Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

List of "Weird Al" Yankovic polka medleys

Polka-Style Song Covers by "Weird Al" Yankovic From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Remove ads

Polka-style medleys of cover songs are a distinguishing part of American musician, satirist, parodist, and songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic's catalog. Twelve of his fourteen albums contain them; his self-titled debut and Even Worse omit them.[1]

The medleys are composed of various popular songs, each one reinterpreted as a polka (generally an instrumentation of accordion, banjo, tuba, clarinet, and muted brass interspersed with sound effects) with the choruses or memorable lines of various songs juxtaposed for humorous effect and profane lyrics are covered with cartoon sound effects. Yankovic has been known to say that converting these songs to polka was "...the way God intended".[2] Yankovic said that the medleys were something he did "even before I had a record deal" in live performances, and that many of the songs are included due to not receiving a full parody version - "if there's a song that I think is really ripe for parody but I just can't think of a clever enough idea, sometimes it'll end up in the polka medley."[3] Regarding their popularity, Yankovic has said, "At this point, it's sort of mandatory for me to do a polka medley. Fans would be rioting in the streets, I think, if I didn't do a polka medley."[2] Yankovic has always asked permission from every artist whose songs compose a medley due to royalties issues.[4] He acknowledged some influence of Spike Jones in the medleys, such as the sound effects.[5]

Four of Yankovic's polka medleys—"Hooked on Polkas", "Polka Power!", "The Hamilton Polka", and "Polkamania!" —have been released as singles (either in international markets or domestically). "Polka Your Eyes Out" and "Polkas on 45" were also the only polkas to appear on a greatest hits album while "Polka Face" and "Polkamania!" are the only polkas to have official videos released for them that are not clips of the original songs' music videos.

In each medley, royalties are paid out to original songwriters according to the percentage of the medley directly attributable to them. What remains is then listed as "Ear Booker Polka" or various other titles so that it may be attributed to Yankovic himself.[6]

Remove ads

"Polkas on 45"

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts "Polkas on 45", Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"Polkas on 45" is Yankovic's first recorded polka medley.[1] It appears on his second album, In 3-D. This and "The Hot Rocks Polka" are Yankovic's only polka medleys to focus on popular rock songs from the 1960s and 1970s rather than contemporary songs, though "Polkas on 45" includes some of the latter (e.g. Talking Heads and The Police). The song title is a take on the medley-releasing novelty band Stars on 45 and their self-titled 1981 single.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Notes:

Personnel

According to the liner notes of The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic:[9]

  • "Weird Al" Yankovic – lead & background vocals, accordion, group vocals, hand claps. finger snaps
  • Jim West – group vocals, hand claps. finger snaps
  • Steve Jay – bass guitar, banjo, group vocals, hand claps. finger snaps
  • Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz – drums, sound effects, group vocals, hand claps. finger snaps
  • Warren Luening – trumpet
  • Joel Peskin – clarinet
  • Jim Self – tuba
Remove ads

"Hooked on Polkas"

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts "Hooked on Polkas", Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"Hooked on Polkas" is the second polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appeared on his third album, Dare to Be Stupid. The song was released as a single in Japan.

Its title is a reference to the 1981 record Hooked on Classics, in which very recognizable extracts from classical music pieces were played over a continuous, more disco-style beat.[10]

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Single track listing

  1. "Hooked on Polkas" – 3:51
  2. "I Want a New Duck" – 3:01
Remove ads

"Polka Party!"

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts "Polka Party!", Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"Polka Party!" is the third polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his fourth album, Polka Party!.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Notes:

"The Hot Rocks Polka"

Quick Facts "The Hot Rocks Polka", Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"The Hot Rocks Polka" is the fourth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his sixth studio album, UHF - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff. All of the songs in "The Hot Rocks Polka" medley are songs by The Rolling Stones, with the addition of Yankovic's "Ear Booker Polka" at the end. The title of the song refers to Hot Rocks 1964-1971, a greatest hits album of The Rolling Stones music.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Remove ads

"Polka Your Eyes Out"

Quick Facts "Polka Your Eyes Out", Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"Polka Your Eyes Out" is the fifth polka medley by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is included on his 1992 album, Off the Deep End, and also on his Greatest Hits Volume 2 compilation. It was first performed in 1991 at the Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary show.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Remove ads

"The Alternative Polka"

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts "The Alternative Polka", Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"The Alternative Polka" is the sixth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his 1996 album, Bad Hair Day. The medley primarily consists of alternative rock songs, with the title being a reference to the genre.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Notes
  • "The Alternative Polka" was originally going to have an interpretation of the Weezer song "Buddy Holly" between "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" and "My Friends". However, Rivers Cuomo decided against the idea at the last minute, forcing Yankovic to edit the song out of the medley. Weezer, however, was thanked in the liner notes since the layout had been prepared beforehand.[13] Weezer later allowed Yankovic to include their hit "Beverly Hills" in the polka medley from Straight Outta Lynwood. On August 22, 2009, Yankovic released the "unmixed, physically-deleted-from-the-master-tape 'Buddy Holly' polka" on Twitter and later on YouTube.[14][15][16]
Remove ads

"Polka Power!"

