The Artist who CONQUERED 80s RADIO with an Accordion | Professor of Rock
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- čas přidán 3. 11. 2021
- he story of how a regular guy named Alfred Yankovic became the foremost pop culture satirist Weird Al through his mastering of the accordion and parodying rock and pop classics in the 80s including his breakout hit Eat It a parody of Michael Jackson's 1983 #1 hit BEAT IT.
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#80s #Rock #Story
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I think everyone from my generation remembers the first time they heard the great Weird Al Yankovic… As an 80s kid there were few touchstones that we nerds revered… Star Wars, Mad Magazine, Video Games and Weird Al… so lets go back to the beginning: In 1966 at the age of 6, Alfred Yankovic came face to face with destiny when his mother purchased an accordion from a door-to-door accordion salesman. What are the odds? It actually only took young Al three years of practice before he was playing top 40 hits and writing parodies about them. At 13 Al discovered the Dr. Demento radio show, a wacky radio program that featured an eclectic collection of off-beat songs. Like any prepubescent boy would be, Al was mesmerized.
At 16, Al recorded a song about driving around town in his parents' car called Belvedere Cruisin. He mailed it in to Dr. D and it became one of the show's most requested songs. Al's mind was blown. He remembers, "When I started out … Dr. Demento would play my stuff on the radio even though it was horribly recorded. I recorded it on a little cassette-tape recorder in my bedroom, just me singing along with my accordion. But he thought it was kind of a novel concept that some teenage kid was playing the accordion and thinking he was cool." After this initial success, Al started submitting music to Dr. Demento on a regular basis.
Al was a smart kid. He graduated from high school as a 16-year-old valedictorian. His parents, not thinking music was promising profession, encouraged Al to pursue architecture. So, Al enrolled in Cal-Poly's prestigious architecture program. Growing up Al had been pretty shy, and it took him a while to open up in college. Because he was so quiet, his dorm buddies couldn't figure out if Al was a lovable nutjob or a brooding serial killer. It was this perplexity that earned him the nickname Weird Al from his college classmates.
In October 1977, the newly named Weird Al and his friend Joel Miller started playing music at local coffee houses. It was of course a ridiculous line-up of songs. Sometimes Al would play his accordion and sing the entire periodic table of the elements. At first audiences were confused. But after the stunned silence, they couldn't stop laughing. Al said, "We'd throw some funny songs into the set or we'd do medleys of a bunch of completely unrelated songs. And the audience went nuts... And I got this huge reaction from people." - Zábava
Poll: What is your favorite Weird Al parody of an iconic song?
My favorites, among the lesser known, are :
Another One Rides The Bus
My Bologna
I Want A New Duck
Great video as always, PoR !
@@davidjorda-manaut308 My Bologna. I forgot about that one.
Smells like Nirvana.
Going back to the Dr Demento days, Yoda was the one I recall most.
Word Crimes, Eat It, Jerry Springer, and Tacky! I also love Albuquerque but that's an OG Al song
"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life."-- Homer Simpson
probably
Amen
Facts.
666 likes, I’m not gonna be the one to break that, so consider this my like.
Yes.
When Weird Al dies, They should have a concert where all the artists sing Al's version of their songs! (the ones who are still alive anyway)
Why wait - let’s do that now
@@Bass.sick.b1tch You mean kill Al?
Just thinking about Chamillionaire singing White and Nerdy tickles me.
Well that boat has kind of sailed for Michael Jackson, obviously. But it would be touching, a bit crazier version of Neil Young playing Sweet Home Alabama at his next concert after the Leonard Skynyrd plane crash.
HOW DARE YOU!!! WEIRD AL IS IMMORTAL.
For me, "Bob" is one of Al's songs that does not get enough recognition. Every line is a palindrome, so they read the same forwards or backwards, and is sung like Bob Dylan. Absolute genius!
Crap, Neil Peart wrote a song called Anagram (for Mongo) where each stanza could rearrage the words to each other. And I that THAT was dope...
i heard the song 3 times before i figured out the palindromes at first i thought he was just doing dylan like dylan does with weird lyrics..then i realized i ercognized a few of the phraseas and laughed and laughed realizing he made a song with palindromes..mad eit rhyme and even the title is a palindrome...this was next level al genius
Absolutely. Everything in and about that song dovetails beautifully. The style, the idea, the video, the title. Everything works to reinforce everything else. Pure genius.
And the song almost makes sense! Lol
@@DaDitka Yep!
"A Toyota's a Toyota".
I love the story about Weird Al and Michael Jackson. It is a story of CLASS. Al ASKED permission and MJ READILY gave it. They are both geniuses deserving of their fame and success.
And to boot, that decision eventually led Coolio to re evaluate his anger toward Al for the parody "Amish Paradise" which just makes the story so much cooler.
Weird Al is a national treasure and is to be protected at all costs! You either love this man or you're wrong, no matter what your outlook on life is otherwise. Thanks for giving this genius the props he so richly deserves, Professor 🙏
His longevity says it all. My son loves his work every bit as much as me, and I was on to him very early, from the first time I heard I heard Another One Rides the Bus in 1981.
