Did you know he was born 23 October 1959, Lynwood, California?
Did you know his birth Name is Alfred Matthew Yankovic?
Did you know his nickname The Weird One, The Boneless Boy?
Did you know his height is 6'?
Did you know his parents are Nick and Mary Yankovic?
Did you know that polka king Frankie Yankovic (no relation) inspired him to play the
accordion.?
Did you know that as a child and young teen, Al watched a lot of TV, which gave him much inspiration for his later work. He also became a fan of such musician/comedians as Allan Sherman and Spike Jones?
Did you know that Al became especially acquainted with these musicians through the radio show of Barry Hansen, aka "Dr. Demento", which would later become a great source of publicity for his talents?
Did you know that Al graduated as valedictorian at Lynwood High School, at the tender age of 16?
Did you know that he attended the California Polytechnic State University that Al had a radio show and earned the nickname "Weird Al"?
Did you know that after graduating college, he applied to work at McDonald's, but was rejected for being overqualified?
Did you know that it was at Cal Poly where he recorded his first real published piece, a parody of the popular "My Sharona" by The Knack, called "My Bologna"?
Did you know that “My Bolognia” to be known as the "bathroom recording" as it was recorded in the acoustically perfect mens' room?
Did you know that Al phenomenal career has spanned twelve albums, numerous compilations, a box set, movies, videos and edible underwear?
Did you know that his wife name is Suzanne, and they have one child?
Did you know that his Trade Mark was a Hawaiian Shirt and canvas shoes, his trademark look used to be glasses and a mustache, (until 1997)?
Did you know that in 1997 he shaved off his mustache and underwent LASIK surgery to correct his nearsightedness, but his publicists insisted that he wear costume glasses and a fake mustache?
Did you know that in 1999 he decided that the costume was too annoying, and revealed his "new" look (reasoning that "if Madonna can change her look every time she puts out a new album, I can certainly change my look every ten years or so"). He still wears the costume glasses and mustache during some of his performances when he wants to recreate the "classic" Weird Al look?
Did you know that he often features a celebrity guest appearance in his music videos (such as Florence Henderson in "Amish Paradise",Ruth Buzzi and Pat Boone in "Gump" and Dick Van Patten in "Smells Like Nirvana"?
Did you know that Displays his remarkable flexibility in many videos, performing feats like putting his leg behind his head or the "boneless dance" where his elbows appear to bend both ways?
Did you know that as of March, 2000, he has had four gold and four platinum records in the US, five gold, two platinum, and one double platinum record in Canada?
Did you know that he has also won two grammys and been nominated for eight more?
Did you know that there was once a bi-monthly Al fanzine called "The Midnight Star." This title is taken from the second song on Yankovic's album "...In 3-D." (The song itself, incidentally, is a satirical homage to supermarket tabloids.)?
Did you know that he directed some of his music videos, such as "Amish Paradise", "Gump," "Headline News," and "Bedrock Anthem?"
Did you know that he got his first accordion lesson on 22 October 1966, one day before his 7th birthday?
Did you know that Al gives a special thanks to Dr. Demento (Barry Hansen) on each of his albums, since the radio DJ was the first to play his songs on the air?
Did you know that he also claims to have started a club called "The Volcano Worshippers," so he could get his picture onto even more pages in the school yearbook?
Did you know that he has jokingly said that he was born in an elevator on the way to the delivery room?
Did you know that he produced the album "Babalu Music", a collection of musical numbers from the TV series "I Love Lucy" (1951), and includes a Yankovic-edited medley of Desi Arnaz melodies?
Did you know that Al fell under the disfavor of rap star Coolio, who claimed that Yankovic's "Amish Paradise" (a parody of "Gangsta's Paradise") was disrespectful of his song which he felt was too serious to parody? Yankovic said that his record label had been given permission by Coolio to parody the song but the rapper denied giving that sanction (the confusion appears to have been caused by a breakdown in the chain of communication, where a "yes" was given by his record label without Coolio's knowledge).
Did you know that Yankovic wrote Coolio a letter of apology to which he has (to date) not responded? No legal action has been taken. Ironically,
Did you know that "Gangsta's Paradise" is itself a sampled reworking of Stevie Wonder's "Pasttime Paradise"?
Did you know that he appeared in all three "Naked Gun" films" The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)?
