You wouldn't think a star as squeaky clean as "Weird" Al Yankovic would have anything
to hide.
And you're absolutely right.
But since there's nothing scandalous about his career, Weird Al has avoided the harsh
scrutiny of the media spotlight, meaning there are plenty of shocking facts about the musician
you may not have heard until now.
"Spend every weekend at the Renaissance Fair.
Got my name on my underwear."
Here's a look at the untold truth of Weird Al Yankovic.
No relation
Given their shared last name, and a mutual gift for the accordion, it'd be reasonable
for anyone to presume that Weird Al Yankovic and "America's Polka King" Frankie Yankovic
are related.
But while they are friends, they aren't actually family.
"Frankie, there's been a British invasion.
There's been a disco invasion.
Do you think the country's ready be a polka invasion?"
"I think it's way overdue Al, to be honest with you."
Weird Al explained in an interview that he's had a lot of trouble getting people to believe
it: "Sometimes after explaining to a reporter for the third time that Frankie wasn't my
dad, I would read the article, and it would say, 'There's obviously a rift in the Yankovic
family — Al won't even admit that Frankie's his father!'"
Academic genius
If Al's unique skill as a parodist had failed to turn into a lifetime gig, there's no question
that he would've been smart enough to make his way in some other field.
Al started kindergarten a year early, skipped second grade, and graduated from high school
in Lynwood, California at 16.
He went on to attend California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where
he received his bachelor's degree in architecture.
We could have had the next Frank Lloyd Wright.
Instead, we got this.
"Oh my, my this here Anakin, maybe Vader someday later, but he's just a small fry."
A debt to Michael
Weird Al is quick to acknowledge that he effectively owes his career to Michael Jackson, first
for letting him parody "Beat It" as "Eat It," and then for letting him transform "Bad" into
"Fat."
"He was always a great sport and had a terrific sense of humor.
In fact, when we did the "Fat" video, that was actually Michael Jackson's subway set
that was the one he used for his Moonwalker longform video, so he was always accommodating
and a fan of my work."
But Jackson also helped Al by not letting him parody one of his songs.
He wanted to turn "Black or White" into "Snack All Night," because of course that's what
he'd call it.
But Jackson refused; Weird Al told Rolling Stone that Jackson "thought [it] was more
of a message song, and he didn't feel as comfortable with a parody of that one."
Instead, Al decided to parody a new band called Nirvana.
The resulting hit, "Smells Like Nirvana," legitimized Al's act as more than just a one-note
Michael Jackson parody.
(Smells Like Nirvana by Weird Al playing)
Tofu pot pie?
Not every artist has been cool with Al parodying their tunes.
For instance, Paul McCartney didn't want Al to turn "Live and Let Die" into "Chicken Pot
Pie."
"Paul didn't want me to do it, because he's a strict vegetarian, and he didn't want a
parody that condoned the consumption of animal flesh.
That was the whole thing He said, you can do anything else you want—you can do tofu
pot pie!"
But it was Prince who was most famous for turning down Al's requests, not once, but
several times.
Every single time, in fact.
Al told People magazine that "I had a parody of 'Let's Go Crazy' that was about The Beverly
Hillbillies.
And I wanted to do something funny with 'When Doves Cry,' and 'Kiss.'
For '1999,' I wanted to do an infomercial where you could get anything you wanted by
dialing 1-800-something-1999."
Oh, what might have been.
Double "Jeopardy!"
When Al released his parody of The Greg Kihn Band's "Jeopardy," the game show had been
absent from the airwaves for half a decade.
The series was created by Merv Griffin, and after Al performed "I Lost on Jeopardy" on
Griffin's long-running talk show, the host gushed over the song's massive influence.
"Al, Al, what you've done for me, I can't tell you.
With the great success of that record, Jeopardy's coming back in September of this year."
Not a bad outcome for a guy who couldn't win a TV gameshow.
"Losers, in other words."
Honorary Beach Boy
Legendary musician Brian Wilson's Sweet Insanity album abruptly disappeared from Warner Brothers'
1991 release schedule when the master tapes were supposedly stolen.
Among the material lost: "Let's Stay Together," featuring none other than Weird Al on accordion.
Wilson didn't think the tapes being stolen was a particularly big loss.
He told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that "We thought that maybe people wouldn't like
it, so we junked it."
Judging by Weird Al's other Beach Boys inspired work, that seems like a big mistake.
"Woo-woo-woo-woo!
Don't you know you gotta flow, flow, flow pancreatic juice!"
Working without a net
Given how much it costs to insure actors nowadays, it's unlikely that we'll see a new version
of Circus of the Stars anytime soon.
But the former prime-time staple used to be a thrilling bit of fun for viewers, particularly
when the acts involved some danger.
"This is a seriously dangerous act.
Why you?"
"Well I know they originally wanted Oprah Windrey to do it, but I guess she was busy
tonight or something and I was a last minute replacement."
Al's act certainly qualifies: he sat, and occasionally even stood, atop a sway pole
55 feet in the air, with no safety net below him.
Al revealed on this website that "[The stunt] was not trick photography.
My manager says if he gets any more offers for me to be on Circus of the Stars, he's
not going to tell me about them."
Yikes.
Tragic loss
Stories don't get much sadder than the one about the death of Al's parents.
On April 9, 2004, Nick and Mary Yankovic — aged 86 and 81, respectively — were found dead
in their home, having accidentally succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning after starting
a fire in the fireplace with the flue closed.
Al's parents were familiar to his fans, having appeared in his mockumentary, The Compleat
Al, as well as in his episode of VH-1's Behind the Music, so the news of their death was
startling and saddening.
No one, however, was more shocked and devastated than Al himself, who inspired more than a
few tears with his thoughtful statement about his parents' life and death.
He's a director
When you've done as many videos as Al has, it makes sense you'd learn a few things about
the directorial process, which may be why he decided to step behind the camera in 1986.
Since then, Al has directed 14 videos for himself, including "Amish Paradise," "White
& Nerdy," and "Tacky," not to mention videos for musical acts ranging from frequent collaborator
Ben Folds to Hanson.
Weird Al and Hanson?
Not even close to the weirdest thing Al has done.
"Bantha milk, so creamy and blue, squeezed from a space yak, so healthy for you, hey!"
The number 27
Since his career began in earnest in the '80s, Al has had a habit of incorporating the number
27 into his videos, his album covers, and even his lyrics.
(Hardware Store by Weird Al playing)
So is the number 27 significant at all, Al?
"What are you doing?"
"This means something."
Al explained it all in an interview: "I thought it was fairly obvious, but if you need me
to explain it … It's the cube root of 19,683!"
Oh.
Well.
That explains it.
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