I used to listen to Dr. Demento all the time. Pretty sure that was where I first heard Weird Al.
Cyborg even says so. :D
I came here to also call Al a national treasure. Beat me to it. No one more deserving of that title.
Lol well said :D Weird al is great! any artist worth their salt wanted to be parodied by him.
Weird Al is extremely gifted-He deserves to be enshrined into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
No he's not
He was going to loop that final note for the “Spy Hard” theme song but decided to try to hold it long enough for the comic effect he wanted. He managed to do it. Just as a technical feat for a singer that’s pretty impressive.
@@raymondsolisjr.1262 He may not be a musical genius but he was a 16 year old valedictorian who attended the most competitive program at a very competitive university before he could vote, so, yeah, he's probably a genius.
@@ricosuave6898 I hear he's a genius in France
@Rico Suave
Don't you mean Taco Grande?
Weird Al was my daughter's first concert about 6 or 7 years ago. She sat in her seat with her knees tucked under her chin the whole time. I was so disappointed that she didn't enjoy it. Once it was over I asked her what she thought. "Dad, that was the most fun I've ever had!"
We still listen to Weird Al pretty regularly.
If you haven't been to a Weird Al concert, you are missing out on a great musical experience
Sadly I have not been to a Weird Al concert, I did however see Dr. John Valby aka Dr Dirty in a bar in early 90’s so I’ll just have to make do.
I kissed Weird Al on the cheek back in 1999 when he was performing One More Minute.
"from starving artist to household name who can be hungry on his own terms"
How poetic!
Thanks!
Dee Snyder: Stay hungry!
Al's a vegetarian and he stays really lean. Few men his age can hook a leg around the back of their necks.
Weird Al is brilliant, a crazy genius. One of the more astonishing things is how he has outlasted, and superseded, a good number of the artists he parodied.
Because he always has new artists to parody.
@@rmhartman and is more versatile, not being locked into a style that becomes dated. And he's made his own unique songs over the years in different genres.
For example, I didn't realize "I lost on Jeopardy" was a parody.
As I usually put it: Who knew in the 1980's that Michael Jackson would be basically a pariah 30 years later, while the guy who sang "Eat It" would be beloved around the world?
Because unlike all the stars he's parodied, Weird Al is and will always remain relevant to the current culture.
Don’t forget his polkas. “Polka Face” is one of my favorites. He nails every song in a ton of different genres in that one.
then you would love polkas on 45 his first mashup from his 1983 album in 3-d
His polkas are awesome too
Have you heard his “The Hamilton Polka”? The only word to describe it is unique. Lin-Manuel loved it!
Al is a legend.
His version of “blurred lines”, aka word crimes is brilliant. And “tacky” is pretty great also.
Mandatory Fun is brilliant, start to finish!
Word Crimes was an improvement over the original song to be honest...
@@priscillabrown210 as was Handy
The best three recent WA songs: Word Crimes, Tacky, White and Nerdy. Imo.
@@MrRezRising L💜VE 'White and Nerdy'. 😄 Al can actually rap!
My favorite Weird Al tale is Kurt Cobain admitting he didn't feel famous until the Weird Al did a parody of his song and Prince's absolute refusal to ever allow a parody by Weird Al.
Weird AL killed Curt Cobain?
Now Prince is dead as hell, so Weird Al should go for it. Shit, parody is fair use anyway so he didn't need permission to begin with.
@@deathtowrestling2518 ....... Al did parody Prince in his UHF video ...
@@williamwilkinson8735 but a small visual parody is much different than trying to do a track. Prince's lawyers actually mailed Al's team a letter saying if Al looked at Prince during an event where they were seated next to each other, there'd be a lawsuit. The closest Al got to parodying Prince was the pastiche "Traffic Jam" acknowledging 'Let's Go Crazy'.
That is the difference between the two: Cobain never took himself too seriously where Prince, while most certainly a musical legend, took himself waaaaay too much seriously.
Edited for spelling.
"Weird Al" Yankovic is one of my favorite artists ever. He made me feel good about being geeky and a nerd, and I always felt like he "got" me; that it was cool there was a guy on MTV who looked like me, who liked offbeat silly stuff (like Dr. Demento) like me, and who had the same sense of humor. I'm so glad you covered him! Thank you!
Thanks for watching my friend.
So very well said.
Hardon?
What amazes me about Weird Al is how he continues to have a massive appeal to new listeners. I was with a group of 10-year-old boys who started talking about their favorite Weird Al songs. There was one kid who hadn't ever heard of him, and he started going nuts, wanting to hear more and more and wondering, "Holy cow, how do I not know about this!?!?" which had his mom laughing in stitches. The number of classic songs that those kids know because of Weird Al is very high.
Anyhow, on my family's cross-country road-trip, we played "Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota" more than once. It's still a favorite of mine, and my kids have inflicted it on their friends as it isn't in high rotation.
Not only do I find Weird Al’s humor and cleverness amazing, his arrangements and musicianship are top notch as well. Let’s go Al!!
I've heard the original songs he's parodied far more often than his parodies, but I still finding myself singing the weird Al lyrics instead of the original. Every time.
Every. Damn. Time.