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts "Polka Power!", Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"Polka Power!" is the seventh polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his 1999 album, Running with Scissors. The title of the song is a reference to "Girl Power!" a phrase made popular by the Spice Girls, the first act to be featured in the polka.[citation needed] The song was released as a single in Germany.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Remove ads

"Angry White Boy Polka"

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts "Angry White Boy Polka", Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

The "Angry White Boy Polka" is the eighth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his 2003 album Poodle Hat and consists of Christian metal, nu metal, rap metal, garage rock, and rap tracks performed primarily by white males; however, members from groups System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine and P.O.D. are multiracial and drummers Meg White of The White Stripes and Stefanie Eulinberg of Kid Rock's band are female. Rage Against the Machine would have their style parodied on the 2006 track "I'll Sue Ya" from Straight Outta Lynwood.

The following are contained in the medley:

Notes
  • One song that Yankovic wanted to include was Freak on a Leash by Korn, but amongst other songs, it was denied by the band.[17]
Remove ads

"Polkarama!"

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts "Polkarama!", Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"Polkarama!" is the ninth polka medley by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released on his 2006 album, Straight Outta Lynwood.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Notes
  • "Polkarama!" was used as the set opener for Yankovic's 2007-08 Straight Outta Lynwood tour.[18]
  • Yankovic initially wanted to include a verse of "Photograph" by Nickelback, and even got the band's permission. However, since he was unable "to find a way to incorporate the song into 'Polkarama' where it didn't sound wedged in or tacked on," Yankovic decided not to use it, but still thanked Nickelback in the liner notes for the album.[19]

"Polka Face"

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts "Polka Face", Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"Polka Face" is the tenth Weird Al polka medley. It was performed in concert in 2010, and was released on the 2011 album Alpocalypse. The medley consists of then-recent dance-pop, hip hop, and R&B songs. This was the last polka to feature Warren Leuning on the trumpet before his death in 2012.

The following songs are contained in the medley:[20]

The title is a reference to Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face".

On September 25, 2011, Comedy Central's website Jokes.com premiered an animated music video for this polka medley.[21] The video features a distinctive animation style for each of the segments of the parody. Some are Flash-animated ("Right Round", "Baby", "Blame It", "Break Your Heart", and "I Kissed a Girl"), created by Wachtenheim/Marianetti Animation of TV Funhouse. Others contain cut-out ("Fireflies"), hand-drawn ("Down"), stop-motion ("Womanizer"), and experimental scribbling animation ("Replay").

Weekly chart positions

More information Chart (2011), Peak position ...
Remove ads

"Now That's What I Call Polka!"

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts "Now That's What I Call Polka!", Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"Now That's What I Call Polka!" is the eleventh polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his 2014 album Mandatory Fun, and the title of the medley is the parody of compilation album series Now That's What I Call Music!. Wayne Bergeron replaces the late Warren Leuning on trumpet.

The following songs are included in the medley:[23]

Weekly chart positions

More information Chart (2014), Peak position ...
Remove ads

"The Hamilton Polka"

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts "The Hamilton Polka", Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"The Hamilton Polka" is the twelfth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic, and the first not to be recorded for a studio album of his. It was released on March 1, 2018, as a digital single and is composed primarily of songs from the Broadway musical Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and based on the life of Alexander Hamilton.[26] The song was released as part of Miranda's "Hamildrop" series.[27]

The following songs are included in the medley:

"Polkamania!"

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts "Polkamania!", Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

"Polkamania!" is the thirteenth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released on July 19, 2024.[28] On the same day, an animated music video was premiered in the same style of the music video for "Polka Face" featuring animations by Bill Plympton, Vivienne Medrano, Liam Lynch, Victor Yerrid, Cyriak, Wachtenheim/Marianetti Animation, and Ryan Krzak (notable for his popular, fan-made animated music videos for other "Weird Al" songs), as well as numerous other artists.[29] The medley consists of number-one Billboard Hot 100 hits in the ten years since Yankovic released Mandatory Fun.[30]

The following songs are included in the medley:

Notes:

  • According to an interview, Yankovic wanted to include a verse of "Kill Bill" by SZA, but received no response from her.[31] The lyrics, though, were mistakenly left in on Apple Music between "Thank U, Next" and "Shake It Off".
  • Another song considered was "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter, but the song was left out due to not hitting number one while Yankovic was working on the medley.[32]

Others

Reception

Yankovic's polka medleys are often well-received by fans, with some calling them "a staple of his albums" and "often featured as a highlight for fans of his unique musical style and comedic sensibilities".[36] However, some polka musicians such as The Dreadnoughts have criticized them, saying that they "unwittingly [teach] the next two generations that polka is just a mashup comedy style".[37]

See also

References

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads
Remove ads