Weird Al Yankovic

He lives in Los Angeles with his family. He has never been addicted to drugs, alcohol, or tobacco.

Alfred Matthew Yankovic was born on October 23, 1959, in Downey, California, to Mary Elizabeth and Nick Yankovic. He spent his childhood in Lynwood.

His father was of Yugoslavian descent and had moved to California after serving in ‘World War II.’ His mother was half Italian and half English.

A day before his sixth birthday, his parents enrolled young Alfred at a local music school. Alfred learnt to play the accordion there. A salesman belonging to the school had knocked on their door to sell music classes, and Alfred’s parents chose accordion over guitar because they believed it would revolutionize rock music.

Al started taking music lessons when he was 7 years old. With time, he fell in love with rock music. He was a fan of performers such as Elton John, Allan Sherman, and Spike Jones.

He attended the ‘Lynwood High School,’ from where he graduated as a valedictorian in 1975. He earned a degree in architecture from the ‘California Polytechnic State University’ in San Luis Obispo.

In 1976, comedian and radio personality Dr. Demento visited Yankovic’s school, where the 16-year-old Alfred gifted him his home-made CD of original and parody songs. His song ‘Belvedere Cruisin’’ was aired on Demento’s comedy radio show.

While in college, Yankovic worked as a disc jockey at the campus’ radio station. He soon earned the nickname “Weird Al,” and later adopted it as his professional nickname. In 1978, he released his first parody, ‘Take Me Down,’ which mocked the landmarks near the university.

In 1979, Yankovic recorded a parody of the hugely popular song ‘My Sharona’ by ‘The Knack’ and called it ‘My Bologna.’ Not only did it become a hit on Dr. Demento’s radio show but it was also released as a satire single by the label ‘Capitol Records.’

After graduating from college in 1980, Yankovic released ‘Another One Rides the Bus,’ a parody of the smash hit ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by ‘Queen.’ His parody became an instant hit and was followed by ‘I Love Rocky Road,’ a parody of ‘I Love Rock’ n Roll’ by ‘Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.’ The song rocked the ‘Top 40 Radio’ chart.

The success of ‘I Love Rocky Road’ led him to sign with ‘Scotti Brothers Records’ that released his debut album ‘“Weird Al” Yankovic’ in 1983.

His parody, ‘Ricky’, was based on Toni Basil’s hit ‘Mickey’ and was an ode to ‘I Love Lucy.’

He released his second album, ‘“Weird Al” Yankovic in 3-D,’ in 1984. It contained the single ‘Eat It,' his parody of Michael Jackson’s cult hit ‘Beat It.’ The song was a big commercial breakthrough of his career.

'Eat It’ became hugely popular on ‘MTV’ and also remained Yankovic’s highest-charting single till the release of ‘White & Nerdy’ in 2006.

In 1986, he released ‘Dare to Be Stupid,’ which was the first-ever comedy record to be released in the CD format. ‘Like a Surgeon,’ a parody based on Madonna’s hit ‘Like a Virgin,’ was a part of this “gold” album.

Everyone questioned Yankovic’s music career after his next album ‘Polka Party!’ failed to impress his fans. In 1988, he returned with a “platinum” album, ‘Even Worse,’ and answered everyone who had doubted his skills as a musician.