@@zacharyalvernaz7916 @Chad Harper amen bruddahs
I echo this sentiment!
Same here!
Every time classic rock radio plays "Lola", I sing "Yoda".
Every. Damn. Time.
"I Lost on Jeopardy" is the perfect parody song, and it's still relevant, just as the game show is.
Even Greg Kuhn himself appeared at the end of the video! 😆
@@ocwill Misspell. Great video.Song. He probably asked him to be in the video.
@@ocwill ...Dr. Domento was also in that video as the camera man .
@@e.a.corral4713 That was the actual stipulation, which Al was more than happy to oblige.
Actually the song is the reason ABC revived the show. It had been cancelled and the song had people wanting to watch it.
A quick correction- it wasn't his parents' idea for him to become an architect. It was a guidance counselor. His parents were very supportive of Al, even when he did pursue music.
I’ve met Weird Al twice. The first time was fifteen or so years ago when he came back stage for a tour of the show that I work on. I gave part of the tour. The second time was the next day, when I bumped into him on the show floor at the San Diego Comic-Con. We chatted for about five minutes, then went our separate ways. Weird Al is a genuinely nice person. Meeting him remains one of the highlights of my thirty plus years working in the entertainment industry.
Being a shredder myself, I loved when the guitarist explodes at the end of the solo. My absolute favorite gag.
Same!
Remember Lost Boys? "DEATH BY STEREO!"
In fairness, most guitarists would explode trying to play an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo.
@@edwardphilibin3151 🤣
1984 typical Children Rights Advocate: 'totally inapporopriate display to seeing musicians incinerate on camera and women's heads becoming detached..' Year later: 'Al, do you think you can help us in some type of parody showing that just because you wear an earring, that does not necessarily make you retarded or a fag?'😅😅😅 Adam, if you can both Wierd Al and Jerry Seinfeld on camera to 'hug it out', I will become a solid Patreon supporter of yours.
I was always impressed with how they were able to mimic the music as far as tone and effects are concerned. For example, Headline News sounds so much like The Crash Test Dummies you can’t tell the difference until the vocals begin. Weird Al is incredible!
That was actually a parody of their song "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm".
Yes it was
A great parody on so many levels….
After he got famous, Al frequently had the support of the original artists and the musicians on the original track. If I remember correctly, Nirvana agreed to let him parody "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as long as he let them play the music for the track, because Kurt loved that Al was finally going to parody them. But Al's regular band is also super talented, and he has lots of studio pros that can help him reproduce the sound.
@@bloodgain Al's band played on Smells Like Nirvava.
You might be thinking of Mark Knopfler wanting to play guitar on Al's Money For Nothing parody.
Weird Al and his band are some of the most versatile musicians in the world. They can play any style together and they put on an amazing live show. They’re so hard working and dedicated to the art.
On one tour they played a new cover every night for 77 shows in a row. And here those covers are:
czcams.com/video/S2B1xztGDoY/video.html
You're right. Unless you've seen him live you can't fully appreciate him. I was stunned at what he goes thru for his audience. To do that every night. I don't know how the man does it. Changing costumes and such. Just amazing. And I don't care what anyone says, when he and the band do the Yoda chant live it is the coolest thing in the world to experience!
Even more so when you consider his band has not changed since 1991. 3 of them have been with him since 1983, and one joined in 1991. That kind of longevity is almost unheard of in the music industry.
@@michaelmartin4552 From all accounts, Al is a fair dealer and good to be around.
@@michaelmartin4552 Its main competitor for long-lasting band is ZZ Top, which unfortunately had to change its lineup due to Dusty Hill dying but had a really impressive run from the 1970's to the 2020's.
@@donnalynn2 Exactly. I saw him back in 2014 when Mandatory Fun was still fairly new and it was by far one of my favorite shows I've ever seen. They put on a hell of a show and one I'll never forget.
One cannot talk about Weird Al without mentioning Albuquerque-his loving tribute to the genius that is Frank Zappa. It’s 11 minutes and 20 seconds of sheer joy! And I would be remiss, given the time of year, if I did not mention The Night Santa Went Crazy. My all time favorite Holiday song!
His actual Frank Zappa pastiche was Genius In France though, from the extremely under rated Poodle Hat.
Albuquerque is more of an original song whose lyrics were meant to be as annoying as possible
Peneplepto knows what's up.
....the plane crashed and everybody died!.....except for me. You know why?
@@popuptarget7386 cause I had my tray table up! And my seat back in the full upright position!
on a road trip through the southwest, we specifically drove 2 hours out of our way just so we could play the song "Albuquerque" whilst driving through Albuquerque, and I've rarely seen a larger smile on my son's face :)
Weird Al’s band is also pretty amazing, they can play almost any genre from polka, to rock to hip-hop.
I continue to be astounded at how long they’ve been together. He’s gotta be treating them extremely well.
I was getting ready to make the same comment. They have to be as crazy and weird as Al himself.
Growing up in the 80's, my friends and I were always excited to hear Wierd Al's new song, and see his videos.
And busted a gut watching UHF.
Yes!!!
I still watch UHF every year or so. It’s such an underrated comedy and it deserves to be a cult classic IMO.
