Happy 50th Birthday: "Weird Al" Yankovic is Now "Old Al" Yankovic

How do you know you're old? Novelty musician, "Weird Al" Yankovic, turns 50 years old today, and he is likely already thinking up a parody version of "The Happy Birthday Song."

Weird Al is best known for his parody versions of popular songs, and he had a propensity towards turning them into food-related songs. His best-known parodies are of two Michael Jackson songs, "Beat It" and "Bad," which Weird Al turned into "Eat It" and "Fat."

Starting out as a novelty musician gaining a cult status on the Dr. Demento show with parodies of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'N Roll" ("I Love Rocky Road") and Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust ("Another One Rides The Bus"), Weird Al's career had not yet taken off in the mainstream. Dr. Demento had very few novelty songs that broke across the cult barrier.

However, Weird Al's career really took off when he realized, along with the parody songs, he could make parody videos. His parody version of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" really put Weird Al on the map, and eventually, MTV began to actively promote Weird Al's music video premieres. Weird Al music videos, such as "Bad" and "Money For Nothing (Beverly Hillbillies)" became MTV events. Weird Al and MTV had a symbiotic relationship back when music videos were in vogue.

Weird Al's greatest strength in his career has been his resiliency and his love of the music at which he pokes fun. Weird Al has skewed Michael Jackson, Madonna, Queen, Tom Petty, George Harrison, The Police, and Nirvana, among others. Weird Al also does style parodies, which takes the gist of a famous artist's sound and creates an original song. Recipients of his style parodies include The Talking Heads, Devo, The B-52s, Bob Dylan, The Doors, and Harry Chapin.

Most artists get a kick out of what Weird Al has done to their original song, and they gladly sign off the rights, however, Prince has famously denied multiple Weird Al parodies propositioned to him, and rapper Coolio did not approve of what Weird Al did to his song "Gangster's Paradise" ("Amish Paradise"), even though permission was granted.

Weird Al really has a knack for going in many different musical directions, and his albums and parodies are a pop culture time capsule. In addition to his parodies and style parodies, Weird Al would feature long medleys of old and current songs in a polka style, along with his vaunted accordion.

Along with his music career, Weird Al has had his place on film and television. His cult classic UHF allowed Weird Al to take on parodies of movies and television shows, and he had a cameo in all 3 Naked Gun movies. Additionally, he hosted the Saturday morning "Weird Al Show" in 1997.

In recent years, Weird Al's name has been brought up for consideration of induction into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame. Initially, it would seem ludicrous to have him join the Hall of Fame, but he has proven his longevity, his musical chops, and his influence is apparent on amateur video stars on YouTube. As long as the hit music comes coming, "Old Al" Yankovic will be breaking down its rhyme scheme.

Sources:
Wikipedia, "'Weird Al' Yankovic"
Wikipedia, "Amish Paradise"