Did you know that since 2001, his song 'Christmas at Ground Zero' has been banned at some radio stations due to content. Although the song is about Nuclear war at Christmas and was recorded in 1986 (from his album "Polka Party"), those stations have feared that "Ground Zero" has recently become synonymous with the World Trade Center buildings collapsing?
Did you know that daughter Nina Yankovic born to Al and Suzanne on February 11, 2003?.
Did you know that Yankovic wrote the song "One More Minute" after being dumped by a then-girlfriend. He sought to remake this song as a duet with Frank Sinatra, but Sinatra declined Yankovic's invitation?
Did you know that His album "Poodle Hat" won a Grammy for Best Comedy album. Al has also won Grammies for "Eat It" and "Fat"?
Did you know that Al’s parents Nick Yankovic and Mary Yankovic were killed on April 9, 2004, when a closed fireplace-flue caused their home to fill with carbon monoxide?
Did you know that in 1999 VH-1's did a documentary called "Behind the Music" on Al?
Did you know that he has been a vegetarian ever since 1992?
Did you know that a girlfriend at the time gave him the book "Diet for a New America", and Yankovic said he felt it made some compelling arguments to be vegetarian. He currently eats no meat and tries also to avoid dairy and egg products?
Did you know that as a rule, all parody ideas are his, with one exception: "Like a Surgeon" came about from a comment Madonna made asking when he was going to turn "Like a Virgin" into that parody?
Did you know that he is an only child?
Did you know that he knew he'd made it as a famous musician when he went to a party, saw Paul McCartney and before he could introduce himself to the former Beatle, McCartney recognized him and said, "Hey! It's Weird Al!"?
Did you know that one of the few artists to consistently turn down Yankovic's requests to do parodies has been Prince?
Did you know that originally, Yankovic envisioned the centerpiece "Beverly Hillbillies" song in the movie UHF (1989) to be a parody of "Let's Go Crazy" and reportedly also wanted to do parodies of "When Doves Cry" and "Purple Rain." After years of asking, Yankovic tried a different tactic: he requested permission to parody one of Prince's videos (but not the song itself); to his surprise, approval was granted. Thus, the video for the Weird Al original song "UHF" includes a segment parodying Prince's bathtub sequence in the video for "When Doves Cry". Incidentally, Weird Al's song "Amish Paradise" contains the lyric "So tonight we're gonna party like it's 1699", a reference to Prince's hit "1999"?
Did you know that another artist to have denied parody permission is Paul McCartney. Yankovic wrote a parody of "Live and Let Die" called "Chicken Pot Pie", but McCartney (a staunch vegetarian) denied permission. As a result, Yankovic has never released the song, but has performed it in concert?
Did you know that he has directed music videos by other artists, notably "Only A Fool" by The Black Crowes, and "The River" by the boy-band Hanson (which was itself a parody of Titanic (1997)?
Did you know that his most frequent question by reporters is "Do you write any original songs?" The irony is that roughly half of his material (since his very first album) is original--sometimes parodying the *style* of an artist, but not based on any existing melody or lyrics?
Did you know that along with his trademark song parodies, most of his albums include a track in which Al and his band perform polka-style (but lyrically faithful) renditions of popular hits (he is an accordionist, after all). Most of these have been eclectic medleys of recent hits, although the "Hot Rocks Polka" (from the UHF (1989) soundtrack) was a collection of The Rolling Stones hits, and the "Alapalooza" album featured a complete polka version of Queen's classic "Bohemian Rhapsody", called "Bohemian Polka"?
Did you know that his offical website, WeirdAl.com, is maintained by his long-time drummer, Jon Schwartz (a.k.a. "Bermuda" Schwartz)?
Did you know that when he asked Nirvana for permission to parody "Smells Like Teen Spirit", their first question was, "Will it be about food?". When Yankovic explained that "Smells Like Nirvana" would be about how nobody could understand their singing, they agreed that it sounded funny and granted permission?
Did you know that hs album covers are frequently parodies as well: Michael Jackson's "Bad" album was spoofed as "Even Worse" (Yankovic even hired the same photo, artwork, and wardrobe team to replicate the cover precisely); Nirvana's "Nevermind" became "Off The Deep End" (with Al replicating the naked baby in the pool photo himself); and the Jurassic Park (1993) soundtrack was turned into "Alapalooza"?
