| October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, actor, satirist, parodist, songwriter, accordionist, and television producer.His works have earned him three Grammy Awards among nine nominations, four gold records, and six platinum records in the United States.Yankovic's first top ten Billboard album and single were both released in 2006, nearly three decades into his career.Demento, "My Bologna," and early fame
1.Reactions from original artists
2.Notable television appearances
2.Misattribution and imitators
4 Weird Al Star Fund
5 Discography
5.Awards and nominations
6.April 9, 2004, an American of Italian and English descent), Alfred was born in Downey, California, and raised in the neighboring town of Lynwood.Nick was born in Kansas City, Kansas, and began living in California after serving during World War II.Nick married Mary Vivalda in 1949.Yankovic began kindergarten a year earlier than most children, and he skipped the second grade.As his unusual schooling left him two years younger than most of his classmates, Yankovic was not interested in sports or social events at school.He claims to have been a "straight A" student throughout high school, which earned him the honor of becoming valedictorian of his senior class.Yankovic was fairly active in his school's extracurricular programs, including the National Forensic League (in which he "usually brought home some kind of trophy"), a play based upon Rebel Without a Cause, the yearbook program (for which he wrote most of the captions), and the Volcano Worshipper's Club, "which did absolutely nothing.Demento, the host of a comedy radio program.Superstar", a parody of the title song from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar."It was sort of like amateur music night, and a lot of people were like wannabe Dan Fogelbergs.And I would get up with my accordion and play the theme from '2001.And people were kind of shocked that I would be disrupting their mellow Thursday night folk fest."Yankovic said he had been nicknamed "Weird Al" by fellow students and "took it on professionally" as his persona for the station.Demento, who played it to good response from listeners.Yankovic met The Knack after a show at his college, and introduced himself as the author of "My Bologna".The Knack's lead singer, Doug Fieger, said he liked the song and suggested that Capitol Records vice president Rupert Perry release the song as a single.On September 14, 1980, Yankovic was a guest on the Dr.While practicing the song outside the sound booth, he met Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, who told him he was a drummer and agreed to bang on Yankovic's accordion case to help Yankovic keep a steady beat during the song.They rehearsed the song just a few times before the show began.Yankovic admitted that he had, so Levey held auditions.Steve Jay became Yankovic's bass player, and Jay's friend Jim West played guitar.Yankovic's first show with his new band was on March 31, 1982.Yankovic recorded "I Love Rocky Road" (a parody of "I Love Rock 'N Roll" as recorded by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts) in 1982.Nerdy" placed at number 9 in October 2006.Jay Levey, who would direct UHF four years later.Also released around the same time as The Compleat Al was The Authorized Al, a biographical book based on the film.Yankovic and his band toured as the opening act for The Monkees in mid 1987 for their second reunion tour of North America.Yankovic claims to have enjoyed touring with The Monkees, despite the fact "the promoter gypped us out of a bunch of money."There was even a separate tour bus for each Monkee!"Valtierra joined the band on keyboards in 1991, allowing Yankovic to concentrate more on singing and increasing his use of the stage space during concerts.Demento's Basement Tapes, often includes unreleased tracks from Yankovic's vaults, such as "Pacman", "It's Still Billy Joel To Me" or the live version of "School Cafeteria".He had previously shaved his mustache in 1983 for the video of Ricky in order to resemble Desi Arnaz more closely, and in 1996 for his "Amish Paradise" video.Yankovic reasoned, "If Madonna's allowed to reinvent herself every 15 minutes, I figure I should be good for a change at least once every twenty years."He parodied the reaction to this "new look" in a commercial for his nonexistent MTV Unplugged special.The Saga Begins, claiming his new look was an attempt to "get back to the core of what I'm all about," that being "the music."Their daughter, Nina, was born February 11, 2003.They used to have a pet poodle, Bela (pictured atop Yankovic's head on the cover of his album, Poodle Hat).Despite songs such as "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi", his frequent use of "Oy vey" and other Yiddish phrases, Yankovic is not of Jewish ancestry, and identifies himself as a Christian.Yankovic's career in novelty and comedy music has outlasted many of his "mainstream" parody targets, such as Toni Basil, MC Hammer, Men Without Hats, and Crash Test Dummies.Nerdy" and album Straight Outta Lynwood in 2006) has enabled him to escape the stigma often associated with novelty music.Yankovic claims he has no intention of writing "serious" music.In his reasoning, "There's enough people that do unfunny music.I'll leave the serious stuff to Paris Hilton and Kevin Federline."Most Yankovic songs consist of the original song's music, with a separate, unrelated set of amusing lyrics.Exceptions include "Smells Like Nirvana", which references unintelligible lyrics in "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Achy Breaky Song", which refers to the song "Achy Breaky Heart", "(This Song's Just) Six Words Long", which refers to the repetitious lyrics in "Got My Mind Set On You" and "Confessions Part III", which references "Confessions" and "Confessions Part II" in the first few lines.Madonna was reportedly talking with a friend and happened to wonder aloud when Yankovic was going to turn her "Like a Virgin" into "Like a Surgeon."Unlike other parody artists such as Tom Lehrer and Allan Sherman, Yankovic strives to keep the backing music in his parodies the same as the original.While Lehrer reproduced the songs on piano and Sherman reproduced them orchestrally, Yankovic and his band essentially play the original song with new lyrics.In addition to his parodies, Yankovic also includes a medley of various songs on most albums, each one reinterpreted as a polka, with the choruses or memorable lines of various songs juxtaposed for humorous effect.Yankovic has been known to say that converting these songs to polka was "...Such bands include Devo with "Dare to Be Stupid", Talking Heads with "Dog Eat Dog", Frank Zappa with "Genius in France", Nine Inch Nails with "Germs", or most recently, charity records with "Don't Download This Song".Other songs of his have appeared in films or television series as well, such as "Dare to Be Stupid" in Transformers: The Movie.Also, a hamster called Harvey the Wonder Hamster is a recurring character in The Weird Al Show and the Al TV specials, as well as the subject of an original song on Alapalooza.Yankovic has also put two backmasking messages into his songs.The first, in "Nature Trail to Hell", said "Satan Eats Cheez Whiz"; the second, in "I Remember Larry", said "Wow, you must have an awful lot of free time on your hands."His latest three album releases feature the longest songs Yankovic has ever released.Most notably, the video for "Smells like Nirvana" uses an extremely similar set to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", including using several of the same actors.This video contended with "Smells like Teen Spirit" at the 1992 MTV Music Video Awards for Best Male Video.United States Supreme Court, one does not need permission to record a parody.Most artists have had positive reactions to Yankovic's parodies.Positive
Kurt Cobain of Nirvana said that the band felt they had "made it" after Yankovic recorded "Smells Like Nirvana", a parody of the grunge band's smash hit, "Smells Like Teen Spirit".On his Behind the Music special, Yankovic stated that when he called Cobain to ask if he could parody the song, Cobain gave him permission, then paused and asked, "Um...Yankovic performing The Saga Begins in Auckland, New Zealand on March 10, 2007.Michael Jackson is also a big fan of Yankovic.Jackson has twice allowed him to parody his songs ("Beat It" and "Bad" became "Eat It" and "Fat", respectively).Though Jackson was a good sport about "Eat It" and "Fat", he requested that Yankovic not record a parody of "Black or White", because he felt the message was too important.Yankovic also has a cameo appearance, along with many other celebrities, in Jackson's music video for "Liberian Girl".Yankovic commented on the legal complications of the parody in the DVD audio commentary for UHF, explaining "We had to name that song 'Money for Nothing 'slash' Beverly Hillbillies 'asterisk' because the lawyers told us that had to be the name.The "Al in The Box" booklet referred to the song's "compound fracture of a title."I'm not sure why, and I've obviously never been very happy about it."Yankovic got the plot details from rumor websites.McLean was pleased with the parody, and even told Yankovic that the parody's lyrics sometimes enter his mind during live performances.Nerdy" on his official MySpace page before it was on Yankovic's own page.It's