"Weird Al" Yankovic
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"Weird Al" Yankovic is a comedy musician best known for his parodies ("Fat", "Amish Paradise"), although he actually has a larger body of original work ("Dare To Be Stupid", "You Don't Love Me Anymore"). Yankovic's music spans a wide variety of genres, due to the fact it is mostly parody and pastiche (style parody).
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About
Born Alfred Matthew Yankovic in Downey, California on October 23 1959, and raised in Lynwood, California, Yankovic began taking accordian lessons the day before his seventh birthday. He became a fan of Dr. Demento's radio show (featuring largely comic music) in the early 70's, and began sending in demo tapes of parodies and other comic music in the mid 70's, his first including "Belvedere Cruisin'", a song about his family's current car, and "Dr. D Superstar", a parody of the title track from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. Demento began to play "Belvedere Cruisin'" (although not "Dr. D Superstar") on air.
Yankovic began attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as an architecture student, and became a DJ on the univerity's KCPR radio station. He adopted the nickname Weird Al as his on-air name.
In 1979, Yankovic recorded a parody of The Knack's My Sharona, entitled "My Bologna" in a men's bathroom, and sent in to Dr. Demento. It received a lot of on-air play, and was often requested. Yankovic met The Knack, and introduced himself as the author and singer of "My Bologna". Doug Fieger, lead singer of The Knack, said he liked the song, and suggested to his record company, Capitol Records and signed Yankovic. And "My Bologna" was released as a single with an original song, "School Cafeteria" as the B-side.
Yankovic's next song, "Another One Rides The Bus", a parody of Queen's Another One Bites The Dust, was due to be performed live on the Dr. Demento show for the first time. When Yankovic was practising the song, he met Jon Schwartz, a drummer, who agreed to assist Yankovic in his performance by beating his accordian case to help keep the beat.
In 1981, Yankovic was performing on Dr. Demento's stage show in Phoenix, Arizona, where he caught the eye of manager Jay Levey. Levey asked Yankovic if he had considered getting a full band. Yankovic agreed to hold auditions, and Steve Jay was chosen for bass, Jim West for guitar, and Schwartz stayed on drums.
In 1982, Yankovic recorded "I Love Rocky Road", parodying "I Love Rock 'N Roll" as performed by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. It managed to become popular enough for Yankovic to be signed by Scotti Bros. Records and subsequently record his self titled debut full-length album, "Weird Al" Yankovic (album) in 1983.
Awards & Certifications
| Title | Award |
|---|---|
| Eat It | Won Grammy for Best Comedy Recording (1984) |
| Dare To Be Stupid | Nominated for Grammy for Best Comedy Recording (1985) |
| Polka Party! | Nominated for Grammy for Best Comedy Recording (1984) |
| Even Worse | Nominated for Grammy for Best Comedy Recording (1988) |
| Fat | Won Grammy for Best Concept Video (1988) |
| Peter & The Wolf | Nominated for Grammy for Best Children's Recording (1988) |
| Off The Deep End | Nominated for Grammy for Best Comedy Recording (1992) |
| Jurrasic Park | Nominated for Grammy for Best Music Video (1994) |
| Poodle Hat | Won Grammy for Best Comedy Album (2003) |
| Eat It | Won American Video Award for Best Male Performance (1984) |
| Smells Like Nirvana | Nominated For MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Performance (1992) |
| "Weird Al" Yankovic | Gold Record (USA) |
| In 3-D | Platinum Record (USA) |
| In 3-D | Gold Record (Canada) |
| Dare To Be Stupid | Platinum Record (USA) |
| Even Worse | Platinum Record (USA) |
| Even Worse | Gold Record (Canada) |
| Greatest Hits | Gold Record (Canada) |
| Off The Deep End | Platinum Record (USA) |
| Off The Deep End | Platinum Record (Canada) |
| The Food Album | Gold Record (USA) |
| Alapalooza | Gold Record (USA) |
| Alapalooza | Double Platinum Record (Canada) |
| Greatest Hits Volume II | Gold Record (Canada) |
| Bad Hair Day | Platinum Record (USA) |
| Bad Hair Day | Platinum Record (Canada) |
| Running With Scissors | Platinum Record (USA) |
| Running With Scissors | Gold Record (Canada) |
| The "Weird Al" Yankovic Video Library | Gold Long Form Video (USA) |
| Alapalooza: The Videos | Gold Long Form Video (USA) |
| Bad Hair Day: The Videos | Gold Long Form Video (USA) |
| "Weird Al" Yankovic - Live! | Gold Long Form Video (USA) |
| The Ultimate Video Collection | Platinum Long Form Video (USA) |
Chart Toppers
| Year | Title | Billboard Hot 100 | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Ricky | 63 | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
| 1984 | Eat It | 12 | In 3-D |
| 1984 | King Of Suede | 62 | In 3-D |
| 1984 | I Lost On Jeopardy | 83 | In 3-D |
| 1985 | Like A Surgeon | 47 | Dare To Be Stupid |
| 1988 | Fat | 99 | Even Worse |
| 1992 | Smells Like Nirvana | 35 | Off The Deep End |
| 1996 | Amish Paradise | 53 | Bad Hair Day |
| 2006 | White & Nerdy | 9 | Straight Outta Lynwood |
| 2006 | Canadian Idiot | 82 | Straight Outta Lynwood |
News
Tours & Concerts
Yankovic's Straight Outta Lynwood Tour is slated to begin in March, possibly in New Zealand.
Announcements
Announcements from Al's Official Website:
Straight Into The Top Ten!
""Straight Outta Lynwood" debuted at #10 on the Billboard album charts, giving Al his very first Top 10 album ever! And "White & Nerdy" erupted on the Billboard singles charts at #28 (as the "Hot Shot Debut") and then rocketed to #9 the next week, making it Al's very first Top 10 single! Thanks, everybody, for giving Al his highest-charting album and single of all time!"
UK Release Changes Yet Again!
""Straight Outta Lynwood" will now be released in the UK on November 13! The album is slated for a Nov. 17 release in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and a Nov. 24 release in Germany and Austria. To date, "Straight Outta Lynwood" has been released in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Korea, Czech Republic, Italy (digital only), France (digital only), Norway, Finland and Sweden."
JibJab!
"The good folks at JibJab have put together a hilarious new music video for Al's Taylor Hicks parody. Check out the world premiere on November 17!"
Discography
Albums
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Singles
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Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies
Released: August 8, 1989 Album: UHF - Official Motion Picture Soundtrack And Other Stuff |
Isle Thing
Released: August 22, 1989 Album: UHF - Official Motion Picture Soundtrack And Other Stuff |
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Compilations
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Videography
 The Compleat Al
Released: August, 1985 |
 UHF
Released: July 21, 1989 |
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 The Weird Al Show - The Complete Series
Released: August 15, 2006 |
Other artists
Similar artists
Influences
Contemporaries
Trivia
- Yankovic often includes the number 27 in his work.
- In January 1998, Yankovic had Lasik eye surgery and shaved off his mustache, radically changing his trademark look. Yankovic reasoned: "If Madonna allowed to reinvent herself every 15 minutes, I figure I should be good for a change at least once every couple of decades".
- In 2001, Yankovic married Susan Krajewski. Their daughter, Nina was born on the 11th February, 2003.
- In 2004, Yankovic's parent's, Nick and Mary died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Reviews
External Links
Categories: Artist | Comedy | Parody | Satire
