The world wouldn’t be the same without the (un)official king of parody for 3 decades who has dared to weirdly outlast the musicians he has covered. We’re talking Weird Al Yankovic. And these days, when we’re one step into leaving the gloomy year behind, Al reminds everyone that “there were some real moments of joy sprinkled in here and there,” as he put in his viral Facebook post.
The joyful moment Al is referring to was an unexpected online reunion that happened nearly half a century later thanks to the magic of the internet.
“I was 12 years old in the 9th grade—younger than my classmates, and pretty awkward, shy, and nerdy. And I had a crush on Patrice Y., the girl who sat directly in front of me in math class,” starts Al’s post that amassed 122k likes and reactions. Read Al’s crush story in full below and see why it was dubbed the most wholesome little read we all need these days.
Image credits: "Weird Al" Yankovic
With his parody skits and unmistakable look that always comprises an accordion and a Hawaiian shirt, Weird Al has gained almost a cult following lasting for thirty years. "If you'd asked me 30 years ago whether I'd still be making parody albums, I'd have laughed," Al told the Guardian. "And if you said the records would be selling more than ever, I'd have thought you were crazy."
Meanwhile, in an interview with Vice, Al confessed he has written instrumental pieces that “are not inherently funny.” As a teenager, he would write songs that he thought were deep, but he said he found the same old lyrics in a box and thought they were “so embarrassing.”
Incredibly, Al reconnected with his crush by pure accident nearly half a century later
Thus, Yankovic keeps on doing what he knows the best, performing parodies of pop music hits. And if you wonder how on earth Al manages to convince the original song authors and singers to be up for his jokes, one has to remember that Al is known as one of the most likable, down-to-earth, simple guys in show business.
Technically, Al doesn’t need permission from artists to make a parody of their song, but the parodist always does so just out of courtesy. “Because his versions, while always sharp and funny, are never mean, nearly everyone says yes (Prince is a notable exception),” explains the Guardian. Madonna, Pharrell, and Iggy Azalea were among many top artists who were more than happy to be parodied.
In 2001, Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski; together they have an 11-year-old daughter, Nina.
And this is the portrait Al made of his school crush Patrice that she sent to him
Image credits: "Weird Al" Yankovic
Here's what Weird Al looked like in his teen years
Image credits: Weird Al Yankovic
This is what people had to say after reading Al's school crush story
