INTERVIEW: "Weird Al" Yankovic

Photo by Robert Tractenberg

“Weird Al” Yankovic, the biggest-selling comedy recording artist in history, had a great 2015. After four decades in the music industry, his 14th studio release, Mandatory Fun, made history as the first comedy album to debut at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.

His single “Word Crimes” (a parody of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”) debuted in the Billboard Top 40, making him one of only three people to have had Top 40 singles in each of the last four decades. The other two are Michael Jackson and Madonna.

Yankovic paired his album with the hugely successful Mandatory World Tour, which he recently extended through this year. He’s planning to hit 76 cities, including a show at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on Sunday, June 19. (Ticket information is available at www.weirdal.com.)

I recently had a chance to speak with the iconic musician by phone, and I’m happy to report that his reputation as one of the nicest guys in show business is absolutely justified.

First of all, I really appreciate the opportunity to talk to you. I’ve been a huge fan since I was a kid in the ’80s.

Oh, thank you.

I’m going to try my best not to sound like the interview sketches Chris Farley did on Saturday Night Live.

“You know that thing you did? That was great.”

Exactly. “You were awesome.”

(Laughs.)

Very few artists maintain their quality and relevance over four decades. In many cases, you’ve outlasted the singers you’ve parodied. Do you think there’s a particular reason for that?

I think it’s a combination of things. Some of it’s luck – the cosmic tumblers of the universe clicked into place for me. Some of it’s hard work. But I also made sure to surround myself with talented people. I’ve had the same band my whole career. And, of course, I’ve got great fans who’ve been around for a long time and like what I do.

What does it feel like to be around long enough to go from hearing critics use phrases like “one-hit wonder” and “flash in the pan” to a place where your craft is generally admired and respected?

It’s really nice to look back on my body of work knowing that I fought that one-hit wonder tag hard, that people were waiting on me disappear. Then eventually – I’d say sometime in the ’90s – those people realized “oh, he’s not going away.”

Plus, you’ve got a constant stream of kids growing up with your music. You’re like the patron saint of nerdy teenagers. You made those awkward middle school years a lot less miserable for a lot of us.

(Laughs.) Oh, wow. Thanks.

Over the years, performers have responded to your parodies in different ways. I remember reading that Kurt Cobain considered “Smells Like Nirvana” [a parody of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”] a badge of honor, but Coolio famously criticized “Amish Paradise” [a parody of “Gangsta’s Paradise”]. I’m sure some artists have turned you down as well. Is there someone’s work you always wanted to tackle but it didn’t work out?

A lot of people have asked about that over the years, but the flat-out refusals are so rare. I guess the obvious answer now is Prince. He never came around on the idea of parodies. I’m sad about his passing for a number of reasons, one of them being that the opportunity to do one of his songs is gone. I would never go against an artist’s wishes.

I know this is a clichéd question, but I’m really interested in the answer. Is there a specific song over the course of your career that you’re particularly proud of?

As far as parodies go, my default answer lately is “White & Nerdy” [a parody of Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’ Dirty] because of the way people responded to it. But I’m most proud of my original songs, “Jackson Park Express” especially. It’s a complex song that was a challenge to record, but I really like the way it came together in the studio. That’s my answer this week, anyway. (Laughs.)

Does your inspiration for a song hit like a light bulb? Or do you get a word or phrase and work out from there?

Inspiration happens both ways. Fully-formed ideas are great. I remember as soon as I thought of “Amish Paradise” the next year-and-a-half of my life crystallized in front of me – how much time I’d be in the studio, what the tour would look like.

Other times, I’ll brainstorm ideas based on a title or a few lyrics and decide if it’s worth investing my time or if it will fizzle out after the first joke. I do all my editing in that phase of the process. I don’t do 40 songs and decide what to cut later.

Finally, I saw Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping the other night and people clapped when you showed up at the end…

Oh, wow. Really?

Yeah, it was great. I thought it was a fitting nod to the fact that you paved the way for The Lonely Island's success. Did you think of your cameo as a form of “passing the torch”? Do you guys have a friendly rivalry going?

Neither, actually. The Lonely Island guys are friends of mine and we’re mutual fans of each others’ work. So, no rivalry. And I’m still doing this! So, no passing the torch. I actually haven’t seen the movie yet. I couldn’t make it to the premiere in New York, so I plan to see it soon. I’ve heard great things.

It’s really good. I thought it was the funniest movie of the year so far.

Oh, that’s good to hear.

Well, thanks again for talking with me. It’s been a pleasure.

Thank you.