Who is Weird Al Yankovic? Everything You Need to Know

A day before his sixth birthday, his parents enrolled young Alfred at a local music school. Alfred learnt to play the accordion there. A salesman belonging to the school had knocked on their door to sell music classes, and Alfred’s parents chose accordion over guitar because they believed it would revolutionize rock music.

Al started taking music lessons when he was 7 years old. With time, he fell in love with rock music. He was a fan of performers such as Elton John, Allan Sherman, and Spike Jones.

He attended the ‘Lynwood High School,’ from where he graduated as a valedictorian in 1975. He earned a degree in architecture from the ‘California Polytechnic State University’ in San Luis Obispo.

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Early Career

In 1976, comedian and radio personality Dr. Demento visited Yankovic’s school, where the 16-year-old Alfred gifted him his home-made CD of original and parody songs. His song ‘Belvedere Cruisin’’ was aired on Demento’s comedy radio show.

While in college, Yankovic worked as a disc jockey at the campus’ radio station. He soon earned the nickname “Weird Al,” and later adopted it as his professional nickname. In 1978, he released his first parody, ‘Take Me Down,’ which mocked the landmarks near the university.

In 1979, Yankovic recorded a parody of the hugely popular song ‘My Sharona’ by ‘The Knack’ and called it ‘My Bologna.’ Not only did it become a hit on Dr. Demento’s radio show but it was also released as a satire single by the label ‘Capitol Records.’

After graduating from college in 1980, Yankovic released ‘Another One Rides the Bus,’ a parody of the smash hit ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by ‘Queen.’ His parody became an instant hit and was followed by ‘I Love Rocky Road,’ a parody of ‘I Love Rock’ n Roll’ by ‘Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.’ The song rocked the ‘Top 40 Radio’ chart.

The success of ‘I Love Rocky Road’ led him to sign with ‘Scotti Brothers Records’ that released his debut album ‘“Weird Al” Yankovic’ in 1983.

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Career

His parody, ‘Ricky’, was based on Toni Basil’s hit ‘Mickey’ and was an ode to ‘I Love Lucy.’

He released his second album, ‘“Weird Al” Yankovic in 3-D,’ in 1984. It contained the single ‘Eat It,' his parody of Michael Jackson’s cult hit ‘Beat It.’ The song was a big commercial breakthrough of his career.

'Eat It’ became hugely popular on ‘MTV’ and also remained Yankovic’s highest-charting single till the release of ‘White & Nerdy’ in 2006.

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In 1986, he released ‘Dare to Be Stupid,’ which was the first-ever comedy record to be released in the CD format. ‘Like a Surgeon,’ a parody based on Madonna’s hit ‘Like a Virgin,’ was a part of this “gold” album.

Everyone questioned Yankovic’s music career after his next album ‘Polka Party!’ failed to impress his fans. In 1988, he returned with a “platinum” album, ‘Even Worse,’ and answered everyone who had doubted his skills as a musician.

The first song of the album ‘Even Worse,’ ‘Fat,’ was a parody of Michael Jackson’s song ‘Bad.’ The music video of ‘Fat’ was shot in the same subway that was featured in the video of Michael’s hit ‘Bad’.

In 1992, he released ‘Off the Deep End,’ which featured ‘Smells Like Nirvana,’ a parody of ‘Nirvana’s hit single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ His 1993 album ‘Bad Hair Day’ featured the single ‘Amish Paradise,’ a parody of Coolio’s ‘Gangsta’s Paradise.’ This became his most controversial parody ever, with Coolio claiming that he had never granted Alfred the permission to record a parody of the song.

His other albums are ‘Running with Scissors’ (1999); ‘Poodle Hat’ (2003); ‘Straight Outta Lynwood’ (2006) that featured ‘White & Nerdy,’ a parody of Chamillionaire’s ‘Ridin’’; and ‘Alpocalypse' (2011).

In 2014, he released his 14th studio album, ‘Mandatory Fun,’ which debuted at the top spot on the ‘Billboard Top 200’ charts. It was the first comedy album ever to debut at number one on the chart.

The song ‘Word Crimes’ from the album became his fourth ‘Top 40’ single’ and made him the third artist, after Michael Jackson and Madonna, to have a ‘Top 40’ single since the 1980s.

In 2018, he released a song called ‘The Hamilton Polka Online,’ a medley inspired by the musical ‘Hamilton.’ It is the first polka song to find a place on the ‘Billboard Digital Songs Sales Chart.’

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Other Major Works

In 1985, he co-wrote and starred in a mockumentary called ‘The Compleat Al,’ based on his own life. Around the same time, his autobiography, ‘The Authorized Al,’ was published.

In 1988, he narrated for Sergei Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf.’ In 1989, he wrote and starred in the film ‘UHF,’ which later became a video hit.

In 1997, he hosted the ‘Weird Al Show’ on ‘CBS.’ He also appeared on TV shows such as ‘How I Met Your Mother’ (2011), ‘30 Rock’ (2012), and ‘Drunk History’ (2014).

He also wrote two children’s books, namely, ‘When I Grow Up’ (2011) and ‘My New Teacher and Me’ (2013). In 2015, he became the cover boy of ‘MAD’ magazine.

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Awards & Achievements

Yankovic is a four-time ‘Grammy’ winner. He won the prestigious award for ‘Eat It’ (1985), ‘Fat’ (1989), ‘Poodle Hat’ (2004), and ‘Mandatory Fun’ (2015).

In 2017, an announcement stated that Yankovic would have his own “star” on the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ in 2018.

Personal Life

Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001. The couple has a daughter, Nina, who was born in 2003.

He lives in Los Angeles with his family. He has never been addicted to drugs, alcohol, or tobacco.

2019	Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package	Winner
2015	Best Comedy Album	Winner
2004	Best Comedy Album	Winner
1989	Best Concept Music Video	Weird Al Yankovic: Fat (1988)
1985	Best Comedy Recording	Winner

Weird Al Yankovic Biography