really an honor when he does that.Nerdy" for his recent Grammy win, stating "That parody was the reason I won the Grammy, because it made the record so big it was undeniable.It was so big overseas that people were telling me they had heard my version of Weird Al's song."While Coolio claimed he was upset, legal action never materialized, and Coolio accepted royalty payments for the song.For the Poodle Hat Al TV special, Yankovic raised the question of artistic expression in a false interview with Eminem.As Yankovic has always done for his Al TV specials, he edited the footage of a previous Eminem interview and inserted himself asking questions such that it unmasked Eminem as a hypocrite on the matter of an artist's right to free speech.Refused parodies
On numerous occasions, Prince has refused Yankovic permission to record parodies of his songs.However, like "Snack All Night", "Chicken Pot Pie" has been performed numerous times in concert.However, after Yankovic had recorded "You're Pitiful", Blunt's label, Atlantic Records, rescinded this permission.The parody was pulled from Yankovic's Straight Outta Lynwood due to his label's unwillingness to "go to war" with Atlantic.Yankovic released the song as a free download on his MySpace profile, as well as his official website, since it was not Blunt himself objecting to the parody.Nerdy" video, Yankovic's character is seen vandalizing the record label's Wikipedia entry with the exclamation "YOU SUCK!"Yankovic has said that he does not approve of the vandalism, though he admits being amused by it.Among these was a bright yellow shirt with the words "Atlantic Records sucks!"Weird Al wearing his "Atlantic Records Sucks" shirt during a performance of "You're Pitiful", on August 8, 2007, at the Ohio State Fair.Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California, on October 2, 1999.Yankovic on tour overseas for the first time.Prior to 2003, Yankovic and his band had toured only the United States and parts of Canada.Yankovic began the tour for Straight Outta Lynwood in Auckland, New Zealand on March 10, with ten concerts in Australia following.The North American leg of the tour began in May, and will last throughout the mid year.During the encore of the Straight Outta Lynwood tour, the song "Albuquerque" was performed in its entirety for the first time, with Yankovic improvising throughout the performance.Pain is still mentioned in the album's "special thanks" section.Jay Levey, and filmed in Tulsa, Oklahoma called UHF.Yankovic occasionally shows clips from the film at his concerts (to which MGM, the film's current owner, initially objected in the form of a cease and desist letter).To apparently make it more accessible to overseas audiences where UHF TV stations were less prominent, the film was titled The Vidiot From UHF in Australia and parts of Europe.Factory on August 15, 2006.Al TV involves Yankovic manipulating interviews for comic effect.Yankovic noted in the episode), so they stretched many smaller disappointments and skirmishes during his career into major downfalls to fit the program's classic formula.Also, Coolio's later disapproval of "Amish Paradise" was played up as a large feud.He is also the announcer of the cartoon's eponymous video game adaptation.During a BotCon 2007 panel session, voice actor David Kaye confirmed Yankovic will have a guest appearance voicing a waste collection vehicle Transformer in the upcoming Transformers: Animated cartoon series.Previously, Yankovic's "Dare to be Stupid" song was featured in the animated 1986 film The Transformers: The Movie.Spy Hard, for which he sang the title song.In addition to his own, he has directed several videos for Hanson (The Titanic sequences in "River"), The Black Crowes ("Only a Fool"), Ben Folds ("Rockin' the Suburbs"), Jeff Foxworthy ("Redneck Stomp" and "Party All Night"), and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion ("Wail").Often, his surname is misspelled (and thus mispronounced) as "Yankovich", among other variations.Yankovic online, threatening a boycott due to his supposedly explicit lyrics.Quite a few of the songs, such as "Star Wars Cantina" by Mark Jonathan Davis (later of Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine), "Star Wars Gangsta Rap", "Yoda Smokes Weed", "Chewbacca" and several more have a Star Wars motif.Some songs misattributed to him are not songs, but spoken skits, such as "Sesame Street on crack", which is also widely misattributed to Adam Sandler.If you do a search for my name on any one of those sites, I guarantee you that about half of the songs that come up will be songs I had absolutely nothing to do with.Weird Al songs floating around the Internet."Weird Al Star Fund
