Weird Al Yankovic Storytime: How He Made His Biggest Hits

Where were you the first time you heard “My Bologna” or “Like a Surgeon”? Weird Al Yankovic songs were (and still are) a phenomenon of pop culture. Rarely has an accordion player been the focus of so much buzz. And, he has maintained this excitement for his work over 4 decades now. If you’ve ever wanted to know how he recorded some of his biggest hits or hear the stories behind how his parody songs were received by their original performers then you’re not alone. Stick around for this in-depth look at the making of some of the most iconic comedy songs of all time- as told by Weird Al himself.

Weird Al has been playing accordion since just after his 7th birthday. But, he began his epic music career in 1979, recording an early version of “My Bologna” in the bathroom at his college where he was studying architecture. He said, “I wasn’t passionate about that. I didn’t really want to be an architect.” After this Knacks parody of “My Sharona” his path to fame was fairly short, as his newly-minted entertainment parody pop had everyone singing along.

To license his first hit “My Bologna” the record company paid him $500 dollars. When he wanted to later re-record the song in a studio they charged him $1,000 which just shows how complicated the music business really is.

But, the song that really catapulted him into the radios and TVs of nearly every home was “Eat It”. He theorized that this riff on the famous Michael Jackson song “Beat It” became so popular because Jackson himself was so popular. It was only after the “Eat It” video was released that people on the street started to recognize him wherever he went. Incidentally the choreographer for the “Beat It” video also did Yankovic’s “Eat It” video, one of many creative crossovers he’s had with the talent behind the originals over the years.

For the “Smells Like Nirvana” video they used the same sound stage and many of the same actors and actresses who appeared in the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video. And, they were able to use the same set as the Michael Jackson “Bad” video, which shows how much many of the original artists either supported (or at least didn’t mind) his comedic copies.

While parodies are his bread and butter, Weird Al also is known for his pastiches and medleys of famous songs- done polka style of course. He has brought pop music and accordion together in so many unexpected ways, earning himself 5 Grammy awards over the years.

You can watch Weird Al recount the stories behind some of his biggest songs in the video below.