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The Downeaster "Alexa"
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Wikipedia article
"'The Downeaster 'Alexa'" is a song originally written, produced, and performed by Billy Joel for his eleventh studio album 'Storm Front'. The album itself went to number one while the fourth single "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" placed at No. 57 in the 'Billboard' Hot 100. The song was included on Billy Joel's 'Greatest Hits Vol. 3' album in 1997.
Content
The violin solo is played by virtuoso Itzhak Perlman.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhijZuIWNUA] Billy Joel & Itzhak Perlman - The Downeaster 'Alexa' (MSG - March 9, 2015)
The song is sung in the persona of an impoverished fisherman off Long Island and the surrounding waters who, like many of his fellow fishermen, is finding it increasingly hard to make ends meet and keep ownership of his boat, a type known as a downeaster.'[http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070419/LIFE/70418022/0/ENT04&theme=BARRY Piano Man rocks Albany]' 'Poughkeepsie Journal', Thursday April 19, 2007
Music video
The music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan.
Cover versions
* The Brown University a cappella group The Brown Derbies recorded a version on their album 'Nightcap', with the main vocals performed by Joel Begleiter.[https://www.rarb.org/reviews/albums/50-nightcap/#5] (Review of 'Nightcap' by The Brown Derbies. Accessed November 14, 2018.)
*The English roots duo Show of Hands recorded a version on their album 'Covers'.
*The American rock band O.A.R. has covered the song since 2007[http://www.liveoar.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=48 Live at the Red Rocks] (O.A.R. website. Accessed June 10, 2009.)
*A parody of the song was featured on 'The Howard Stern Show', replacing the lyrics with "Baba Booey" and Howard's common variations of it.
*This song is also featured in 'The Hangover Part II' during a sequence in which the main characters are on a plane and are driving to a wedding party in Thailand.
Charts
Certifications
References
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