"Weird Al" Yankovic

Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic (/ˈjæŋkəvɪk/ YANG-kə-vik; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, parodist, record producer, satirist, actor, music video director, film producer, and author. He is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts, original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts, and polka medleys of several popular songs, featuring his favored instrument, the accordion.

Since his first-aired comedy song in 1976, he has sold more than 12 million albums (as of 2007), recorded more than 150 parody and original songs, and has performed more than 1,000 live shows. His works have earned him four Grammy Awards and a further 11 nominations, four gold records, and six platinum records in the United States. Weird Al's first top ten Billboard album (Straight Outta Lynwood) and single ("White & Nerdy") were both released in 2006, nearly three decades into his career. His latest album, Mandatory Fun (2014), became his first number-one album during its debut week.

"Weird Al" Yankovic (album)

"Weird Al" Yankovic is the eponymous debut album by American parodist Alfred "Weird Al" Yankovic. The album was the first of many produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Mostly recorded in March 1982, the album was released by Rock 'n Roll Records as an LP and on Compact Cassette in 1983.

Consisting of five direct parodies and seven original songs, "Weird Al" Yankovic parodies pop and rock music of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and satirizes American culture and experiences of the same time period. Half of the album is made up of parodies, featuring jabs at Toni Basil, Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks, The Knack, and Queen. Yankovic's trademark instrument, the accordion, is used on all songs featured on the album.

Fueled by the underground success of the singles "My Bologna" and "Another One Rides the Bus", the album charted at 139 on the Billboard 200. Critically, however, the album received a lukewarm reception, with many reviewers feeling that Yankovic was a throw-away act, and someone who could not overcome the stigma of a novelty record.

List of "Weird Al" Yankovic polka medleys

Medleys of cover songs in polka style are a distinguishing part of the catalog of American musician, satirist, parodist, and songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic. They have appeared on twelve of his fourteen albums; his self-titled debut album and Even Worse do not contain medleys.

The medleys are composed of various popular songs, each one reinterpreted as a polka (generally an instrumentation of accordion, banjo, tuba, clarinet, and muted brass interspersed with sound effects) with the choruses or memorable lines of various songs juxtaposed for humorous effect. Yankovic has been known to say that converting these songs to polka was "...the way God intended." Yankovic said that the medleys were something he did "even before I had a record deal" in live performances, and that many of the songs are included due to not receiving a full parody version - "if there’s a song that I think is really ripe for parody but I just can’t think of a clever enough idea, sometimes it’ll end up in the polka medley." Regarding their popularity, Yankovic has said, "At this point, it's sort of mandatory for me to do a polka medley. Fans would be rioting in the streets, I think, if I didn't do a polka medley." Yankovic has always asked permission from every artist whose songs compose a medley due to royalties issues. He acknowledged some influence of Spike Jones in the medleys, such as the sound effects.