Bad Hair Day is the ninth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on March 12, 1996. It was Yankovic's last studio album for the Scotti Brothers label before it was purchased by Volcano Entertainment in 1999. The album produced an array of hit comedy singles; lead single "Amish Paradise", which lampoons both Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and the Amish lifestyle, charted at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Gump", which parodies "Lump" by the Presidents of the United States of America and the movie Forrest Gump, reached at No. 102.
Dare to Be Stupid is the third studio album by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 18, 1985. The album was one of many Yankovic records produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between August 1984 and March 1985, the album was Yankovic's first studio album released following the success of 1984's In 3-D, which included the Top 40 single "Eat It".
"Amish Paradise" is a 1996 single by satirist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the hip hop song "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio featuring L.V.. Featured on the album Bad Hair Day, it turns the original "Gangsta's Paradise", in which the narrator laments his dangerous way of life, on its head by presenting an Amish man praising his relatively plain and uncomplicated existence.
Polka Party! is the fourth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on October 21, 1986. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between April and September 1986, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his successful 1985 release, Dare to Be Stupid. The album's lead single, "Living With a Hernia", failed to chart.
"Headline News" is a parody song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the Crash Test Dummies' 1993 hit "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". It was released as the lead-off single for the compilation box set Permanent Record: Al in the Box on September 27, 1994. The song was written after Yankovic's label insisted he craft a new song to promote the album; Yankovic in turn combined the music of the Crash Test Dummies' song with three news stories that were popular in late 1993 and early 1994.
"Smells Like Nirvana" is a song parody written and performed by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. A parody of Nirvana's song "Smells Like Teen Spirit", it was released as the lead single from Yankovic's Off the Deep End album in April 1992. "Smells Like Nirvana" was written during a three-year career low for Yankovic after the financial failure of his film UHF, but captured the quickly-rising popularity of grunge and Nirvana's success. The song was written to ridicule the fact that many people could hardly understand Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain's lyrics in the original song. After being unable to contact Nirvana conventionally, Yankovic called Cobain while the band was on the set of Saturday Night Live, where Cobain quickly gave permission to record the parody.
"Another One Rides the Bus" is a 1981 parody of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" by American comedy musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. The song describes a person riding in a crowded public bus. It was recorded live on September 14, 1980, on the Dr. Demento Show, hosted by Barret "Dr. Demento" Hansen. Accompanying Yankovic was Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, who would go on to be the parody artist's long-time drummer.
The Food Album is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 22, 1993, by Scotti Brothers Records. The release features ten of Yankovic's song parodies, all of which pertain to food. A similar album, The TV Album, which features songs entirely about television, would be released two years later.
"Christmas at Ground Zero" is an original song by "Weird Al" Yankovic, the tenth and final track on his 1986 album, Polka Party! and the final single from the album, released just in time for the 1986 Christmas season. The song is a style parody of Phil Spector-produced Christmas songs.
Greatest Hits Volume II is a compilation album of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic, featuring his best known songs that did not appear on "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits, plus the new single "Headline News" which had first appeared on the box set Permanent Record: Al In The Box, released a month prior. The compilation album was met with mostly positive critical reviews, and it managed to chart on the Billboard 200 at number 198. However, it ranks as one of Yankovic's least-selling records.
Permanent Record: Al in the Box is a four disc compilation box set of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on September 27, 1994. The album, released by Scotti Brothers Records so that the label could make monetary projections for the fiscal year, collects Yankovic's favorite songs from his first eight studio albums. The collection also includes alternate versions of "My Bologna", "Happy Birthday", "UHF" and the new single, "Headline News", a parody of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies. It peaked at number 104 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits is a compilation album of parody and original songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic, featuring his best known songs from his first five studio albums, all of which were released in the 1980s. "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits was met with mostly positive reviews from critics, with Heather Phrase of AllMusic noting that it provided a good overview of the early part of Yankovic's career. Despite this, the album failed to chart upon release, and ranks as one of Yankovic's lowest-selling records.
