10 Best 'Weird Al' Yankovic parodies through the years
It's been 35 years since "Weird Al" Yankovic took his accordion into the acoustic-tile men's restroom across the hall from the radio station at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and emerged with a recording that would change the course of both his own life and — let's face it — ours as well.
That song was "My Bologna" — a goofy parody of the Knack's chart-topping ode to young lust, "My Sharona." And with that first step, he established a winning formula that's seen him through such culture-rocking spoofs as "Eat It," "Like a Surgeon," "Smells Like Nirvana" and "White & Nerdy."
With Yankovic back in the spotlight this week with a string of silly parodies from his latest album, "Mandatory Fun," here's a look at 10 essentials through the years.
"My Bologna" (1979)
Well, it was recorded in a college restroom (for better acoustics), so the sound is pretty primitive. Yankovic plays the classic guitar riff on accordion while changing the overheated sex talk of the lyrics to an ode to, of all things, bologna. "Ooh, my little Hungry one / Hungry one / Open up a package of my bologna," he begins on his way to a chorus of "Never gonna stop / Eat it up / Such a tasty snack / I always eat too much / And throw up / But I'll soon be back / My my my yi yi whoo."
"Another One Rides the Bus" (1981)
For his second move, Yankovic took on the Queen song "Another One Bites the Dust," playing it faster than the original, while sharing his personal experience with public transportation in a faux-impassioned grunt. The opening verse is classic Yankovic: "Ridin' in a bus down the boulevard and the place was pretty packed / I couldn't find a seat so I had to stand with the perverts in the back." It also fleshes out the sound with a percussionist banging on Weird Al's accordion case and honking little horns.
"Ricky" (1983)
His first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 reinvented Toni Basil's "Micky" as an ode to "I Love Lucy" and Ricky Ricardo, complete with a snippet of the "I Love Lucy" theme. It starts with Yankovic as Ricky saying, "Hey Lucy, I'm home" and proceeds as a duet between Lucy and Ricky, who start off sweet and loving but gradually change their tune as they share the things that have always annoyed them about each other. The single peaked at No. 63.
"Eat It" (1984)
His first Top 20 entry on the Hot 100 peaked at No. 12 and certified gold, establishing Yankovic as a bona fide pop star of sorts. A parody of Michael Jackson's "Beat It," it took home a Grammy for best comedy recording. It's not as accordion-based as his earliest work — there's an Eddie Van Halen-spoofing guitar lead — but the lyrics are unmistakably Al, as he scolds picky eaters while approximating Jackson's anxious vocal style. "How come you're always such a fussy young man?" he begins. "Don't want no Cap'n Crunch, don't want no Raisin Bran / Well, don't you know that other kids are starving in Japan / So eat it, just eat it."
"I Lost on Jeopardy" (1984)
The leader of the Greg Kihn Band, whose single "Jeopardy" Yankovic parodies, joined in the fun on the video. Yankovic plays a dejected contestant who lost on "Jeopardy" after taking "Potpourri" for $100 on the Daily Double. The funniest shtick is the announcer running down a laundry list of everything he didn't win. But the contestant hasn't lost all hope: "Don't know what I was thinkin' of / I guess I just wasn't to bright / Well, I sure hope I do better / Next weekend on 'The Price Is Right-ight-ight.' " This one peaked at No. 81.
"Like a Surgeon" (1985)
If Madonna had never been born, Weird Al would have had to invent her just to make this record, spoofing "Like a Virgin" for his second-biggest single of the '80s, a No. 47 hit. A beeping heart monitor handles the accents as Weird Al tells the tale of a hospital intern, if not an especially good one. After setting the scene with "I finally made it through med school / Somehow I made it through / I'm just an intern / I still make a mistake or two," he starts the chorus hook with "Like a surgeon, cuttin' for the very first time."
"Smells Like Nirvana" (1992)
His biggest hit since "Eat It" peaked at No. 35, gleefully spoofing Nirvana, whose "Smells Like Teen Spirit" had opened the floodgates for the alternative-music revolution of the '90s. Rather than reimagine the riff on accordion, "My Bologna"-style, he lets the guitars lead the charge while lampooning the cryptic nature of the lyrics with "What is this song all about? Can't figure any lyrics out."
"Amish Paradise" (1996)
His first big hip-hop parody took on "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio, the music mirroring the keyboard-driven drama of the original (which in turn had been built on a sample of Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise"). The nerdy rapping suits the character as Weird Al welcomes you to Amish Paradise with "As I walk through the valley where I harvest my grain / I take a look at my wife and realize she's very plain / But that's just perfect for an Amish like me / You know, I shun fancy things like electricity."
"White & Nerdy" (2006)
This is Weird Al's biggest hit, a platinum smash that peaked at No. 9 on Billboard's Hot 100, parodying "Ridin' " by Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone. Yankovic plays a would-be rapper who knows he'll never make it in the hip-hop world because he's just too white and nerdy. As proof of nerd-cred, Weird Al cites the following: "First in my class here at M.I.T. / Got skills, I'm a Champion of D&D / MC Escher that's my favorite MC / Keep your 40 / I'll just have an Earl Grey tea."
"Perform This Way" (2011)
Yankovic lampoons Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," setting the tone with a send-up of Gaga's arrival at the Grammy Awards inside a giant egg ("My mama told me when I was hatched, 'Act like a superstar / Save your allowance / Buy a bubble dress / And some day, you will go far.' "). It spoof the lengths to which Gaga will go to outdo herself in lines as inspired as "I'll wrap my small intestines round my neck and set fire to myself on stage" and tosses in a line of the Madonna song "Express Yourself," which many felt this Gaga song was ripping off, all while suggesting that the singer wasn't really born this way at all; she just "performs this way."