The Weird Al Star Fund is a campaign started by Yankovic's fans to get him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Their mission is to "solicit, collect, and raise the necessary money, and to compile the information needed for the application to nominate 'Weird Al' Yankovic for a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame."May 31 deadline to submit the necessary paperwork.However, Yankovic was not included on the list of inductees for 2007.Best Comedy Recording (1985)
Polka Party!Australian singles chart in 1984.Videography
The following is a comprehensive list of his long form videos to date, with the United States release date.January 1998
"Weird Al" Yankovic Live!The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!Weird Al's Imitation: A Funky Form of Flattery."Weird Al" Yankovic: Catalog."Weird Al" Yankovic: Biographies."Weird Al" Yankovic: Frequently Asked Questions."Weird Al" Yankovic: Rare Items: UNLABELED TAPE.Demento's syndicated radio show and coffeehouse appearances."They'd get up on stage with their acoustic guitar and do these lovely ballads.And I would get up with my accordion and play the theme from '2001.And people were kind of shocked that I would be disrupting their mellow Thursday night folk fest.""Weird Al" Yankovic MTV Unplugged Promo.Weird Al's shtick still draws a crowd.Revenge of the nerd: 'Weird Al' gets all white and nerdy for summer tour.Weird Al' talks new album, 2007 tour.Weird Al Interviews Avril Lavigne.Biography for 'Weird Al' Yankovic.Mixtape Monday: Lil Wayne, Juelz To Drop Real Album; Ness Drops Da Band.Chamillionaire triumphs over cursing on 'Ultimate Victory'.Is the King of Pop losing it?."Weird Al" Yankovic Interview by Michael Small of Hotwired.Weird Al Yankovic Dishes On James Blunt, Discusses His Role As the Whitest, Nerdiest Rock Star Ever.Free 'Weird Al' Yankovic!.Weird Al Yankovic Interviews on Yahoo!"Weird Al" Yankovic on tour.The Not Al Page: The most popular songs he didn't even write (or perform)!."Don't not download this song".The Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Campaign for "Weird Al" Yankovic.Retrieved 1 December 2006."Weird Al" Yankovic: Awards.Retrieved 1 December 2006.Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!Films
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!Get this video and more at MySpace.Nerdy" my first Top 10 single!MySpace who are claiming to be me or implying that they are me...I'm sure they're very nice people...Just because you're still reading this, I already consider you one of my dearest and closest personal friends.HTML a while ago because I was tired of being spammed with inappropriate images.It just annoys everybody.Unfortunately, there are many "funny" songs floating around the Internet being attributed to me which are, in fact, NOT by me."Barney's On Fire," "I Ran Over The Taco Bell Dog," "Weenie In A Bottle," "I'm A Wigga," "The Beer Song," "The Devil Went Down To Jamaica," "Elmo's Got A Gun," "Which Backstreet Boy Is Gay," "What If God Smoked Cannabis" (the list goes on and on)...Hope I've cleared that up.How did you get started in the music business?Demento radio show when I was in my early teens.Do you get permission to do those parodies?Thankfully, most artists seem genuinely flattered to get the "Weird Al treatment."Some groups (including Nirvana) have publicly stated that they didn't realize that they had really "made it" until they heard my parody!When are you going to do some original songs?Half of the songs on my albums are original songs.Many of them are done in the style of another artist, or in a specific genre, but they are original compositions.Are you interested in my incredibly lame idea for a song parody?BorderlineBetty Davis Eyesand Love is a BattlefieldThis is what I imagined I would hear if Peter Steele decided to go out to a Karaoke bar and sing Madonna and Pat Benetar songs.Click on the microphone and get a good laugh!It is appreciated in these times of poor enterainment and offensive language etc...Have a good rest of the weekend and a good week!Thank you so much for the add..Sei un mito, grandioso, unico!!!!Cds and i hope to get more for my Bday!BRILLIANT, but they neglect the fact that you and your band are REALLY skilled, to be able to do so many styles convincingly is tough!Mega kudos to you for that!JUST WANT TO PAST ALONG A HAPPY NEW YEAR to YOU..AND TO TELL YOU THAT MY FAMILY and I LISTEN to YOUR SONGS ALL THE TIME..There, I changed my Myspace name!Westbury Music Fair, second night.When my Dad and I went to see UHF in the theater, they thought he was you.This is not a MySpace login page, please do not enter your MySpace login information (email address or password).Moved Permanently
