The list is far more selective than one may imagine. Among names such as Mick Jagger, Elton John and Billy Joel, it would be hard to discredit the achievements of the legendary parody artist “Weird Al” Yankovic. Ever since his single “My Bologna” (a parody of the Knack’s “My Sharona”) became a surprise hit in his senior year of college, Yankovic has been one of the most consistently inventive, accessible and genuinely gleeful performers of the last several decades.
It seems like everyone has their own “Weird Al” fandom origin story. Whether it was listening to the original clips of him on The Dr. Demento show, noticing his cameo in The Naked Gun: From The Files of Police Squadron or second-guessing the lyrics to “I Want It That Way” (after hearing “I Want It on Ebay"), music fans of many generations found their way into Weird Al’s extensive discography.
Although there are superfans who know all of his songs by heart, Weird Al’s work appeals to audiences with wildly different degrees of interest. How many other artists can unite fans of Coolio, Michael Jackson, Miley Cyrus and Madonna under one polka track?
Weird Al’s legacy is immense, but that doesn’t mean he's not still putting in the work. Parody is always relevant, and Weird Al has ensured that the references in his songs are identifiable to a new generation who may not be familiar with the discography of Queen, Prince or the Black Crowes. Weird Al’s latest polka mix, released last summer, included samples of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” and Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP.”
Weird Al is now set to begin one of his most ambitious tours ever. The “Bigger and Weirder” 2025 schedule will send him to dozens of states for several months. It is certainly not a tour aimed at gathering a few niche fans in a backstreet stage; in Texas alone, Weird Al is set to play at the Bass Concert Hall in Austin, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in the Woodlands and, on Aug. 2, the Texas Trust CU Theater in Grand Prairie. Some venues in bigger cities, such as Las Vegas and Columbus, have already sold out, as has Grand Prairie — although resale tickets are still available.
Unlike many of the other musicians who emerged in the same era, Weird Al has shown a willingness to work in many different areas of media. He’s written books for children, directed music videos for Ben Folds and The Presidents of the United States, created his own television show and regularly voiced characters in animated series Family Guy and The Simpsons. Weird Al even managed to make the leap into film stardom with 1983’s UHF, a box office misfire that subsequently became a cult classic (and inspired one of his best albums to date). In 2022, Daniel Radcliffe received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his performance as Weird Al in the satirical biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.
Weird Al has never taken himself too seriously, but has certainly made a conscious decision to be a “clean” comedian; his songs don’t regularly feature profanity or lewd references, and he often chooses jokes that are absurd and surreal rather than blatantly offensive. Perhaps this is why Weird Al has been so successful in getting artists to sign on to his parodies; the list of performers who denied him the right to lampoon their songs is relatively small, and includes Beck, Jimmy Page and U2. Despite initially turning down his request to parody “Buddy Holly” as part of a polka mix, Weezer later invited Weird Al onstage to perform a live rendition of Toto’s ”Africa.”
Unchained Parody
One of the most revelatory aspects of Weird Al’s trajectory in the industry is how his influence has become cyclical. There was a time in which Weird Al heaped praise upon Michael Jackson for giving him the opportunity to turn “Bad” and “Beat It” into “Fat” and “Eat It,” respectively; these two songs were among Weird Al’s biggest hits of the 1980s, and were warmly received by Jackson’s superfans. However, there is now a generation that cites Weird Al as one of the reasons they began working artistically. Hamilton and In The Heights creator Lin-Manuel Miranda claimed to be a Weird Al megafan who had been hooked since attending the Dare to be Stupid tour. Despite earning Grammys, Emmys and a meeting with former President Barack Obama, Miranda said that being parodied by Weird Al on the “Hamilton Polka” was the single greatest honor of his career.The question as to why Weird Al’s music has resonated for so long is an interesting one, as the art of parody is no longer an anomaly. Listening to Weird Al’s playfully inverted lyrics may have seemed novel when he began recording, but in the internet era, anyone with a YouTube account or an Instagram profile can release their own parodies. The reason that Weird Al’s work stands out within a sea of prospective parody artists is that there is a real craft to his word selections; in addition to displaying his surprisingly extraordinary skills with a variety of instruments, Weird Al tends to carefully reinterpret lyrics so that they work for both casual and obsessive music buffs. Many of his albums are so layered with nuance that they may require listeners to listen several times just to catch all of the jokes.
Weird Al’s other most defining characteristic is his positivity, as there’s nothing contemplative about the way in which he pokes fun at the most popular musicians of the day. Parodies have grown nastier in recent years, but Weird Al has created a new subgenre that doesn’t require extensive knowledge of the original tracks; even those with no awareness of “Gangsta’s Paradise” can find something to enjoy in “Amish Paradise.”
Although he lacks any pretension, Weird Al has never settled for mediocrity. As a result, generations of music fans have been encouraged to “stay weird.”
