"Weird Al" Yankovic (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Weird Al" Yankovic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic | |||||
| Released | April 26, 1983 | ||||
| Recorded | Between 1979 and 1983 (Some songs were re-recorded from their original release.) | ||||
| Genre | Comedy | ||||
| Length | 32:59 | ||||
| Label | Scotti Brothers | ||||
| Producer | Rick Derringer | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| "Weird Al" Yankovic chronology | |||||
|
|||||
| Singles from "Weird Al" Yankovic | |||||
|
|||||
"Weird Al" Yankovic is the eponymous debut album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1983. Unlike later albums, all the songs on this album were performed on accordion, without an attempt to duplicate the original song's orchestration.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
| Track | Title | Length | (Style) Parody of | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Ricky" | 2:36 | "Mickey" by Toni Basil | A tribute to I Love Lucy. This was the first Al song to have a music video. |
| 2 | "Gotta Boogie" | 2:14 | "Disco" genre parody | A song where the term "Gotta Boogie" is used to refer to mucus. |
| 3 | "I Love Rocky Road" | 2:36 | "I Love Rock 'N Roll" by Joan Jett | About a man's addiction to the flavor of ice cream, Rocky road. |
| 4 | "Buckingham Blues" | 3:13 | Generic Blues genre parody (Originally written as a parody of John Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane"[citation needed]) | A song that ironically laments how "bad" Prince Charles and Princess Diana have it as British royalty, while actually highlighting all the perks of their status. |
| 5 | "Happy Birthday" | 2:28 | Style parody of "The Funky Western Civilization" by Tonio K.[citation needed] | A morbid birthday song about the doom of the human race, set to up-tempo, high-energy rock beat. |
| 6 | "Stop Draggin' My Car Around" | 3:16 | "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty | A song in which a car that is valued by the narrator is towed. |
| 7 | "My Bologna" | 2:01 | "My Sharona" by The Knack | A song in which the narrator talks about his obsession with bologna. |
| 8 | "The Check's In The Mail" | 3:13 | Original | Song about general social acceptable lies almost everyone has told or dealt with. |
| 9 | "Another One Rides the Bus" | 2:40 | "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen | About a crowded bus. Al's most minimal parody. The song was recorded live on the Dr. Demento Radio show in the studio bathroom. It was also sung by Al on his first national television appearance on "The Tomorrow Show". |
| 10 | "I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead" | 3:39 | Original | The song makes fun of 80's yuppie fads. |
| 11 | "Such a Groovy Guy" | 3:02 | Original | The very pretentious singer talks about how hip and groovy he is and then gets into his enjoyment of some very silly, bizarre fetishes. At the end of the song, we realize his girl is leaving, but he doesn't understand why because, after all, he's "such a groovy guy." |
| 12 | "Mr. Frump In The Iron Lung" | 1:54 | Style parody of "Alice's Restaurant" by Arlo Guthrie[citation needed] | The singer has a friend in the hospital dying of lung cancer, and takes the iron lung's noises as statements from the patient. |
[edit] Cover
- The cover is a parody of the Frank Zappa Over-night Sensation album cover. All the things on the cover reference the songs on the album. They include:
- "Ricky" - The TV to the right of his bed says "I Love Lucy".
- "Gotta Boogie" - Disco ball is in the top righthand corner.
- "I Love Rocky Road" - The dresser in the bottom righthand corner has a sticker that reads "I ♥ ROCKY ROAD", a large tub of ice cream is seen on the dresser, and a poster in the background shows Joan Jett holding two ice cream cones.
- "Buckingham Blues" - There is an issue of Time Magazine on the floor with Charles' and Diana's photo on the cover. Behind Al's nightstand there is a double-decker bus and Big Ben on a poster. Also Polo equipment can be seen leaning against the nightstand.
- "Happy Birthday" - Below the left side of his bed on the floor there is a party hat and a piece of cake. Also there are beer cans in various locations in the room referring to a line in the song.
- "Stop Draggin' My Car Around" - Two hands and a steering wheel are coming out from under his bed.
- "My Bologna" - In the bottom righthand corner of his bed, there is bologna hanging over the end of his bed as well as bologna in the lower edge of the cover. A package of Oscar Mayer bologna is also seen hanging on the closet door.
- "The Check's In The Mail" - Behind the TV, there is a mailbox.
- "Another One Rides The Bus" - Below the left side of his bed on the floor there is a miniature bus, as well as a Queen poster to the left of his head.
- "I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead" - A Big Mac is seen on the bed, a reference to one of the lines in the song.
- "Such A Groovy Guy" - Sunglasses are seen on the nightstand, a reference to one of the lines in the song.
- "Mr. Frump In The Iron Lung" - On the right side of his bed it shows a head (perhaps Mr. Frump's) in an iron lung.
[edit] Personnel
- "Weird Al" Yankovic - accordion, vocals, background vocals
- William K. Anderson - harmonica, saxophone, background vocals
- Richard Bennett - banjo, guitar, ukulele, background vocals
- Zaidee Cole - background vocals
- Rick Derringer - guitar, background vocals
- Dr. Demento - background vocals
- Steve Jay - bass, background vocals
- Tress MacNeille - Lucy
- Joan Manners - background vocals
- Joel Miller - bongos, conga
- Dorothy Remsen - harp
- Rick & Bubba - background vocals
- Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz - percussion, drums, background vocals
- Dawn Smithey - background vocals
[edit] Production
- Producer: Rick Derringer
- Engineers: Peter Kelsey, Tony Papaa
[edit] Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Pop Albums | 139 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "Ricky" | Pop Singles | 63 |
