Every Moment Has A Song

(Answered by Joe Bedford)

Something of an unlikely one.

On April 9, 2004, “Weird” Al Yankovic was scheduled to perform a concert in Appleton, Wisconsin, in support of his album Poodle Hat. Hours before showtime, he received a call from his wife telling him that both his mother and his father were dead, victims of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.

Yankovic went on with the show, saying, “Since my music had helped many of my fans through tough times, maybe it would work for me as well”. He also said that it would “at least give me a break from sobbing all the time.”

Later, he said, “If I didn’t have anything to distract me, I probably would have spiraled into an even deeper depression. For a couple of hours each night, I could go on stage and put on a big fake smile and pretend like everything was just okay.”

Ten years later, he said their death was “the worst thing that ever happened to me.” He said, “I knew intellectually, that at some point, probably, I’d have to, you know, live through the death of my parents, but I never thought it would be at the same time, and so abruptly.”

Answered by Mike Bowerbank

I’ll get a lot of hate for this, because we still have Paul McCartney (to name just one musical giant among many who are still with us), but I have to throw another name out there for consideration.

And, again, you’re really going to hate this.

I’m talking about “Weird Al’ Yankovic. And – here’s the shocking bit – I am not even remotely kidding.

When many think of Weird Al, they picture some silly dude clowning around with an accordion, but that’s nowhere near the case. Although he does a lot of song parodies, he still has to create original lyrics for it, and (and this is the huge bit) he has to be able to sing that way. He’s parodied pop, soul, country, rock, and rap, to name just a few, and he has to be able to sing it convincingly…

Read more: https://www.quora.com/Who-is-the-worlds-best-musician-who-is-still-alive

(via Washington Post) Story by Geoff Edgers

LOS ANGELES — One day last summer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, on break from “Hamilton,” stopped by neighbor Jimmy Fallon’s house in the Hamptons. They both love music and Fallon has a listening room in the basement, so it wasn’t long before they were downstairs sharing another passion: “Weird Al” Yankovic.

“I said, ‘Do you know “Polka Party!”?’ ” Fallon says. “He’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, I know it word for word.’ ”

Fallon threw Yankovic’s 1986 record on the turntable, and the Broadway phenomenon and the late-night TV star sang along to an accordion-driven medley that covers 12 songs in three minutes, from Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” to Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach.”

“Picture Jimmy Fallon and I sitting in a basement laughing our asses off singing, ‘I’m gonna keep my baby, keep my baby, keep my baby,’ ” Miranda says.

“We were crying, laughing and singing,” Fallon says.

They’re not alone…

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2017/02/16/how-weird-al-eclipsed-almost-every-star-he-ever-parodied/

(via mental floss)

by Roger Cormier

Starting with his first professional recordings and appearances on the Dr. Demento radio show almost 35 years ago, “Weird Al” Yankovic has managed to stay on the pop culture map and change with the times, even while so many of the bands and artists he has parodied lost the spotlight. Here are some facts about “Weird Al” Yankovic and his songs.

1. WEIRD AL’S PARENTS CHOSE THE ACCORDION FOR HIM

The legend—verified by Al Yankovic in the liner notes of his 1994 box set Permanent Record: Al in the Box—reads that on the day before Al turned 7, a door-to-door salesman came through Lynwood, California, to solicit business for a local music school, which offered its pupils a choice between guitar or accordion lessons. Because Frankie Yankovic shared the family’s surname and was known as “America’s Polka King,” Al’s parents chose the squeezebox for their son. Al would gradually learn how to play rock n’ roll on the instrument, mostly from Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album, playing it “over and over” and trying to play along with it. Frankie and Al weren’t actually related, but the two would eventually collaborate, with Al playing on “Who Stole the Kishka?” on Frankie’s Songs of the Polka King, Vol. 1, and Frankie’s “The Tick Tock Polka” played by Al as a lead-in to Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” on the Alpocalypse track “Polka Face.”

Read more: http://mentalfloss.com/article/57901/20-weird-and-not-so-weird-facts-about-weird-al-yankovic-and-his-songs