Al's Real Forte

'Weird Al' Yankovic is a comical singer, song-writer and accordion player. While many of his

songs are both funny, and completely original, most of his

most popular songs are parodies of other people's popular songs.

A musical parody is created by taking the musical tune of one song, but changing or replacing

its lyrics. Sometimes words are substituted with other

words that sound similar. The Cindi Lauper song 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun', becomes 'Girls

Just Want to Have Lunch'. The Blackhearts' song 'I Love Rock

n' Roll', becomes 'I Love Rocky Road'. Other song titles go off in different directions. Jimmy

Webb's song 'MacArthur Park' becomes 'Jurassic Park'.

Survivor's song 'Eye of the Tiger', became 'Theme from Rocky XIII', but it explains that Rocky

now owns a deli, so you can have your roast beef on 'the rye

or the Kaiser'. For some reason, many of Al's songs are about food.

When Weird Al can not find a feasible way to fit a popular song into a parody, he may

insert it into a polka compilation, instead. This is like the inverse

of a parody. Instead of rewriting lyrics to fit music, he changes the music behind the original

lyrics. They tend to somewhat resemble polka music.

Al always acquires permission from the original performers before placing a parody or polka

lyrics on an album¹. However, there

is no

legal

requirement for him to do so. He just likes to be diplomatic, and most performers think it is really

a huge honor to have their songs reworked by Al

Yankovic!

Many music fans will probably agree that his songs are funny, clever, and catchy. Others

complain that they are silly and annoying. His music is probably

best appreciated if you do not take any of it seriously. Just try to have fun, when you listen to

him.

'Fat', from his 1988 'Even Worse' album, is a parody of Michael

Jackson's 'Bad'. It is,

arguably, his funniest

song. A small sample of its lyrics:

My zippers bust...my buckles break

I'm too much man...for you to take

The pavement cracks...when I fall down

I've got more chins...than Chinatown

Those who are into computers may enjoy one of Al's newer songs. 'It's All About the Pentiums',

from his 1999

'Running with Scissors' album, is a parody of a Puff Daddy² song

'It's All About the

Benjamins'.

They call me the king of the spreadsheets

Got 'em all printed out on my bedsheets

My new computer's got the clocks, it rocks

But it was obsolete before I opened the box

Another one of Weird Al's most unusual talents is the simple fact that he is appreciated

enormously across all ages and races. Most recording artists try

to target specific age groups. Some record for little children, some are for teenagers, and there

are many strictly for adults. However, those same

children, teens, and adults can all go crazy for Al! His music works to that many levels.

Adults love the way he treats modern day topics, especially when sung to the tune of a

nostalgic song. Teens like his quasi-hip attitude, especially when

sung to the tune of a current chart-topping hit. Younger children just like him because he looks,

acts, and sings funny. Although, Al occasionally alludes

to violent themes and, very rarely, mild vulgarities, he is quite far from being obscene or even

highly objectionable. Of course, he never tries to insult

anyone. So bring the kids along, its good, clean family fun!

'Weird Al' Yankovic's Most Popular Songs

A Face You Can Just Die For

To complete his persona as a different persona, Al often has to alter what he looks like.

Traditionally, 'Weird Al' Yankovic has long curly hair, a

trademark split moustache, and glasses. In 1999, Al had laser eye surgery, so he no longer needs the

glasses. He also often

shaves his moustache, and

sometimes uncurls his naturally curly hair.

When performing parodies, he often wears a costume that resembles what the original artist

would wear. Sometimes he wears something completely different

and unexpected. Either way, it is usually something comical.

The World's Greatest Cover Band

Weird Al's usual band members are talented folks. They are very talented, in fact, and that is

an understatement! They have to be good, because they are

forced to

play a multitude of music styles, to meet Al's all-encompassing parody agenda. No Yankovic review

can be complete without mentioning them. Al probably owes

a great deal of his success to these fellows:

The Works

Besides releasing at least 11 music albums, he also released more than a dozen side-splitting

music videos, and hosted several TV specials, mostly seen

on MTV. He even

had his own short-lived Saturday morning television series, for children, on CBS.

'Weird Al' Yankovic is also responsible for a feature length movie, named

UHF³, which was

released in 1989. It just happens to star Michael Richards (Kramer of Seinfeld) and Fran

Drescher (from The Nanny), before they were famous. The movie depicts what might happen if

Weird Al was allowed to run a very local TV station. This cult-classic film has been

released on DVD, in June 2002, with lots of extra features, including: a collection of scenes cut

from the

final version, the UHF music video, a glimpse behind the scenes, audio commentary from several

folks, a few "Easter Eggs" tossed in, and more!

Al sometimes has a habit of making cameo appearances in other movies, such as the 'Naked Gun'

series.

Keep your eyes peeled for the number 27, in any one of Al's works. He appears to be quite

obsessed with this number, for some reason.

Give Meaning to Your Boring, Miserable Life!

If you really want to experience 'Weird Al' Yankovic to the fullest, you must attend one of

his concerts! To say that this fellow can put on a jolly good

show, would be a drastic understatement. This is due, in no small part, to his various

concert-only songs and gags. Concerts give Al the freedom to sing

parody songs he did not have permission to include on his albums.

One particularly ridiculous gag is known as The Yoda Chant. At the end of the song 'Yoda', Al

and his band members break into a synchronized symphony of

silliness, with their arms, and such, that few can fully understand.

An official concert video has been released, named 'Weird Al' Yankovic Live! Be warned:

This video does not contain any concert-only songs!

It does contain the Yoda Chant, but much of its impact is lost, when not seeing it in person.

Brief Historic Notes

• 'Weird Al' Yankovic was born as Alfred Matthew Yankovic, on October 23, 1959, in Downey,
  
  California, and was raised in
  
  Lynwood, California.
• Although he is not related to 'Polka King' Frankie Yankovic, he learned to play the
  
  accordion, anyway.
• He also became valedictorian of his high school, proving that he was a relatively smart
  
  fellow.
• His great appreciation of weird music landed him a job as host of his own campus radio show, in
  
  college.
• After acquiring a degree in architecture, he ended up becoming one of the most requested
  
  performers on The Doctor Demento
  
  Show.
• Of course, no one realized back then that Al would become such a gigantic, Grammy award winning,
  
  mega-star today, so it
  
  was tough getting record contracts, at first.
• His release of successful albums, every few years, demonstrated to the world that he was not
  
  going to fade away, anytime
  
  soon.
• Yankovic was married on 10 February, 2001, to Suzanne.
• Both of Al's parents, Nick and Mary, died from carbon monoxide poisoning on 9 April, 2004. Since
  
  then, he has become an advocate for carbon monoxide detectors.

While his popularity shows no signs of fading, many of the performers Al has parodied over the

years, are scarcely heard

of, anymore. To call him the 'Prince of Parody' is an understatement. Elvis is the 'King of Rock',

Michael Jackson is the

'King of Pop', and 'Weird Al' Yankovic ought to be known as nothing less than the 'King of

Comedy'!

If you would like to learn more about Al Yankovic, please visit his web site: www.WeirdAl.com.