Yankovic did not, however, go into professionally performing right out of high school.
Yankovic earned money in high school by giving accordion lessons,
as well as working as an accordion repo-man.
There was a very famous accordion player, Frankie Yankovic, America's Polka King, but there's no direct bloodline there.
Paul McCartney:(“Live and let Die” to“Chicken Pot Pie”), which was apparently refused because McCartney,
though a big Yankovic fan, is a vegetarian.
Today I found out Weird Al Yankovic was the valedictorian of his class at Lynwood High School,
which is just outside of Los Angeles.
The lead singer of The Knack, Doug Fieger,
eventually heard“My Bologna” on the radio and convinced his label to sign Yankovic to a contract.
The exception:“Weird Al” Yankovic, the nicest guy in comedy,
who has targeted America's funny bone for nearly four decades- all without seeming to age a bit.
Strapped with his trademark accordion, an uncanny ability to tap the Zeitgeist,
and a rhyming dictionary that goes from clever to hilarious, Yankovic is proof that nice guys can
be funny as hell, too.
Weird Al" Yankovic recorded two parodies:"Yoda",
a parody of"Lola" by The Kinks; and"The Saga Begins", a parody of Don McLean's song"American Pie" that retells the events of The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan Kenobi's perspective.
It was during college that Yankovic earned the nickname“Weird Al”,
which is a name people first occasionally called him during his freshman year at college and which later stuck when he used it as his DJ name at the campus radio station KCPR.