Pop Culture Happenings: November

Billy Joel helped us forget about life for a while, ABC brought nukes into Americans’ living rooms and someone paid for a self-portrait of a clean-shaven van Gogh.

__1973__

50 years ago

On Nov. 2, 1973, Billy Joel released his first major hit and signature song, “Piano Man.” Joel based the story of the song on his real-life experiences and the people he met as a piano-lounge singer at the Executive Room Bar in Los Angeles. The song reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 and in 2015 was preserved in the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” “Piano Man” remains popular and is one of the most-streamed songs on Spotify and YouTube.

__1983__

40 years ago

On Nov. 20, 1983, an estimated 100 million people tuned into ABC on a Sunday night to watch “The Day After,” a made-for-television film about a full-scale nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The story focuses on residents who live in and around Lawrence, Kan., and how survivors deal with the aftermath. The film starred Jason Robards, John Lithgow and Steve Guttenberg and was directed by Nicholas Meyer. The film’s depiction of destruction caused by nuclear missiles won an Emmy for visual effects. After watching the film, President Ronald Reagan wrote in his diary that the film was “very effective and left me greatly depressed” and that it changed his mind about the prevailing policy on a “nuclear war.”

__1998__

25 years ago

On Nov. 19, 1998, “Self-Portrait Without Beard” by Vincent van Gogh sold at auction at Christie’s in New York City for $71.5 million to an anonymous buyer. The painting sold for three times more than its highest estimated value and was the third-highest price paid for any artwork sold at auction at that time. One of his last self-portraits, van Gogh made the painting for his mother in 1889 for her 70th birthday. He was ill in Saint Remy, France, but painted himself clean-shaven with an intense stare to assure his mother he was in good health. Sadly, van Gogh died by suicide less than a year later.