. Retrieved April 24, 2013
  7. ↑ Interview with Oprah Winfrey, The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2008
  8. ↑ Banas, Erica (March 10, 2023). "Billy Joel Reflects on Two of His Songs by Today's 'Woke Standards'". WMMR. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. May 20, 1978. p. 92. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  10. ↑ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 20, 1978. p. 24. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  11. ↑ Video on YouTube: Billy Joel tells how "Only The Good Die Young" came to sound the way it does crediting Liberty Devitto
  12. ↑ Canada, Library Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  13. ↑ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles Week ending JULY 15, 1978" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-08-09.
  14. ↑ Canada, Library Archives (17 July 2013). "Item: 114 - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  15. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Billy Joel – Only the Good Die Young". Radioscope. Retrieved July 18, 2025. Type Only the Good Die Young in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  16. ↑ "American single certifications – Billy Joel – Only the Good Die Young". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Only_the_Good_Die_Young&oldid=1343226442"