The document has moved here.Hours() * 3600 + newCurrentTime.Minutes() * 60 + newCurrentTime.See all 53 customer reviews...Ships from and sold by Amazon.Want it delivered Tuesday, January 8?Day Shipping at checkout.Weird Al Yankovic
today!Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?To hear a song sample, click on "Listen" by that sample.Visit our audio help page for more information.Sheet music for Weird al yankovic at Sheet Music Plus.Add a iframe that allows us to ping the server when this element becomes visible
a9AdsViewNamespace.Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet.However, he does skewer pop culture icons and celebrities, and he does sing about food a lot, as seen by two song parodies here.No, this is one of two studio albums where there are no polka medleys, Even Worse being the other one.Oh yeah, I remember that happening.Gosh, that's when this happened?Weird Al's album to celebrity or other events in America and elsewhere.Al's take on I Love Lucy, a conversation between Lucy and Ricky.The next song parody features an accordion and with silly lip music playing throughout, and it's about Weird Al's favourite flavor of ice cream.Just lock me up in the freezer and throw away the key.Chuck and Diane, a couple of British kids from the palace of Buckingham.Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty didn't sing this one, but maybe they drove the tow truck that keeps getting Al's car.Oh wait, that was the previous parody.Jon Schwartz does a nice guitar solo, and does a banjo and uke here.However, I had to purse my lips when I heard something against vegetarianism.Rick Derringer, who also does guitar here.Aw, trust me, would I lie to you?And I'll get back to you real soon."Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided to other Amazon.Your vote will be counted and will appear on the product page within 24 hours.""Ricky" and "I Love Rocky Road" and I just had to get the album.But most of them are still pretty funny.Frump in the Iron Lung" is notable for being Al's first "tasteless" (but very funny) song.Al's writing (and singing) would improve over the years, but the talent was there from the beginning.Was this review helpful to you?Who would have thought that it would come from "Another One Rides the Bus" to where we are today?See all 53 customer reviews...One of my favorite CDs while in Baghdad and I'm sure it will be one of yours too!Published 1 month ago by James D.Published 11 months ago by M.Alfred Matthew Yankovic's debut album
Recording of this album began as early as 1979,the first song to be recorded was a parody of The Knack's MY SHARONA entitled MY BOLOGNA.Weird Al Yankovic
This CD is one of the most hilarious collections ever.My husband, kids and I all agree!Even the original songs on this album are well done and funny.Published on September 4, 2005 by Justin E.One of his best, which is saying a lot
For my money, this is Al's best.How can I forget to write a review for America's favorite spoof artist, Weird Al Yankovic?See all 53 customer reviews...Comic Strip collections and treasuries.Music You Should Hear: Artists' PicksWant to know what Norah Jones, Sting, and Il Divo are listening to?Off Your StairMaster and Nautilus Purchase
Purchase a select StairMaster or Nautilus product offered by Amazon.This offer applies only to Amazon.For more about music, check out our blog, Amazon Earworm, and our monthly newsletters, Amazon Delivers.Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.Track your recent orders.Save on Tickets to Weird Al Yankovic.When you can see Weird Al Yankovic.DelegateListener('yuimenuitem', 'hd', 'click', YAHOO.Rating affects your music played in LAUNCHcast and Music Videos.The foremost song parodist of the MTV era, "Weird Al" Yankovic carried the torch of musical humor more proudly and more successfully than any performer since Allan Sherman.Sign in to get personalized recommendations.Hours() * 3600 + newCurrentTime.Minutes() * 60 + newCurrentTime.See all 162 customer reviews...Weird Al Yankovic
