There are many different genres and sounds out there, but I think that Alfred Matthew Yankovic, also known as Weird Al, has one of the most unique. As a parody artist, he frequently hops genres and has written new lyrics and created new versions of hundreds of different popular songs.
THE SAGA BEGINS
The song I view as Weird Al’s greatest achievement is “The Saga Begins,” a Star Wars-themed parody of American Pie by Don McLean. Al wrote most of the lyrics before Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace even came out. He gathered most of the information from online leaks and was surprised at how accurate he was after seeing a charity pre-screening of the movie. He made minor alterations to the song after seeing the film, and recorded The Saga Begins a month before the movie was released in May of 1999.
AMISH PARADISE
One of Weird Al’s most lyrically complex parodies is easily Amish Paradise. A take on Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio, Yankovic got permission from Coolio before making “Amish Paradise”, offering a percentage of the revenues, but he declined. Coolio later stated that it was a stupid decision, and that he wished somebody had stopped him.
FAT
Fat by Weird Al on NR92, and you might be wondering how Michael Jackson felt about this parody. Well, he was actually very supportive of it, and he even let Al use the same subway station set that was built for his own “Badder” video, which was a parody of “Bad” in his film Moonwalker.
MONEY FOR NOTHING/BEVERLY HILLBILLIES
Beverly Hillbillies was made for Weird Al’s 1989 movie UHF. When Al asked Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits if he was fine with the parody, he was! So long as he got to play the guitar part, and of course Al said yes. And Guy Fletcher, the keyboardist of Dire Straits, played the synthesizer on the track. This song truly feels like something that Al thought of in the shower. I mean, Money For Nothing with the lyrics from the iconic intro to The Beverly Hillbillies? What a wild combo!
Thank you for taking this weird journey with me! Weird Al always helps me remember not to take life too seriously and to enjoy the silly side of life.
