One of the great classic rock artists is Billy Joel. The man is a classic rock legend who has sung many a song about the American heartland. One song in particular, however, stands out. So, off of Pocket Trivia: Music Trivia - What Pennsylvania city is the subject of a Billy Joel song? Is it Allentown, Levittown, Bethlehem or Pittsburgh.
If you live where I live and get this wrong, you probably haven't been here long. Without a doubt, the answer is Allentown ("And we're living here in Allentown..."). The song, however, has a more storied history. It was originally about Levittown, a town in Long Island next to Billy Joel's hometown in Hicksville. However, Joel wrote the song in 1982, when the Steel Mills of the Lehigh Valley were a more timely topic. Finding something that rhymed with Bethlehem, however, probably wasn't possible, so Joel went with Allentown, Bethlehem's neighbor to the west. However, there are, actually, no Steel Mills in Allentown - all of those were in Bethlehem, where Bethlehem Steel operated from 1857 - 1995. The loss of Bethlehem Steel devastated and demoralized the area, which has since more than recovered (go Lehigh Valley!).
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