Intro[]
This decade was really big for Al, as it made him the most successful parodist on Earth.
The Final Days of the 70s[]
Weird Al Yankovic recorded his first single My Bologna, a parody of The Knack's "My Sharona" in the men's room in his college in December 1979. The single didn't bring much success to Al, but it was a great start to a great future for him.
The Early 80s[]
1980-1982[]
After barely any success from 1979's My Bologna, Al recorded his second single in 1981: Another One Rides The Bus. The song was very successful in the early part of the decade. He even went live on The Tomorrow Show to perform a slightly faster version of the song with Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz.
1983[]
With the success from his first two singles, he recorded a few more singles in 1983. With his first two singles and the new singles, he created his first album: "Weird Al" Yankovic. Some of the songs on this album include: Ricky (1983), I Love Rocky Road (1983), Another One Rides The Bus (1981), and My Bologna (1979).
The Mid 80s[]
1984[]
The next part of this decade was even better for Al, giving him even more success. He wrote even more singles in 1984-85 and his next two albums: In 3-D and The Food Album.
Al released Theme From Rocky XIII and Eat It, his first single to make the Billboard Hot 100 at #12 in 1984. Eat It was Al's most successful single until 2006's White and Nerdy, which reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.
With more success in 1984, Al released This Is The Life and I Lost On Jeopardy, which had a music video featuring the original 1980s settings and the original host from 25 years ago.
1985[]
He released Like A Surgeon in 1985. This song was actually requested by Madonna herself, as a parody of her hit single "Like a Virgin" (1984). This marked the first time that the original artist requested a parody of his or her own song. There are several similarities between the two music videos for the Like a Surgeon and Like a Virgin. For example, there is a lion in the beginning of both videos.
Hooked On Polkas was Al's first polka medley song released in 1985. The songs in this polka are classics from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, even though Al usually parodies "modern" (1985 modern) songs from the era that he writes and releases the parody.
1986-1987[]
Al released Dare To Be Stupid and Living With A Hernia in 1986, as well his album Dare To Be Stupid. He also released his first Christmas single Christmas At Ground Zero in November of 1986.
1988 and 1989[]
1988[]
Al released Fat, his second Michael Jackson parody in 1988, as well as Lasagna and I Think I'm A Clone Now, as well as his album Even Worse.
1989[]
Al went to Hollywood to star in the film UHF (film) in 1989. He also released the title song and the soundtrack to his film. One of the songs on this album is Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies, released in August of 1989.