@@Robocline an opinion I agree with
Conan the Librarian is the best. 'Don't you know the Dewey Decimal System?"
Also notable: Al has had the same band since 1983, aside from Rick Derringer (who was actually a producer that played on tracks) and adding a keyboard player around 1991.
That says a lot (of good stuff) about his character.
What has always impressed me about "Weird Al" is his ability to mimic the sound of the the original. Whether it's a guitar solo, a particular synth patch or the way his sings, he always captures the essence of the original and, more often than not, pulls you in just from making it sound like the original version of the song his is brilliantly parodying.
At least some of that credit has to go to his amazing backing band. They've been with him pretty much since the beginning and have proven over the past 4 decades that they can flawlessly mimic pretty much any music genre.
Simply put..I was born in 77’ ..I grew up in the 80’s! I loved,giggled and laughed my butt off at Weird Al’! Had “In 3D” and “Dare to be Stupid” on Vinyl! And he was one artist everyone could agree on!
You did not say anything about “Like a Surgeon” - that was a hilarious video!
And he mentioned nothing about dare to be stupid.... AWESOME ALBUM 👍🤣🤣👍
I was going to mention "Like a Surgeon"
Matching Madonna move for move and looking in much better shape than Madge is currently. Physically and proffesionally.
That song was Madonna's idea. She met him as she was just hitting her stride as a rock star. He hadn't covered a song of hers yet and so she asked him "when are you going to write Like a Surgeon." Al loved the idea and promptly wrote the song.
@@Sam_on_CZcams Thanks for that back story. For me, after discovering Weird Al I could never watch or listen to Like A Virgin without thinking about Like A Surgeon.
The fact that this barely scratches the surface of the phenomenon Al has become is really the greatest testament to the man, himself. UHF alone deserves its own episode! Kramer would never exist if Stanley Spadowski hadn't mopped the floors of U62!
"Life is like a mop."
Nor would Fran Drescher have had The Nanny.
@@bobdobbolina8376 Fran would have had the Nanny, either way.
I'm in my twenties. I discovered Al when he released a video a day for 8 days, to promote his Mandatory Fun album. I was going through a really hard time, as my parents had recently died in a car crash and my fiancé died of lung cancer. His music was the first and only thing that broke through my deep depression. I became a fan and have seen him in concert 5 times since.
I love his originals and feel they are so under rated. I still listen to Al daily.
Thanks for your video. Nicely done.
Everyone should see at least one Weird Al concert in their life. I have seen 3 and as others have noted, the amount of work and effort, the band and the rest of the crew go through is simply amazing. I get tired just watching them! The last of the true showmen.
@@DocNo27 Weird Al has a new North American concert tour coming up!
@@jRoy7 Excellent! I looked a few months ago and he didn't seem to have anything; I'll have to look again. Thanks!
@@DocNo27 A guy I know went to one of his concerts and met him backstage afterwards. Said he was exhausted, but still upbeat.
@@theemmjay5130 That doesn't surprise me. I met him at a pre-show party in the 90's and even though he had been there for at least three hours and it was outside and hot, he still hung around until every fan got to meet him and he signed all their stuff.
An absolute legend!
Although his recordings are pretty awesome, he is even better in concert! Live, Weird Al is a truly transcendent experience. The number of costume changes to fit the song he is playing is amazing. If you get a chance to see him live, take it!
I've seen him in concert twice. Once at the Greek Theater, and the other in the audience at a They Might Be Giants concert at the HOB.
I saw him with The Monkeys. Fun concert.
@@AlllieBow Wow, sounds like a wonderful show!!
@@FarrellMcGovern it was really fun
I see him whenever I can here in Tulsa; it's great seeing him here, there's always bonus UHF references :D
"The Elements" is actually a Tom Lehrer classic! I didn't know Al covered it though.
I would imagine a college era Al probably sung a fair bit of stuff that would have been on demento. Demento had a few gems in that comedy basket from that era like "the eggplant that ate chicago". Pretty sure flying purple people eater would have been another, not sure how mainstream that was. Either way I bet Al used a few of those.
Wouldn't be surprised if he was a big influence, especially using different genres so seriously with such odd lyrics. "Masochism Tango" is a perfect comparison.
Loved Tom Lehrer! Too bad more elements have been discovered since he wrote it. I was just thinking about "Plagiarize" the other day.
"There may be many others but they haven't been discaaavered".
@@eivindkaisen6838 "These are the only ones of which the news has come to Harvaaard, ..."
~8:00 "The crowd threw coins at them..."
Me: "Oh, so technically, the crowd was indeed throwing money at them!" 🤣🤣🤣
Edit: 17:00 minutes in, and you're giving Michael Jackson a lot of credit for helping and influencing Al's career... but the one thing you've so far left out, is that MJ put Al in touch with his dancers, and allowed him to use the same exact sets that he used. Jackson himself loved Al's work, and always did his best to help Al along(dancers, sets, permissions). He knew talent when he saw it.
Micheal Jackson even wound up doing a double shout-out to Weird Al in his video for "Liberian Girl"...the video was shot as sort of 'Candid Camera' style, with a whole bunch of celebrities that had been invited by MJ to appear in the video discussing where MJ is at, all the while MJ is filming all of this from a distance and no-one's aware until the end.
