Alfred Yankovic (he used the nickname Weird Al for college radio gigs, and it stuck) has had a career longer than many of the musicians whose songs he’s parodied, and that amazes him. “I never thought I’d be able to make a living doing exactly the things I love,” he says. Yankovic, 54, who lives in the Hollywood Hills with his wife and 11-year-old daughter, tells Joel Keller, “It seems like with each album, a new generation discovers me.”
Click here to view Weird Al’s classic parody videos.
PARADE: Your latest album, Mandatory Fun, was your first No. 1 on the Billboard 200. How did that feel? I never dreamed it was possible. There’s always been kind of a glass ceiling for comedy albums; the last No. 1 was Allan Sherman in 1963 [with My Son, the Nut]. People who were my fans in the ’80s are now bringing their kids along, so I’m both a nostalgia act and a contemporary act!
In 1979, you were in college listening to “My Sharona,” and you turned it into “My Bologna.” Where does an idea like that come from? It’s just the way my brain is wired. I mean, I can certainly listen to music without automatically changing the words around, but ever since I was a child, I’ve twisted lyrics to amuse my friends. It’s a phase I never grew out of.
What was one song parody you didn’t get to do? I was going back to the well of Michael Jackson a third time after doing “Eat It” and “Fat”; I was getting kind of desperate for a hit. I said, “How about I do a parody of ‘Black or White’ called ‘Snack All Night’?” Another food-related Michael Jackson song—that’s the very definition of desperation. And he said no, because “Black or White” was too close to him, or had too much social significance. But I like to think he was just preventing me from making a bad decision, because then I said, “Okay, I’ll do a parody of this Nirvana group.” And “Smells Like Nirvana” wound up reinvigorating my career.
Do you get song ideas from your daughter, Nina? Sometimes I ask her if a song is popular enough to parody. She gave me the thumbs up on Iggy Azalea. [Weird Al’s take on her hit “Fancy” is called “Handy.”] She lets us know exactly when things start going viral on the schoolyard.
How about releasing a megamix of all your polka medleys? I’ve seen that done online. It’s pretty overwhelming. I don’t know if it’s healthy to listen to that much polka in one stretch.
What do you do on Sundays? Generally, I get up and pour myself a bowl of cereal with some soy milk on it. I quickly check the Internet. I go to church, and then I might pick up a burrito or food for the whole family. Maybe we’ll go to the park, watch a movie on TV, or camp out in the backyard.
What’s the secret to your fantastic curly hair? I shampoo and condition it every once in a while. Mostly I just make sure to comb through it now and then, or else I’d have full-on dreadlocks in no time.
You have all your old Hawaiian shirts and other memorabilia. Have you ever thought of curating that stuff in a museum? I don’t think that would fly with my wife. She’s always trying to curb my hoarder tendencies. She says, “This isn’t going to work in your museum. Just get rid of it.”
SOURCE: PARADE