"Like a Surgeon" is a song recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic that appears as the opening track on his third studio album, Dare to Be Stupid (1985). It was released as the album's second single on June 4, 1985, by Scotti Brothers Records. It was issued as a 7", 12", and picture disc. A parody of the pop song "Like a Virgin" by Madonna, its lyrics describe a hospital environment, with the same melody as Madonna's original. The track was written by Yankovic, Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, the latter two are credited as co-writers due to the "Like a Virgin" sample. Madonna came up with the parody's title, an act Yankovic generally discourages. Rick Derringer served as the executive producer.
"Living with a Hernia" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. The song is a parody of "Living in America" by James Brown, from the film Rocky IV. The song mostly describes the terrible "aggravation" and "back pain" that a hernia causes. The narrator himself claims to be suffering from a hernia, and that he's "Got to have an operation".
"You Don't Love Me Anymore" is a song by American recording artist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released as the second single from his seventh studio album Off the Deep End on June 19, 1992. While much of his musical output consists of parodies of other artists' material, "You Don't Love Me Anymore" is an original composition written and produced by Yankovic. A soft acoustic ballad in a style parody of James Taylor and Nicolette Larson, the song features darkly humorous lyrics about a relationship between Yankovic and an unnamed woman that has faltered to the point that she repeatedly attempts to kill him, which he has only just begun to notice.
"Jurassic Park" is a parody of Richard Harris's version of Jimmy Webb's song "MacArthur Park", written and performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic; it was released both as a single and as part of Yankovic's Alapalooza album in October 1993. "Jurassic Park" was penned by Yankovic after he remembered the enjoyment he had when he combined a classic rock track with a recent movie theme with his 1985 song "Yoda". Yankovic decided to combine the plot of the recent movie Jurassic Park—a film about a park on a fictional island where geneticists have succeeded in cloning dinosaurs—with the classic Richard Harris track "MacArthur Park".
"Yoda" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic from his third album, Dare to Be Stupid (1985). It is a parody of the song "Lola" by the Kinks. Inspired by the events of the movie The Empire Strikes Back, the song is told from the point of view of Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker and concerns his dealings with Master Yoda on the planet Dagobah. The song was initially written and recorded in 1980, during the original release of The Empire Strikes Back and achieved success on The Dr. Demento Show; however, securing permission from both Star Wars creator George Lucas and "Lola" songwriter Ray Davies delayed the physical release of the song for about five years.
The discography of American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, actor and parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic consists of fourteen studio albums, one soundtrack album, nine compilation albums, eleven video albums, two extended plays, two box sets, forty-six singles and fifty-four music videos. Since the debut of his first comedy song in 1976, he has sold more than 12 million albums—more than any other comedy act in history—recorded more than 150 parody and original songs, and performed more than 1,000 live shows. His works have earned him five Grammy Awards among sixteen nominations, along with several gold and platinum record certifications in the United States. Yankovic's first single, "My Bologna", was released in 1979, and he made his chart debut two years later with his second single, "Another One Rides the Bus", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. His self-titled debut studio album was released on Scotti Brothers Records on May 3, 1983, peaking at number 16 on the US Billboard 200 and being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Ricky", the album's third single, became his first single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 64.
Another One Rides the Bus is the debut extended play (EP) by American parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released in 1981 by Placebo Records. The title song is a parody of English rock band Queen's 1980 single "Another One Bites the Dust". The EP also features three other songs, all of which are original recordings. All four songs on Another One Rides the Bus later appeared on Yankovic's eponymous debut studio album; the three original songs were re-recorded for the album, while the title song is the same version that appears on the EP.
Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic is a 15-album box set by American comedy musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on November 24, 2017. Squeeze Box marks Yankovic's second box set since 1994's Permanent Record: Al in the Box.