While every other celebrity makes just one appearance each, Weird Al gets two appearances in "Liberian Girl", one for each of his MJ parodies "Eat It" and "Fat"...def cool! 😍😁☺️
@@christopheralthouse6378 True that! I forgot about that, but yeah, Weird al is in his star-studded Liberian Girl mv and people actually believe it's MJ there with Bubbles, MJs monkey. MJ must have been a really cool guy. In his own reclusive way.
Being an Aussie kid in the 80’s and having eat it go to no 1 and out charting the original was mind blowingly awesome.
One of our proudest moments
I've been following Weird Al since his Dr. Demento days and think he is hilarious. But I was disappointed that you did not credit the great Tom Lehrer for the Elements song, implying that Al wrote the song about the periodic table. It's time for you to do a video about Tom who was HUGE in the sixties with his satiric songs. How about it, Professor?
I came here to say the same thing! I can't believe the Professor missed this! And who can forget "The Masochism Tango" and "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park"!
Yes, you need to do a video on Tom Lehrer.
Dr Demento was doing God’s work in keeping folks like Tom Lehrer and Allen Sherman in the public eye.
Love Lehrer, but he has a fatal flaw: like his contemporaries in comedy music (Allan Sherman and Stan Freberg) he HATED rock and roll. Made no secret of it.
@@brianthomas2434 If The Professor can make videos about non-rock musicians Charley Pride and Kenny Rogers, he can do one on the influential Tom Lehrer!
It's always been my understanding he doesn't need permission to do a parody. He does it out of respect for the artist he wants to parody.
Yeah, he says he wants the artist to be part of the joke, not the butt of the joke. It's very wholesome, respectful and endearing.
@@johnchedsey1306 And that approach has only failed once, when he was told by third parties that Coolio was okay with him doing a parody of Gangsta's Paradise (when Coolio had said no such thing).
@@dadoctah Weird Al went wrong by trusting a third-party. I believe since then he insists on getting word from the artist directly just to make sure he has approval.
@@rkotera Happened again in reverse with his attempt to do a parody of Lady Gaga's Poker Face (or was it Born this Way?). Her rep asked for a lyric sheet, then to hear the parody in full before finally saying that Gaga had said no. Since Al had already recorded it he released it online for free anyway. Turns out Gaga loved the parody and had no idea Al had tried to contact her about it. No idea what happened to her rep after that.
Actually, he often performs songs he did not get permission for, but he will not record them for release without that permission. His live shows are full of those unrecorded songs that you can only catch that way.
I remember the first time I heard Weird Al on the radio. The song with "Eat it." I was working in food service and people will always complaining about the food. I fell in love with the song immediately. I called the radio station to find out who was singing that song because they did not announce who it was.
The energy at Weird Al’s concerts is amazing! I try to go everytime he is in town…seeing people wearing aluminum foil hats never gets old 😂
"Weird" Al was such a huge part of my youth and is actually a big inspiration on me as a musician. I remember practicing the "hand farts" from "Another One Rides The Bus" over and over in my bedroom as a kid. Al's ability to truly embody an artist is incredible, his Zappa homage "Genius in France" is one of the best Frank Zappa tunes ever made! Adam, please reach out to Al's management and try to get that interview, I think it would be amazing!
YES !!!!! An interview would be Epic 👍👍
DO THAT PLEASE
its the high level mimicry, obviously not in the early years but the heart is in the same place as he's making due with what he had, that sells a lot of the work
Mark Mothersbaugh in an interview said he was angry with Weird Al because he had written the best DEVO song with “Dare to be Stupid.” There is a video of than.
My favorites are "Bob" (every line is a palindrome), "Buckingham Blues" (about the hard life that Prince Charles and Lady Di led), "Truck Driving Song" and his love song, "Good Enough For Now."
"Christmas At Ground Zero" is my favorite holiday song (which sadly rarely ever gets any play during the season).
My favorite music video by Al has to be "Smells Like Nirvana." It's just perfect!
The guy's been an inspiration to scrawny, nerdy kids like me for decades. Thanks for the laughs and music, Al. =)
Christmas at Ground Zero is brilliant.
The best video by WAY that I saw was "Like a Surgeon." He wallowed all over a gurney, just like what's-her-name, and seeing Al do it just drove home how ridiculous it was when she was doing it.
Thanks for listening to our calls to cover Weird Al, Professor. He is truly a musical genius, covering many genres including rap which is impressive. And his lyrical talent is unmatched for taking the original song and making it completely new and hilarious! Maybe that's why his career lasted longer than his parodied artists. There may never be another one like him.
The challenge with interviewing Weird Al-especially Al but others, too-is finding questions to ask that he hasn't already answered in a million other interviews.
He told me nobody ever asked tech questions like how he miced his accordion. The accordion media hasn’t been doing its job.
I;m a *70's* kid; I discovered Weird Al via Dr. Demento - the first song I remember was "My Bologna". I bought his first album when it was released, and have been buying and enjoying his music ever since. I did like Eat It and Fat a lot, though I've never been a fan of Michael Jackson.
