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Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic (born October 23, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, comedian and actor. he has sold more comedy recordings than any other artist in history. he is best known for his comedic songs, mostly either parodies or polka medleys of popular songs. In a career spanning over 35 years, he has amassed 30 Gold and Platinum albums, 7 Gold and Platinum-certified home videos and 3 Grammy Awards (with 11 nominations).
In The Beginning[]
The singer-songwriter's first real brush with fame came in 1979 when he recorded "My Bologna" (a spoof of The Knack's "My Sharona") in the bathroom across the hall from his college campus radio station where he had a weekly DJ shift. A devoteé of musical satirists Spike Jones, Tom Lehrer, Allan Sherman, and Stan Freberg, Yankovic's budding career took off when the song became a sensation on the nationally syndicated "Dr. Demento Show." Just a few years later, Al landed his first recording contract and has since created an extraordinary legacy of music and ground-breaking videos, including hits like "Eat It," "Like A Surgeon," "Amish Paradise" and "White and Nerdy."
Music videos[]
An accomplished director, Al has helmed many of his own award-winning music videos as well as clips for Ben Folds, Jeff Foxworthy, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Hanson, and The Black Crowes. His video for "Smells Like Nirvana," nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in 1992, was chosen by Rolling Stone as one of the "Top 100 Music Videos Of All Time." Al also created the critically acclaimed title sequence for the Leslie Nielsen feature film "Spy Hard."
Television and film[]
Making a successful transformation from pop music satirist to multimedia star, Al created his own television specials for MTV ("AL-TV"), Showtime and the Disney Channel, among others. His first feature film "UHF" (1989) became an instant Top Ten best-selling DVD upon its release in 2002, and his own CBS network series "The Weird Al Show" reached cult-classic status and was released on DVD earlier this year. Al has been featured on numerous TV shows and specials, and his profile on VH-1's "Behind the Music" remains one of the most popular installments in the series' history he has made another feature film "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" (2022), and has had many appearances in television shows. including the Ringmaster in Yo Gabba Gabba, Cheese Sandwich in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Milo Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law, Darkseid in Teen Titans Go! and the Riddler in Batman cartoons.
Straight Outta Lynwood[]
Yankovic's 12th studio album Straight Outta Lynwood (Way Moby/Volcano) is a DualDisc release brimming with special features. The DVD side contains six brand new Weird Al music videos produced by some of the world's top animators, including Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Bill Plympton, "Ren & Stimpy" creator John Kricfalusi, acclaimed media artist Jim Blashfield, the creative team behind Cartoon Network's Adult Swim show "Robot Chicken" and popular Internet animators Thomas Lee and David C. Lovelace. The package also features a 9-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, as well as PCM Stereo, 5.1 Surround Sound, and karaoke/instrumental versions of the entire album.
The centerpiece of Straight Outta Lynwood is "White and Nerdy," a parody of Chamillionaire's No. 1 smash hit "Ridin'." Al directed the highly acclaimed video clip, which features hilarious cameos by Donny Osmond, Seth Green, Judy Tenuta and Mad TV's Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. The "White & Nerdy" video went straight into heavy rotation on my VH-1 (debuting at #5 in their Top 20 Countdown) and quickly racked up a few million hits on YouTube.
Straight Outta Lynwood also features parodies of Green Day ("Canadian Idiot"), Usher ("Confessions Part III"), Taylor Hicks ("Do I Creep You Out") and R. Kelly (the 11-minute epic "Trapped in the Drive-Thru"), as well as the now-traditional polka medley ("Polkarama!"), which this time includes accordion-fueled renditions of hits by such artists as 50 Cent, The Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg, Coldplay, Weezer, Pussycat Dolls, and Kanye West.
"Don't Download This Song," the first song and video released from the album, is a tongue-in-cheek look at the hot-button issue of mp3 piracy, set to original music inspired by the celebrity-driven charity benefit songs from the ‘80s. The song was ironically offered as a free download on Al's website and MySpace page , and quickly became a viral worldwide hit. Other original compositions on the album include an homage to both Brian Wilson and internal organs ("Pancreas"), an ode to computer-based paranoia ("Virus Alert"), a headbanger about frivolous lawsuits ("I'll Sue Ya"), an anthem for the relationship-impaired ("Close But No Cigar") and a cheery ditty about the most festive time of the year ("Weasel Stomping Day").
Straight Outta Lynwood debuted at #10 on the Billboard charts, making it Al's highest charting album until Alpocalypse.
Discography[]
The main article can be found here.
Studio Albums[]
- "Weird Al" Yankovic
- In 3-D
- Dare To Be Stupid
- Polka Party
- Even Worse
- UHF - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff
- Off The Deep End
- Alapalooza
- Bad Hair Day
- Running With Scissors
- Poodle Hat
- Straight Outta Lynwood
- Alpocalypse
- Mandatory Fun
Collaboration Albums[]
Filmography[]
Film:
- 1985: The Compleat Al
- 1988: Tapeheads
- 1988: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
- 1989: UHF
- 1991: The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear
- 1992: The "Weird Al" Yankovic Video Library
- 1993: Alapalooza: The Videos
- 1993: "Weird Al" Yankovic: The Ultimate Collection
- 1994: The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult
- 1996: Spy Hard
- 1996: Bad Hair Day: The Videos
- 1997: Safety Patrol
- 1998: "Weird Al" Yankovic: The Videos
- 1998: Desperation Boulevard
- 1999: "Weird Al" Yankovic Live!
