For the second post, I thought I'd push you guys right into the deep end, just to show how far this song can be pushed and still be true to it's roots. The Space Lady is Susan Dietrich, a woman from Boston. In the early 70s, driven by the fear of her husband being persecuted as a draft dodger, and needing to feed her child, she took to busking. She was evidently pretty good at it and she made a decent living. Eventually her act evolved into a mini-stage show.
The accordion was eventually retired in favor of the very first Casio keyboard released on the American market, a toy by today's standards. But with Joel's previous experience playing in various 60s rock bands, they plugged the Casio into a phase-shifter, mic-ed Susan's voice through an echo unit, created a light show by wiring her tip box with twinkling lights, and crowned her with a winged helmet complete with a blinking red ball on top.
Her story is on her MySpace page. I honestly didn't know anything about her before tonight, and now that I do, I have a deeper appreciation for this version of the song, and the rest of her music.
Download more songs by The Space Lady.