I fondly remember the Ricky video when I was a kid, but Dare To Be Stupid is the album that will forever live in my heart. A man who never needed permission as satire is protected, Al was so secure in his songs that he was willing to go to the original artists for permission because he knew how good his stuff was. That's just great. The man is a freaking genius
I've always enjoyed Weird Al, but I gained a new appreciation for him after seeing him in concert in 2007. He and his band mates are top notch musicians!
Weird Al and Dr. Demento helped me get through school. I was the outcast. My smart mouth and quick wit saved me. Weird Al, Doctor Demento, Mark Twain, and Johnny Carson are Heroes and American Treasures and definitely sharpening stones for humor and wit. Thanks for this.
Weird Al's 'Polka's on 45' from the In 3D album and his other Polka songs throughout the years makes the genre bearable and enjoyable.
I love Weird Al. He is so iconic. I remember some of my more nerdy friends in Middle school would sing "Eat it". Watching this really takes me back to my childhood. This is great content, as usual. This YT channel really keeps the 80's memories alive more than any other. Thank you.
I simply can't sing enough praises of Al for all his wonderful spoofs over the past 4 decades though I must say his penultimate pièce de résistance was 'Word Crimes'.
Heck yeah! And the video for it is just outright brilliance.
Weird Al has a large...
It also very educational. It makes me think of my elementary days😊
I hope it isn't his penultimate song because that actually means second to last.
@@derrickfoster644 given the breadth of his career and the elapsed time since his last charted hit, one can only hope he's got another gold record offering to the masses.
"The long term contract I had to sign, said I'll be making these movies 'til the end of time!"
With those lyrics, it was love at first sight.
Shout out to Jon Bermuda Schwartz.🥁
My, my this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
And he left his home, kissing his mommy goodbye
Sayin "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Master stroke from Weird Al parodying 3 different artists with his song "The Saga Begins," Don McLean and his song "American Pie," Madonna who just came out with her rendition of that song which topped charts, and George Lucas, because the lyrics of the song pretty much summed up the movie "The Phantom Menace." If you haven't seen the movie yet, give the song a listen and you'll know what it's about. And if you have seen the movie, give the song a listen to, just for shits and giggles.
I loved listening to Dr Demento in the 70's & 80's. I remember Weird Al's songs on the show but never really connected those early songs to him. Wow!
He is the best. One of the celebrities in this world I’ve met and is all class. His concert is a must if you’ve never been. I felt pretty overjoyed when I got “Dare to be Stupid” on vinyl recently!
Thank you, Adam
"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life" - Homer Jay Simpson
Doesn't get enough recognition as one of the most versatile musicians of all time, any genre, any era, any band...he can nail it.
And while he's bar none the king of parodies, he's also got a great catalog of originals, like "You Don't Love Me Anymore," which features the most beautifully tragic line of all time:
You slammed my face down on the barbeque grill,
Now my scars all healing, but my heart never will.
The *feels* .
My first exposure to Weird Al was back in the 80's when a tv show, I can't remember which one, was interviewing him about the song "Living With A Hernia." In the interview he made the comment that he writes songs the way that he believes that they were meant to be written in the first place. Hillarious! The parody was amazing and I became an instant fan.
I used to listen to Dr Dimento as well and remember when "Another One Rides The Bus" came out. Love Al's work and was able to meet him at a record store in 88. The best...
Love the video of Lin Manuel Miranda losing it and proclaiming that he’d finally made it when Weird Al released the “Hamilton Polka!”
I can never forget when I was living in a dorm at UC Berkeley and one of my friends played "My Bologna." Instant hit with all of us, especially when we learned that it had been recorded in a college bathroom by a fellow California geeky college student. From that day forward (sometime in 1979), we were ALL big Weird Al fans.
Although "Word Crimes" has many straight crowbars to the head moments about grammar and punctuation, the way he subtly slides in digs and directions to improve our use of English is fantastic. My favorite moment in the video is when he states your efforts are a "Lost Cause," and the tv show Lost logo shows up on the screen. In the lower right-hand corner is a comment using the tv company "ABC" logo saying, "Learn your ABCs." It's a clever visual to compliment the lyrics. He is amazingly creative.
I think my favorite was his cover of Dire Straits, Money for Nothing.
That was great, but I STILL love "Like a Surgeon" - I would like to see what Madonna thinks of Al's parody.
@@red5llaw considering it was her idea I'm sure she loves it
Which one was that?
@@fivestring65ify the Beverly Hillbillies song featured in the UHF soundtrack and movie.
Michel Jackson's Beat it and Thriller! =)
I was listening to Dr. Demento when Weird Al came on the scene-really great stuff!!! He’s a musical genius!!!
Weird Al is a very talented guy! He does a parody of "The Kinks - Lola" called "Yoda" and the vocal harmonies are excellent! I had a big kick on that song for the longest time.
I’m Fat still makes me crack up.
UHF is one of my favorite movies ever made. The whole thing is just absurdly hilarious.
