"Only the Good Die Young" is a rock composition written by Billy Joel, released on his 1977 album The Stranger and issued as a single in 1978. The song was inspired by Virginia Callahan, an unrequited crush from Joel's high school years in Levittown, Long Island, and its lyrics take the perspective of a young man attempting to persuade a Catholic girl to abandon her reservations. Joel has characterized the song as intentionally humorous and "pro-lust" rather than anti-religious, noting in later interviews that the narrator ultimately fails in his pursuit. The composition was originally conceived in a reggae style, but drummer Liberty DeVitto objected to the arrangement and proposed a shuffle-influenced rock groove instead; the final version was captured on the third take at A&R Studios in New York. Built on a straightforward I-IV-V chord progression in C major, the piece features bright acoustic guitars paired with zydeco-flavored organ passages that give it textural variety against a driving rhythmic foundation. The song became one of the most controversial tracks of Joel's career when WSOU, a radio station affiliated with Seton Hall College's Catholic Archdiocese, banned it from airplay. Joel received death threats before a performance in St. Louis but played the song twice in defiance. The ban proved commercially beneficial, helping drive album sales. Producer Phil Ramone's decision to use Joel's own band rather than session musicians contributed to the recording's energetic character.