Did you know that his video for "Fat" was filmed in the same parking garage as Michael Jackson's "Bad", and included several of the same actors and dancers. The "fat suit" he wore (which weighed 40 pounds) caused him to lose weight, not only because it made him sweat profusely, but the sight of himself as being grotesquely obese made him want to eat less?
Did you know that he used the money he earned from "My Bologna" to found his own short-lived record label, Placebo Records, which released his second record (an "EP" record with only 4 songs). Copies of the record are hot collector's items?
Did you know that the contract that allows his records to be released by record companies outside the US also grants permission for those companies to use other cover artwork. As a result, some truly bizarre covers have been produced, particularly in Japan and other non-English-speaking areas?
Did you know that during the height of his "Eat It" fame, he spoofed Michael Jackson's Pepsi sponsorship by appearing briefly in a Diet Coke commercial. The spot showed a figure from the back, in a "Thriller"-style jacket, who then turned to reveal it was Al?
Did you know that was offered the opening spot for the European leg of Michael Jackson's "Bad" tour. However, he was involved in the production of his movie UHF (1989) at the time, and respectfully declined?
Did you know that has released his own version of "Peter and the Wolf"; this is a collaboration with electronic-music-pioneer Wendy Carlos?
Did you know that the Star Wars (1977) movies have inspired two of Yankovic's best-known and best-loved parodies: "Yoda," taken from "Lola" and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980); and "The Saga Begins," taken from Don McLean's "American Pie" and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)?
Did you know that his music video collection, 'Weird Al' Yankovic: The Ultimate Video Collection (2003) (V) went Platinum. [October 2005]?
Did you know that he wrote "Yoda" (a parody of The Kinks' "Lola") as far back as 1980, but couldn't release it until 1985 with his 3rd album, "Dare to Be Stupid", because Ray Davies considered the song too personal for parody. However, after the massive success of "Eat It", Davies was convinced that Yankovic could successfully perform the parody while respecting the original?
Did you know that contrary to popular belief, Yankovic is not under any explicit obligation to obtain permission from the composers of the songs he parodies -- courts in the U.S. and other countries have consistently given great latitude to parody, almost always ruling that it is protected under the tenets of free expression and social critique (the exceptions are generally cases where the resulting work violates principles of good taste). Out of respect for his peers in the entertainment industry, however, he has always asked permission, and (the Coolio controversy notwithstanding) has consistently abided by the artists' wishes. While permission isn't mandatory, he *is* obligated to pay royalties for any direct parodies?
Did you know that when he requested permission to parody Dire Straits' song "Money For Nothing", authorization was granted -- with the stipulation that Mark Knopfler (a fan of Weird Al) be allowed to play lead guitar on the song. Thus, "Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies" (featured on the UHF (1989) soundtrack) is one of the few Yankovic songs in which Jim West *doesn't* play lead guitar?
Did you know that he wrote a parody of James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" called "You're Pitiful". After Blunt's record company, Atlantic Records, granted permission, Al recorded the song, but then permission was revoked. Although he abided by the decision (the song isn't on his new album), Al responded by putting the song on his MySpace page for free download, and there's a not-so-subtle snipe at Atlantic Records in the new "White And Nerdy" video?
Did you know that he is of Serbian descent?
Did you know that Bill Mumy was a mutual friend of Al and his wife, and introduced them?
Did you know that another person who turned down Weird Al's request for a parody was Yoko Ono. Al approached Paul McCartney about parodying the Beatles song "Free as a Bird" with "Gee I'm A Nerd". McCartney turned the decision over to Ono, who told Al she didn't feel comfortable with his parodying the song. "Gee I'm a Nerd" has since become a concert-only song (as have many Weird Al songs that never received a full blessing), and Al has said that if he knows before hand that Ono will be in the audience, then out of respect for her they won't play it?
Did you know that shortly after the release of the "Straight Outta Lynwood" album, it was noted that Al's trademark number 27 could be seen in the license plate on the car on the cover. Al revealed that the number 27 is actually a homage to his mother, who was born on Feburary 7, 1923 (or 2/7/23)?
Did you know that the late George Harrison, whom he respected as a singer and songwriter. Yankovic wrote a parody of "Got My Mind Set On You," called "This Song's Just Six Words Long." Harrison even accepted his permission, therefore, it was released as a song off his "Even Worse," album?
Did you know that "Weird Al" Yankovic has been making us laugh for more than 25 years?
Did you know that there's still one accomplishment that Al hasn't achieved yet? -- a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
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