Music in Humor: The Career and Parodies of 'Weird Al' Yankovic

Good evening, gentlemen, today I'm going to talk to you about a singer who was dedicated to making parodies of other music singers. This man is "Weird Al" Yankovic. I met this man when he made a parody of the video for Michael Jackson's "Bad," but I'll talk about that later.

"Weird Al" was born as Alfred Matthew Yankovic on October 23, 1959 in Downey, California. Even as a young man, you could see that he really liked humor and laughed at it. His career took off in the 80s. His parodies take popular songs from artists like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Nirvana, and Coolio, and give them a comical twist through lyrics that touch on absurd and everyday topics. Among his most famous songs are: And now you know a little more about him, now it's time to laugh a little and see all the parodies he made.

"Weird Al" Yankovic (1983)

• "I Love Rocky Road" is one of "Weird Al" Yankovic's earliest and most popular parodies. This song is a parody of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' classic "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," and instead of singing about a love of rock music, Yankovic repurposes the lyrics to be about his love of Rocky Road ice cream (a classic American flavor with marshmallows, nuts, and chocolate).

"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (1984)

• With this album, people began to know him, since everything before was on a small scale. With this album, he achieved what no one has ever achieved, which is to get a gold record and later a platinum record, and this only with parodies. Yankovic showed his ability to parody current and popular songs, releasing songs that were not only humorous, but also catchy and well produced.

Featured songs

• "Eat It" (parody of Michael Jackson's "Beat It")

Dare to Be Stupid (1985)

• is the third studio album by famed musician and comedian "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1985. This record cemented Yankovic's popularity, showcasing his unique ability to parody popular musical genres and artists of the time.

Featured songs

• "Like a Surgeon" (parody of Madonna's "Like a Virgin")
  

Polka Party! (1986)

• This album was not as successful as the others at the time, partly due to the lack of big hits and general timing, as some of the parodies were based on songs that had already lost popularity at the time of release.

Featured songs

• "Living with a Hernia" (parody of "Living in America" ​​by James Brown)

Even Worse (1988)

• Here she triumphed and above all with a Jackson song that allowed her to parody it and of course it was a huge success.

Featured songs

• "Fat" (parody of Michael Jackson's "Bad")

UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff (1989)

Off the Deep End (1992)

• This album marked the comedian's return to the music scene after several years of relative silence, due in part to the declining popularity of some of the musical styles Yankovic had parodied in the past. However, the music scene of the early 90s, especially with the explosion of grunge and the popularity of Nirvana, gave Yankovic the perfect material to make his comeback with one of his most iconic parodies.

Featured songs

• "Smells Like Nirvana" (parody of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana)

Bad Hair Day (1996)

Well, I'm going to leave it here for today since his career is very extensive. Tomorrow I'll put up a second post with the other parodies.