- 2000: Nothing Sacred
- 2003: Haunted Lighthouse
- 2003: "Weird Al" Yankovic: The Ultimate Video Collection
- 2008: Nerdcore Rising
- 2009: Halloween II
- 2009: Al's Brain
- 2011: "Weird Al" Yankovic Live! - The Alpocalypse Tour
- 2011: Alpocalypse HD
- 2015: Batman vs. Robin
- 2016: Popstar: Never Stop Stopping
- 2017: Sandy Wexler
- 2017: How to Be a Latin Lover
- 2017: Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (theme song)
- 2019: Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans
- 2020: Bill & Ted Face the Music
- 2020: Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe
- 2022: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Television:
- 1987: Amazing Stories
- 1990: Seriously... Phil Collins
- 1992: Square One Television
- 1994: Space Ghost Coast to Coast
- 1994: Wheel of Fortune
- 1994: Rock & Roll Jeopardy!
- 1995,1998: The Eddie Files
- 1997: Eek! The Cat
- 1997: The Weird Al Show
- 1998: The Drew Carey Show
- 1999: Sabrina: The Animated Series
- 2002: The Brak Show
- 2003, 2008: The Simpsons
- 2003: Lilo & Stitch: The Series
- 2003-2005: The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
- 2004: Johnny Bravo
- 2006, 2017: Robot Chicken
- 2006: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
- 2007-2010: Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
- 2008, 2009: Transformers Animated
- 2010: Back at the Barnyard
- 2010: Yo Gabba Gabba!
- 2011-2016: Adventure Time
- 2011: How I Met Your Mother
- 2011: Batman: The Brave and the Bold
- 2012: 30 Rock
- 2012: The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange
- 2012: The Aquabats! Super Show!
- 2012: Animal Man
- 2012: WordGirl
- 2012-2016: Comedy Bang! Bang!
- 2013: Children's Hospital
- 2013: Mad
- 2014: Good Morning Today
- 2014, 2018: Drunk History
- 2014, 2019: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
- 2014: Wallykazam!
- 2014: @midnight
- 2014: The Hotwives of Orlando
- 2014-2017: Celebrity Name Game
- 2015: Gravity Falls
- 2015-2016: Galavant
- 2015: The Odd Couple
- 2015: Hollywood Game Night
- 2015: Wander Over Yonder
- 2015, 2018: Teen Titans Go!
- 2015: Uncle Grandpa
- 2015: Gaming Show (In My Parent's Garage)
- 2016: The Goldbergs
- 2016: Ask the StoryBots
- 2016: Bajillion Dollar Propertie$
- 2016-2019: Milo Murphy's Law
- 2016: Mr. Pickles
- 2016, 2019: BoJack Horseman
- 2016: The 7D
- 2017: My Brother, My Brother and Me
- 2017: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
- 2017: Lady Dynamite
- 2017: Voltron: Legendary Defender
- 2017: Star vs. the Forces of Evil
- 2017: Danger & Eggs
- 2017: Mighty Magiswords
- 2017: We Bare Bears
- 2018: Carpool Karaoke: The Series
- 2018: Jay Leno's Garage
- 2018: Little Big Awesome
- 2019: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
- 2019: Adam Ruins Everything
- 2019: The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
- 2019: Happy!
- 2019: Archibald's Next Big Thing
- 2019, 2021: Work in Progress
- 2019: Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?
- 2019, 2020: Where's Waldo
- 2020: The Eric Andre Show
- 2020: Blaze and the Monster Machines
- 2020: Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun
- 2020: Close Enough
- 2020, 2022: Reno 911!
- 2020: American Dad!
- 2022: LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation
- 2022: Hamster and Gretel
- 2022: Firebuds
- 2023: Velma
- 2023: The Muppets Mayhem
Web Series:
- 2010, 2013: Funny or Die
- 2012: 5-Second Films
- 2014: Epic Rap Battles of History
- 2015: CollegeHumor
- 2018: Hot Ones
- 2019: Guest Grumps
External Links[]
Pop Literature[]
- Conrad, Harold. The Glamorous Life of Al Yankovic. // SPIN, Vol. 1, No. 4., August 1985, pp 48 – 50.
Trivia[]
- He made a cameo appearance in the music video by Michael Jackson, Liberian Girl.
- He voiced Wreck Gar in Transformers Animated, spoofing how a song of his played over the character's original debut in Transformers: The Movie.
- He made a cameo appearance in Annoying Orange - Weird Al Holiday Duet.
- His Kevin Bacon number is 2.
- He was featured in a widely read webcomic called "Vast Error" as a main antagonist.