‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Biography

“Weird Al” Yankovic has made a career out of poking fun at pop musicians. Thanks to radio host Dr. Demento, Yankovic broke into the novelty song business in 1979 with “My Bologna,” a send-up of The Knack’s tune “My Sharona.” Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Yankovic and his accordion became a staple of MTV as he produced elaborate music video parodies of pop icons such as Madonna, Michael Jackson and Puff Daddy.

Yankovic has a loyal following and a solid hold on his position as the best-selling novelty song producer of all time. His Star Wars parody, “The Saga Begins” (to the tune of Don McClean’s “American Pie”) was widely distributed on the Internet and became a video favorite on MTV at the time of the release of George Lucas‘s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999). Yankovic’s albums include In 3-D (1984, with the hit single “I Lost On Jeopardy”), Dare To Be Stupid (1985), Running With Scissors (1999), and the Grammy-winning Poodle Hat (2003). His album Straight Outta Lynnwood (2006) featured one of his biggest hits in years, “White & Nerdy,” a parody of the Chamillionaire song “Ridin’.”