"Weird Al Yankovic is one of the most entertaining parody musicians in the industry and possibly the most prolific. If you are looking for some serious listening music, then stay well away. Weird Al Yankovic is one of the most entertaining artists out there. He was born Alfred Matthew Yankovic on October 23, 1959 in Lynwood, California. His musical bend began when he was first inspired by a desire to play the accordion at the age of seven, by polka star Frank Yankovic (not a relation.)When he was growing up, he also found inspiration through the show Dr. Demento, the parodies of Allan Sherman and musical comedians such as Spike Jones. He passed his first single on to Dr. Demento at the age of 14, when the TV star spoke at his school. Three years later, his single ""Belvedere Cruising"" was played by Demento on the air and Weird Al's career was off to a running start.Throughout high school, his music was a feature on Dr. Demento's show and continued on to college at California Polytechnic State University, where he became a staff member at the college radio station. He got his next big break when he wrote ""My Bologna,"" as a parody of Knack's hit song ""My Sharona."" The song became a favorite with Knack, and they convinced their label Capital Records to issue the song as a single.Throughout the ‘80s, Weird Al continued to create parody's of smash hits, developing a strong underground following. But his greatest success has come from the music videos that he has done. He has used the persona that MTV helped him to establish, sporting big hair and oversized Hawaiian shirts to great comedic effect. Since his beginnings, he has become one of the rules by which other artists measure their success. A mainstream artist really knows that they have arrived if they have been parodied by Weird Al."
