Weird Al Yankovic

Source

TIL about Weird Al Yankovic that  . . .

• Michael Jackson not only enjoyed Weird Al Yankovic's parodies of his songs, but helped to make them- at one point signing a contract for "Eat It" as a "co-writer," and subsequently lending Weird Al the original "Bad" subway set for Yankovic's own music video "Fat". (Source)

• Weird Al Yankovic wrote a song called "Bob" in which every line is a palindrome (the same backwards and forwards). (Source)

• Weird Al Yankovic skipped two grades and was Valedictorian of his senior class. (Source)

• Weird Al Yankovic has a degree in architecture. (Source)

• Weird Al Yankovic turned down a $5 million beer endorsement because he said "a lot of my fans are young and impressionable". (Source)

• Weird Al Yankovic's song "The Saga Begins", which is about the plot of Star Wars Episode I, was mostly composed from internet spoilers before the movies release. (Source)

• Weird Al Yankovic's parents both died from carbon monoxide poisoning in 2004. (Source)

• In 1976, then 16-year-old Weird Al Yankovic started his career by handing a homemade tape of original and parody songs performed on the accordion in his bedroom into a "cheesy little tape recorder" to Dr Demento, a radio DJ who was speaking at his school. (Source)

• Weird Al Yankovic found out that both of his parents had just died a few hours before a concert in Minnesoda. Despite this, he continued to play because "my music had helped many of my fans through tough times, maybe it would work for me as well". (Source)

• Weird Al Yankovic asked Nirvana for permission to parody "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and their first question was'"Will it be about food?".He explained that "Smells Like Nirvana" would be about how nobody could understand their singing, they agreed that it sounded funny and granted permission. (Source)