The medleys are composed of various popular songs, each one reinterpreted as a polka (generally an instrumentation of accordion, banjo, tuba, clarinet, and mutedbrass interspersed with sound effects) with the choruses or memorable lines of various songs juxtaposed for humorous effect and profane lyrics are covered with cartoon sound effects. Yankovic has been known to say that converting these songs to polka was "...the way God intended".[2] Yankovic said that the medleys were something he did "even before I had a record deal" in live performances, and that many of the songs are included due to not receiving a full parody version - "if there's a song that I think is really ripe for parody but I just can't think of a clever enough idea, sometimes it'll end up in the polka medley."[3] Regarding their popularity, Yankovic has said, "At this point, it's sort of mandatory for me to do a polka medley. Fans would be rioting in the streets, I think, if I didn't do a polka medley."[2] Yankovic has always asked permission from every artist whose songs compose a medley due to royalties issues.[4] He acknowledged some influence of Spike Jones in the medleys, such as the sound effects.[5]
Four of Yankovic's polka medleys—"Hooked on Polkas", "Polka Power!", "The Hamilton Polka", and "Polkamania!" —have been released as singles (either in international markets or domestically). "Polka Your Eyes Out" and "Polkas on 45" were also the only polkas to appear on a greatest hits album while "Polka Face" and "Polkamania!" are the only polkas to have official videos released for them that are not clips of the original songs' music videos.
In each medley, royalties are paid out to original songwriters according to the percentage of the medley directly attributable to them. What remains is then listed as "Ear Booker Polka" or various other titles so that it may be attributed to Yankovic himself.[6]
"Polkas on 45" is Yankovic's first recorded polka medley.[1] It appears on his second album, In 3-D. This and "The Hot Rocks Polka" are Yankovic's only polka medleys to focus on popular rock songs from the 1960s and 1970s rather than contemporary songs, though "Polkas on 45" includes some of the latter (e.g. Talking Heads and The Police). The song title is a take on the medley-releasing novelty band Stars on 45 and their self-titled 1981 single.
"Hooked on Polkas" is the second polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appeared on his third album, Dare to Be Stupid. The song was released as a single in Japan.
Its title is a reference to the 1981 record Hooked on Classics, in which very recognizable extracts from classical music pieces were played over a continuous, more disco-style beat.[10]
"Bohemian Polka" is a cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," done in Yankovic's traditional polka style. Though it primarily consists of a single song in its entirety, Yankovic's official website has categorized "Bohemian Polka" as a polka medley.[13]
"The Alternative Polka" is the seventh polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his 1996 album, Bad Hair Day. The medley primarily consists of alternative rock songs, with the title being a reference to the genre.
"The Alternative Polka" was originally going to have an interpretation of the Weezer song "Buddy Holly" between "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" and "My Friends". However, Rivers Cuomo decided against the idea at the last minute, forcing Yankovic to edit the song out of the medley. Weezer, however, was thanked in the liner notes since the layout had been prepared beforehand.[14] Weezer later allowed Yankovic to include their hit "Beverly Hills" in the polka medley from Straight Outta Lynwood. On August 22, 2009, Yankovic released the "unmixed, physically-deleted-from-the-master-tape 'Buddy Holly' polka" on Twitter and later on YouTube.[15][16][17]
"Polkarama!" was used as the set opener for Yankovic's 2007-08 Straight Outta Lynwood tour.[19]
Yankovic initially wanted to include a verse of "Photograph" by Nickelback, and even got the band's permission. However, since he was unable "to find a way to incorporate the song into 'Polkarama' where it didn't sound wedged in or tacked on," Yankovic decided not to use it, but still thanked Nickelback in the liner notes for the album.[20]
"Polka Face" is the eleventh Weird Al polka medley. It was performed in concert in 2010, and was released on the 2011 album Alpocalypse. The medley consists of then-recent dance-pop, hip hop, and R&B songs. This was the last polka to feature Warren Leuning on the trumpet before his death in 2012.
The following songs are contained in the medley:[21]
On September 25, 2011, Comedy Central's website Jokes.com premiered an animated music video for this polka medley.[22] The video features a distinctive animation style for each of the segments of the parody. Some are Flash-animated ("Right Round", "Baby", "Blame It", "Break Your Heart", and "I Kissed a Girl"), created by Wachtenheim/Marianetti Animation of TV Funhouse. Others contain cut-out ("Fireflies"), hand-drawn ("Down"), stop-motion ("Womanizer"), and experimental scribbling animation ("Replay").
"The Hamilton Polka" is the thirteenth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released on March 1, 2018, as a digital single and is composed primarily of songs from the Broadway musicalHamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and based on the life of Alexander Hamilton.[27] The song was released as part of Miranda's "Hamildrop" series.[28]
"Polkamania!" is the fourteenth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released on July 19, 2024.[29] On the same day, an animated music video was premiered in the same style of the music video for "Polka Face" featuring animations by Bill Plympton, Vivienne Medrano, Liam Lynch, Victor Yerrid, Cyriak, Wachtenheim/Marianetti Animation, and Ryan Krzak (notable for his popular, fan-made animated music videos for other "Weird Al" songs), as well as numerous other artists.[30] The medley consists of number-one Billboard Hot 100 hits in the ten years since Yankovic released Mandatory Fun.[31]
According to an interview, Yankovic wanted to include a verse of "Kill Bill" by SZA, but received no response from her.[32] The lyrics, though, were mistakenly left in on Apple Music between "Thank U, Next" and "Shake It Off".
Another song considered was "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter, but the song was left out due to not hitting number one while Yankovic was working on the medley.[33]
According to Yankovic's drummer, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, a U2 polka was planned for Even Worse, but was left off the album due to licensing issues.[35]
In 1991, Yankovic appeared on an episode of FOX'sThe Sunday Comics performing a polka medley featuring songs from "Polkas on 45" and "Polka Your Eyes Out". It included "Cradle of Love", "Tom's Diner", "Love Shack", "Clarinet Polka", "Pump Up The Jam", "Hey Jude", "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", "Hey Joe", "Burning Down the House", "The Humpty Dance", "Cherry Pie", "Miss You Much", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", and "My Generation".
In 1995, Al performed accordion and the backing vocal part on "Who Stole the Kishka?" on one of Frankie Yankovic's final records, Songs of the Polka King, Vol. 1.
Yankovic's polka medleys are often well-received by fans, with some calling them "a staple of his albums" and "often featured as a highlight for fans of his unique musical style and comedic sensibilities".[37] However some polka musicians such as The Dreadnoughts have criticized them, saying that they "unwittingly [teach] the next two generations that polka is just a mashup comedy style".[38]
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