today!Visit our audio help page for more information.All hail the return of novelty music's reigning king!Hopefully we'll not have to wait three years for another Weird Al record.As a special bonus, Straight Outta Lynwood will be available on DualDisc.Adult Swim, Family Guy).Also featured are Karaoke versions of the entire album including a scrolling lyric sheet for each track.Instant Ringtones in 30 Seconds.Sheet music for Weird al yankovic at Sheet Music Plus.Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?See all 319 customer reviews...This album by Weird Al Yankovic is very funny with clever, creative lyrics and solid musical arrangements.The arrangement for "Polkarama," a really funny medley of songs by artists including The Black Eyed Peas, Pussycat Dolls and The Killers, is terrific.Thru" is a pretty long song at almost ten minutes; but the musical arrangement and silly lyrics held my attention."Don't Download This Song" has that catchy, inspirational musical arrangement that also pokes fun at songs like "We Are The World."Was this review helpful to you?Your vote will be counted and will appear on the product page within 24 hours."After his brilliant and fun "Poodle Hat" album it was refreshing to see Weird Al deliver once again with the latest on this album.And above all else is more proof that the master of parody isn't going away any time soon (unless it's by his own choosing)."White and Nerdy" a parody of "Riddin(Dirty)" will be one of those songs that will often be mentioned when thinking of Weird Al, for both fans young and old alike.It's a perfect example of how Al can take a song and turn it upside down to make a whole new feel and flow to it.Especially due to the video that was made to go along with it.Polka style compliation song."Virus Alert" which is an original by Weird Al about the dangers of computer virus' and all the things they can do if we don't stop them."Canadian Idiot" which is a nice spoof of Green Day's "American Idiot" which mocks the sterotypes Americans have about Canadians for the most part.Trapped in the Drive Thru grows on you fast as a song you will really get into.After a few listenings of it you will see why this is an instant classic.Kelly and his Urban Opera done Al style focusing on the troubles of ordering at a drive thru window."Close But No Cigar" is a song that feels like we have done this before.Some of the love songs Al has done are great.This one though misses the mark a bit in my opinion.Doesn't mean it's not listenable by any means but just not the great humor and fun that we find in his past songs mocking love situations.While a song like "Weasel Stomping Day" is just fun and amusing as well as being famous for being on Robot Chicken.The dual disk is great in that it allows you to have the songs on CD for when you are on the road as well as listen to the songs on your computer via the DVD so you can sing along with the lyrics showing up on the screen.Not to mention 6 videos to some of the songs found here as well as almost 10 minutes of behind the scenes footage of Al recording this album.You won't be sorry adding this latest piece by Weird Al to your collections.As Al says in the song "Don't download this..You will be glad you did.Weird Al returns with another studio album.Weird Al has the same sort of pattern that Saturday Night Live has over the years.So it was with some eagerness, and trepidation that I approached this one.Pattern said that this one would be a letdown.Now it's not like it's really BAD or anything, but even the parodies are not up to snuff.Nerdy is a complete triumph.Unfortunately, the majority of the rest of the album is just boring.Canadian Idiot, Confessions, Trapped in the Drive Through) are all, well, BORING.As for the originals, Virus Alert is OK, and I'll Sue Ya is somewhat funny, but not awesome.The animated ones were not my cup of tea.If you're an Al completist, you'll get it.But if you don't own any Al, I recommend other albums before this one.Was this review helpful to you?WeirD Al Lynwood album
We're Weird Al fans but this album wasn't as great as other albums.Weird Al, still going strong
Loved most of the songs on this CD, even if more and more of them seem to be parodies of music I don't listen to.The videos were fun too.I'm sure its a great CD, but the format is terrible
The songs are great, I've already heard some.Straight outta Lynwood is a great album.My whole family really enjoys this album.All of the songs are really good.Nerdy, Do I Creep You Out?It will have you ROTFLOL."Weird Al" comes "Straight Outta Lynwood" and right onto the Billboard charts
I picked up this CD because "Weird Al" Yankovic is coming to town and I have tickets to go with my daughters (do not tell them, but we have seats in the front row, just left of...Published 7 months ago by Lawrance M.I'll be the first to admit that some of these songs DID NOT catch on with me right away!!In fact at first I thought this would be the first Weird Al Album I bought that I would...See all 162 customer reviews...See all 14 discussions...Music You Should Hear: Artists' PicksWant to know what Norah Jones, Sting, and Il Divo are listening to?If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.You have no recently viewed items or searches.Save on Tickets to Weird Al Yankovic.When you can see Weird Al Yankovic. |
