Katharina Buczek
Most people know and love Weird Al Yankovic for his endless wit, dedication to creating hilarious parodies, and, of course, his remarkable accordion skills.
One of his greatest hits, “Amish Paradise,” was a play off of the track “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio and Kylian Mash.
Another fan favorite is “Eat It,” where Weird Al poked fun at Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.”
In fact, over the years, Weird Al– born Alfred Matthew Yankovic– actually created over one hundred and fifty songs, making him one of the most enduring parody writers of all time.
He got his start in 1979 after the song “My Sharona” by The Knack was taking over the charts. And after hearing it, he decided to record a parody in his bathroom since it had such great echo acoustics.
From there, his first track, “My Bologna,” was born– which, after landing on a radio show, successfully earned Weird Al a six-month contract with Capitol Records.
According to Concert Archives, Weird Al has since performed in over one thousand concerts and has earned an estimated net worth of $20 million.
And even though some might think that Weird Al’s reign was left behind last decade, a new Change.org petition is actually gunning to have the star perform at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show.
Instagram; pictured above Weird Al snaps a selfie with a camel
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