Posted on 02/21/2017 2:35:13 PM PST by billorites
LOS ANGELES — One day last summer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, on break from “Hamilton,” stopped by neighbor Jimmy Fallon’s house in the Hamptons. They both love music and Fallon has a listening room in the basement, so it wasn’t long before they were downstairs sharing another passion: “Weird Al” Yankovic.
“I said, ‘Do you know “Polka Party!”?’ ” Fallon says. “He’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, I know it word for word.’ ”
Fallon threw Yankovic’s 1986 record on the turntable, and the Broadway phenomenon and the late-night TV star sang along to an accordion-driven medley that covers 12 songs in three minutes, from Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” to Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach.”
“Picture Jimmy Fallon and I sitting in a basement laughing our asses off singing, ‘I’m gonna keep my baby, keep my baby, keep my baby,’ ” Miranda says.
“We were crying, laughing and singing,” Fallon says.
They’re not alone.
Yankovic has sold millions of albums, played 1,616 shows and outlasted so many of the stars he once spoofed. His most recent album, 2014’s “Mandatory Fun,” featured parodies of Iggy Azalea, Lorde and Pharrell Williams, a polka medley and his usual smattering of original songs. The album hit No. 1. At 57, he’s now readying a complete set of his 14 studio recordings, plus an album of bonus tracks. “Squeeze Box,” on sale through a PledgeMusic drive until the end of February, will naturally come in an accordion-shaped box. “Comedy recording and funny songs go back to the earliest days of the record industry,” says Barry Hansen, better known as Dr. Demento, the radio host who introduced Yankovic to the public 40 years ago. “But Al is unique. There’s nothing like him in the history of funny music.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I love Weird Al......so talented to come up with these spoofs of famous songs. Keep ‘em comin’ Al.....lol
He was the viral video star before there were viral videos! His Nirvana parody is still my favorite.
I’m glad his last release did well. He is a legend that I hope will never quit.
Actually it's UHF. Great movie. I've seen Al live. Great show.
"Now Jimmy gets to drink from the fire hose!"
Wheel... Of... FISH!"
oh, never gets old :)
But the headline makes me think of Steve Carell's character on The Office thinking he's a songwriter because he changes a few words in songs to make a parody.
Al is more talented than Carell's Michael Scott, but I suspect he'd be the last to claim stardom for himself.
We don’t need no steeenking badgers.
Recently saw an interview of Al, and I must say he was very humble,charming and an all around great guy. He honored the memory of his parents in the way he spoke of them. To my shock, in this interview, he said both his parents were killed in a carbon monoxide accident, I think it happened about 10 years ago. He is also a proud parent, if I recall correctly he has a daughter and is happily married.
I think “The Saga Begins” is my all-time favorite.
Weird Al is one of my favorite artists.
I first heard him LIVE on Dr Demento around New Years of 1980.
Al’s friend played drums on his accordian case and Dr Demento did the “hand squeeze” noises.
Al and the crew performed “Another One Rides the Bus”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Eg7JYDrYCI
I STILL laugh when I hear it.
I have heard Al’s concerts are quite good. Never seen one myself.
"Hello, my name is Philo and welcome to Secrets of the Universe. Today we are going to learn how to make plutonium from common household items."
Yep, I used to record Dr. Demento on hi-fi VHS tape in the 6 hour mode and then dub off songs I liked to cassette.
Here’s his first TV appearance, 4-21-81 (he only missed it by 20 days):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZkouut-9RQ
He is more famous than many of the acts he parodied.
...
He’s probably a better musician, too.
My friend’s daughter was hired for a gig on one of his tours, and he treated her and all of the staff like gold. Just a great guy from all accounts, an entertainer in the old sense of the word.
“Polkattack!” - Weird Al Yankovic’s polka medleys from 1984-2011 is a consolidated collection of live performances. About 34 minutes long.
Difficult but not impossible to find on the Internet, and with copyright take down warnings against it. And variable quality starting with poor and moving to acceptable as the years pass.
It’s a pity that somebody didn’t buy all the rights, clean it up a lot, and put it out on DVD.
He gets me hysterical.
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