In Jr High we geeks lost our minds hearing 'Another One Rides The Bus'. I remember one guy sang it all the time while playing his armpit accordion. Went to the mall with same guy to buy the 45 single at the record store. The joke was not lost on us at the time... we travelled to the mall and back... on the bus!
For all the great parodies of hit songs he’s done, there is one AMAZING deep cut on his album Poodle Hat, a homage to Frank Zappa called Genius In France. It’s an original composition but it really shows how deep Weird Al’s knowledge of Zappa is and also what an amazing band he has.
The freaking xylophones on that song! Pure early 70s Zappa!
This is so great, I am glad you took the time to recognize Al. I grew up listening to him in the 80s and 90s, his songs still bring me joy when I go back and listen to them - especially the older stuff!
Weird Al is an exceptional artist. I just watched a documentary about him. He asks the artists he makes a parody about for permission. Although not legally required, he has the rare quality of respect that's seldom seen where huge potential income meets artistry. He has a big following because he's bizarre, eccentric, weird,
in a very humorous way. From everything I've read or watched about him, he is a very down to earth guy, not egotistical, just a really great guy. Ive seen most of his parodies, and you know when one
makes you laugh, STILL, 30 years later, you know its a great parody.
C'mon Al! Make some more parodies!!
I'm texting this to his drummer, Bermuda Schwartz. Al has an amazing band.
Dr. Demento is still around, and he plays my band, Noodle Muffin.
Are you in L.A.?
@@JPMJPM Not anymore, but was a drummer / musician in LA for 33 years, having left two years ago.
@@DrumWild Where is your band based out of now?
When I saw his concert at the Harris center at Folsom Lake College, I not only got to meet him at the after show meet-and-greet, I also happened to stay that the same hotel the he and his band were stayed, and I have to say that he was as kind and generous in real life as he was back-stage and on-stage.
I also remember a quote that Don McLean really liked the parody of his song "American Pie" ("The Saga Begins"), but would not listen to it for fear that he might sing those lyrics on stage accidentally . That is how infectious Al's parodies and word play can be.
“Smells like Nirvana” is probably my favorite. I can’t really say why except I can’t not laugh every time when Kurt/Al garbles the lyrics with rocks in his mouth. There are so many subtle gags in the background of that one.
Nature's Trail to Hell will always be my favorite.
I love that one!
In 3-d
Satan eats Cheez-whiz!
When I was a teen I used to crank this song up.
Thanks so much for this! I love Weird Al. I loved him as a teen in the 80’s and I love sharing him with my kids. I’ll probably be introducing him to my grand kids. My kid’s favorite was a lesser known Backstreet Boys parody called “Ebay”. We didn’t need the radio. They would sing it for hours. They didn’t know who the Smurfs, Shatner, or Dr Dre were, but they knew every word of that song. So many great memories. ❤️
Wierd Al is one of my favorite artists of all time. Eat It was so amazing and fun to listen to and to watch, especially as a fan of MJ. Discovering all of his hilarious parodies as a kid is something I will never forget. When I was a very little kid I had a radio in my room and I would turn it on when I was supposed to be sleeping and find thing to listen to, and one night I found Dr. Demento, I didn't change the station after that was always trying to catch the show each night. I'm sure that I heard Al there at some point before Eat It was a thing.
So many greats, my favorites are tied at the moment with "The Saga Begins", and "The Hamilton Polka" being tied. But I have loved Al since the beginning, a musical genius and a treasure.
Weird Al is one of my all-time favorite people in the world! Clearly a genius at parody! He never had to stoop to vulgar or disparaging raunchy parodies, which makes him even more phenomenal! His original songs are great also! UHF is one of my all-time favorite movies, as well! This is so great of you Professor, to give Al some love too!
Sidenote: Ah! The Great Dr. Demento! I used to listen to his program every Sunday night! He's a legend as well!
Sidenote deux: Rick Derringer is the one who played the solo on Eat It. I love the violin like tone he had! It's up there with Eddie's solo on the original.
'He's All-In'...and so are we! You've got to follow-through on your interview idea, Adam, and included tributes by the artists Weird Al has parodied so deftly! Oh yeah: and you forgot his Madonna send-up, 'Like a Surgeon', writhing around on a gondola in surgical scrubs. Apex! :D
I've loved Weird Al since hearing him in grade school. He was an icon to a geeky kid like myself. I took my wife and daughter to a Weird Al concert at the Minnesota State Fair and am proud to say my (then 6yo) loved him at first sight!
The fact that his words are clear and international is epic as a singer.
There is a good reason for my being subscribed. Your content is fun and educational.
Al is just as important to music as all the greats..... The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Motley Crue, RUSH and countless others.
Thank weirdness he is too.
The world takes itself to seriously and weird Al Yankovic is the balance for that.
Thanks for all the laughs Buddy.
I wouldn't have wanted to grow up any differently.
❤️DARE TO BE STUPID PEOPLE ❤️
I've waited since day 1 for this.
I saw him live opening for the Monkeys in 1986 at the local fairgrounds. he did a costume change for every song. he was all in on his performance.
This is, by far, your best video ever. You have my blessing to interview Weird Al.
Dr Demento!!!!!
Anyone who didn't listen or liked that show-gets a boot to the head. And another one for Jenny and the wimp!
