I don’t remember what year it was for sure, but it was probably 1979 or 1980, when I became aware of the guy who was about to kick off a whole new trend in American music. I was driving somewhere, with my car’s AM radio tuned to the usual 1330, KWWL, a rock & roll station out of Waterloo, Iowa. Every Sunday afternoon, the station ran the great Doctor Demento, and on that great day, he had a cassette tape someone had sent him, with a single track recorded. So, in the interests of “Stay(ing) demented!” Doctor D played the song, one guy, an accordion, playing and singing a parody of Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust. That, of course, was Weird Al Yankovic, with Another One Rides The Bus.
I don’t recall at this distance in time whether the real "Weird Al" sent that tape in or it came from some other source, but that was my first – not my last – exposure to the great king of musical parody.
"Weird Al" went on to make a name for himself by being, well, weird. Here are six of my favorites.
Another One Rides The Bus (1983): This is the one that first exposed me to the brilliant, bizarre world of "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was written in part to the Queen song, Another One Bites the Dust, a much darker tune. Lacking a band, this one was just Weird Al with, yes, an accordion. He is, of course, accomplished with a squeeze-box, as he went on to prove, again and again.
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Polka Party (1986): This was the first of a bunch of polka riffs on the popular music of the day, in which Weird Al (and his accordion) took on popular songs and did them… as polkas. This one took on everyone from Phil Collins to Eddie Murphy, and it does bring a chuckle, no matter how many times you’ve heard it. It’s almost a parody within a parody, with the exaggerated polka music and silly sound effects.
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Fat (1988): This was the second of Weird Al’s Michael Jackson parodies, the first one being Eat It, a parody of Jackson’s song Beat It. This one took on Jackson’s song Bad, and adapted it to have Weird Al rejoin his girthy comrades with the aid of a fat suit. Al even got permission from Michael Jackson to use some of the same sets from the filming of Jackson’s video for Bad. "Weird Al" lampooned Jackson incessantly, and while I have never been able to confirm it, word was back in the day that Jackson actually enjoyed the parodies and took it all in good humor.
Jurassic Park (1993): This song manages to combine a parody of the great song McArthur Park (I like the Richard Harris version best) and the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park, which is a fun movie in spite of having some Star Trek-level horse squeeze in the “science” involved.
This may be the best parody lyrics as well, even for Weird Al:
Amish Paradise (1996): Apparently, this is making fun of a song called Gangsta's Paradise, from someone going by the name of Coolio. My kids made me listen to it once for reference. Not my cup of tea.Jurassic Park is frightening in the dark
All the dinosaurs are running wild
What a crummy weekend this has been
Well, this sure ain't no E-ticket
Think I'll tell them where to stick it
'Cause I'm never coming back this way again
Oh no... oh no
When Amish Paradise came out, it fast became a favorite with our second daughter, who was then four years old and had been several times through the Amish community near Hazleton, Iowa, when we were visiting friends and family in the area. As the kids got older, they always had this on their iPod (yes, they had them) playlists.
In fact, I just texted them. This is still the favorite "Weird Al" song of all four of our kids.
Polkamania (2024): And, finally, another polka parody within a parody. I’m not familiar with most of the songs "Weird Al" is lampooning here, but I’m sure that he had plenty of fun putting together the arrangement."Weird Al" Yankovic isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Most of my hardcore rock & roll buddies didn’t care much for him, and I knew a couple of people who were annoyed by his constant tweaking of Michael Jackson, although as far as I know, Michael himself never objected to the constant parodies.Here’s the really great thing, though: In addition to your favorite "Weird Al" tunes, you can still listen to Dr. Demento, too, on his website. That’s a rabbit hole I went down when I discovered it, and spent about five hours with headphones on, annoying my wife and reliving a little bit of my youth. Stay demented!
If "Weird Al" is your thing, then I’m sure you have a favorite or two of your own. The comments, again, are all yours.
