The Downeaster "Alexa"
"The Downeaster 'Alexa'" | ||||
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File:Downeasteralexa.jpg | ||||
Single by Billy Joel | ||||
from the album Storm Front | ||||
B-side | "And So It Goes" | |||
Released | April 1990 | |||
Studio | The Hit Factory, Times Square Studio, New York, NY | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:44 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Billy Joel | |||
Producer(s) |
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Billy Joel singles chronology | ||||
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"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[edit]
The violin solo is played by virtuoso Itzhak Perlman.[1]
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.[2]
Todd Glass said he likes to add a little "reverb" to this song on the podcast u talkin' u2 to me
Music video[edit]
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2015) |
The music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan.[3]
Cover versions[edit]
- The Brown University a cappella group The Brown Derbies recorded a version on their album Nightcap, with the main vocals performed by Joel Begleiter.[4]
- 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[5]
- 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[edit]
Chart (1990) | Peak position |
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Australian Singles Chart[6] | 126 |
Canadian Singles Chart[7] | 25 |
Japanese Singles Chart (Oricon)[8] | 6 |
UK Singles Chart | 76 |
US Billboard Hot 100 | 57 |
US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 18 |
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 33 |
Certifications[edit]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA)[9] | Platinum | 1,000,000![]() |
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References[edit]
- ^ [1] Billy Joel & Itzhak Perlman - The Downeaster 'Alexa' (MSG - March 9, 2015)
- ^ Piano Man rocks Albany – Poughkeepsie Journal, Thursday April 19, 2007
- ^ Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - Billy Joel - "The downeaster Alexa"". Music Video DataBase. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
- ^ [2] (Review of 'Nightcap' by The Brown Derbies. Accessed November 14, 2018.)
- ^ Live at the Red Rocks (O.A.R. website. Accessed June 10, 2009.)
- ^ "Week commencing 28 May 1990". BubblingDownUnder. May 28, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ "RPM 100 Singles". Library and Archives Canada. June 9, 1990. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- ^ Oricon Singles Chart Oricon Singles Chart (Retrieved November 2, 2012)
- ^ "American single certifications – Billy Joel – The Downeaster 'Alexa'". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
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- 1989 songs
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- Maritime music
- Music videos directed by Andy Morahan
- Song recordings produced by Billy Joel
- Song recordings produced by Mick Jones (Foreigner)
- Songs written by Billy Joel