I really love Weird Al. I have written some science songs for my students and use the karaoke tracks on CZcams to perform them to some old classic rock songs. I'm weird, too, Al!
Whatever helps the kids to learn.
You're teaching right 👍👍
It's a thankless job.......
SO, THANK YOU.
One of my favorite people in my life is my math/magic/Roy Orbison fan teacher.
Mr. Freeman.
He taught me about life not just math. ❤️
@@jonny555ive Thank you for that vote of confidence!
I was introduced to The Dr. Demento Show and Weird Al, in the mid-eighties, by a friend at school. I’ve been waiting for a video like this, to give Weird Al the recognition he deserves. Great video! I’d have to say that “Another One Rides the Bus” is my favorite, because that was my introduction to “The Weirdness”.
I've been to a lot of shows over the years, but seeing Weird Al live is still one of the best I've ever seen, I love that he wears so many of the costumes on stage and even came out into the crowd at one point, absolute legend of a showman 😄
back in high school I discovered Weird Al in the early 80's listening to the Doctor Demento show, been a big fan of his work every since :)
I have always enjoyed his music, going back to when I was a child and I heard him on Dr. Demento. But starting with “Eat It” a lot of his parody songs were about food which looked like a rut to me. Even when he wanted to do a parody of Nirvana “smells like teen Spirit”, the first thing Kurt Cobain asked weird Al was, “oh no is it another song about food?”
It looked like a rutabaga to me... but I felt exactly the same way. Stan Freberg, on the other hand, said when I interviewed him that: "Weird Al" is doing my kind of stuff, but he hasn't figured it out. Let's take, "The Great Pretender.' He would just take the song from beginning to end with different lyrics. I have a comedy sketch, if you will, going on that interrupts the music. I had all these combative situations. I went off from the melody of the song to create this comedy sketch that was happening as this guy was trying his best to record. I've never seen Al do that yet." Now, if Al reads your article, since this is the first time I've revealed this to anybody, he'll say, "Hmmm! Freberg is right! That's what I need to do!'"
I don't know for sure whether Al read it, but he did hire Stan for his Saturday morning TV show immediately after that!
Ricky, Stop Dragging my Car Around, Living with a Hernia. Smells Like Nirvana, Like a Surgeon, Yoda, etc. None of those are about food.
@@mustangdebbie56 Those were done only after he received a lot of criticism for his song parodies being mainly about food and eating
@@michaelrochester48 Ricky, Stop Dragging and Another Rides the Bus were all on his first album. Of the 12 songs on that album 2 were food themed, and 2 other mention food (Happy Birthday mentions cake, broccoli, dog food, and beer). His 2nd album, In 3D there are 2 food themed songs. 3rd album has 1. Over the course of 14 albums he had more than an albums-worth of food songs. But he also had many tv related songs, "love" songs and of course, polkas.
This was fun to watch. I've always been a big fan of his and just got done watching UHF not long ago. Anyhow, it would be awesome to see you interview Weird Al, I know you would do a great job like always. Also pretty cool to see comments from others who are also fans of his and the Dr. Demento show. I'm not alone in my weirdness, lol. Keep up the great work, I'll keep watching and enjoying!
I've been a fan of Weird Al since 1984, even when people considered it "A Geek thing." "Smells like Nirvana" and "Jerry Springer" are my favorites.
OMG! We used to listen to Dr. Demento every weekend! Still remember watching him on the Tom Snyder show! We were rolling laughing at him and his "drummer". My favorites videos/covers are Amish Paradise and RHCP's Bedrock Anthem. Great memories! Thanks.
In northern Indiana, I listen to Dr. Demento religiously and my younger brothers and I would make cassette tapes of the show. My brother used “living with a hernia” as the music for the retirement of his general surgery partner.
Hard to pick a particular favorite, but I love "White and Nerdy" just because I feel it in my soul. But then I also love "Word Crimes" because it's the jam that covers all the things that bug me when I'm looking over someone's writing. And "Smells like Nirvana" for the lyrics "it's hard to garble nardle zous with all these marbles in my mouth" as well as the epic kazoo backing.
Love it. I've been a fan of Yankovic since the 80s and this is the first of your videos where I knew every little detail of what you were talking about.
I'm an 80s kid from Europe and I first discovered Weird Al in the late 80s when MTV launched in Europe. We had German, French, and Belgian TV channels on cable here in Luxembourg, but except for some mainstream chart shows with live performances there weren't really many music videoclips shown on TV. So, when I first discovered Weird al's parodies I was blown away. Unfortunately, his music wasn't played on local radio stations and his albums were unavailable in record shops. There was no internet or Amazon, and the first time I got my hands on Weird Al songs was when Napster appeared and I could download them. I was so happy and not much later I was finally able to buy his albums on the internet. I've been a fan since the 80s and that will never change. Too bad I'll never be able to see one of his concerts since I doubt he'll ever perform in Europe outside of Great Britain.
Yoda was my favorite of his. Growing up, I was a mega Star Wars fan and this spoof of Lola resonated with me to the core
I know Darth Vader's really got you annoyed. But remember, if you kill him, then you'll be unemployed.