For many in the music world, success isn’t measured by gold records or Grammy wins, because they know that they haven’t really made it big until one of their songs has been parodied by Weird Al Yankovic.
“I can’t really guess what my appeal would be or why I have managed to eek out a career for the last three decades doing what I do,” Yankovic says. “I guess I have some skill at comedy writing and performing and I like to think I have gotten better over the years.”
On June 12, Yankovic will be heading to Wolf Trap to show why he has been a mainstay in the music community for more than 30 years.
“If someone has never been to a Weird Al show before, I like to describe it as a multi-media rock and comedy extravaganza,” the singer says. “Not only is it a high-energy rock ‘n’ roll show, we do a ton of costume changes, there are videos on a big screen behind us and really a lot of production value; it’s theatrical and family friendly.”
It was back in 1984 when the accordion-playing parodist hit the mainstream with his “Eat It” song and video that was his tribute to Michael Jackson’s legendary “Beat It.”
“Prior to ‘Eat It’ I had one album out that did OK. I had a small bit of success, but it wasn’t until Michael Jackson gave his thumbs up that my career really took off,” Yankovic says. “Not only was it a huge international hit, but it made other artists realize that it was OK and perhaps even cool to have a Weird Al parody.”
Other hits followed. “Fat” parodied Jackson’s “Bad”; “Smells Like Nirvana” took on the alt rockers “Smells Like Teen Spirit”; and “Amish Paradise” had some fun with Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.”
“When choosing songs, it’s pretty much a gut feeling. There is no great parameter for what makes a great parody,” Yankovic says. “Obviously, I weigh facts like how important or how popular an artist is, how much of a visual flair they have, any strong or readily identifiable musical hooks in the song, but it all comes down to whether or not I can make a good idea based on it.”
Videos were a big part of Weird Al’s success in the ’80s, but even after MTV stopped focusing on videos, he found an audience through other outlets.
“I don’t know if videos aren’t as popular now. There was a brief period of time about a decade ago where that may have been a more valid comment because MTV had stopped playing videos and YouTube hadn’t come into its own yet,” he says. “With YouTube, it certainly has value to make videos again because people are turning to the Internet for videos.”
As a child, Yankovic used to listen to the Dr. Demento show on the radio and was introduced to musical comedy. A chance visit by the radio host to a then-16-year-old Yankovic’s school gave the singer an opportunity to hand his idol a tape of some songs he had written in his bedroom. Soon after, Yankovic’s song was playing on the nationally syndicated show.
“Dr. Demento played my cassette tapes that I recorded in my bedroom on the air and I can’t imagine any other disc jockey ever giving airtime to a kid with an accordion,” Yankovic says. “It warped me at an early age. It’s hard to pinpoint all the things that make you who you are today, but I truly think that if it hadn’t been for the Dr. Demento show, my life would have taken an entirely different direction.”
Although legally, Yankovic has the right to do parodies without permission, he always asks the original artist for the rights before releasing it on an album.
“I can get away with doing parodies without permission, but that’s not the way I do business. I like to involve the artists and make sure I have their blessing,” he says. “When I come up with a concept, I will contact the artist directly and run the idea by them. More often than not, the artist will sign off based on the concept because I have a pretty consistent track record. Artists know I won’t make them look bad.”
A few years back, Yankovic received a lot of press when his “Perform this Way” parody of Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way” hit was said not to have the singer’s blessing. His ethical stand on intellectual property kept him from putting it on his album, even though he promised to donate all funds from the sale of the tune to the Human Rights Campaign.
Instead, the singer posted it for free on YouTube and it went viral. Among those who saw it? Lady Gaga herself. The singer came out publicly days after to say she “loved the song” and that her manager had never sent it to her previously and it was all a big mistake.
Looking ahead, the four-time Grammy winner doesn’t envision a time when he’s not doing what he loves up on stage.
“The thing I enjoy is that I get to do specifically what I love to do for a living,” he says. “I love comedy and I love music and the fact that I get to do both professionally and entertain other people with it, that’s nirvana for me.”
Weird Al Yankovic will play Wolf Trap on Friday, June 12. For ticket information, click here.
