Weird Al: The Parodies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Michael Jackson

"Weird Al" first parodied Michael Jackson on his second album, "In 3-D" with his first career defining hit, "Eat It." On his self-titled debut, he parodied Toni Basil's "Mickey" with a tribute to "I Love Lucy" entitled "Ricky"; Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" with "Another One Rides The Bus"; and The Knack's "My Sharona" with "My Balogna", which was also his first single.

Answer: Joan Jett

"Weird Al" didn't go after Madonna until "Like A Surgeon" on his third album, "Dare To Be Stupid." Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty's "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" was parodied on this album in "Stop Draggin' My Car Around." Pat Benatar has never been parodied by Al, but she was included in this question because that's who Britney Spears thinks recorded "I Love Rock 'n Roll."

Answer: "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats

"I Lost On Jeopardy" was a parody of "Our Love's In Jeopardy." "King Of Suede" lampooned "King Of Pain", and "Theme From Rocky XIII (The Rye Or The Kaiser)" came from "The Eye Of The Tiger."

Answer: "Whip It" by Devo

The Devo song included in the polka is actually "Jocko Homo." Other songs included in this polka are "Sex (I'm a...)" by Berlin, "Hey Jude" by The Beatles, "L.A. Woman" by The Doors, "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix, "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner, "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" by The Clash, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones, and "My Generation" by The Who.

Answer: Duck

"I want a new duck / One that won't steal my beer / One that won't stick his bill in my mail /One that knows 'The duck stops here' /One that won't drive me crazy /Waddling all around /One who'll teach me how to swim /And help me not to drown /And show me how to get down / How to get down, baby (get it?)"

Answer: George Of The Jungle

"George Of The Jungle" is actually a cover of the theme song to the cartoon of the same name. "Yoda" is a parody of "Lola" by the Kinks. "Girls Just Want To Have Lunch" is a parody of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", and "Like A Surgeon" is Al's comedic rendition of Madonna's "Like A Virgin."

Answer: Devo

Not only does the song make fun of Devo's musical stylings and lyrical oddities, but the video has Al and his band running around in yellow jumpsuits and funky hats, a la Devo. Al would later mock Oingo Boing with "You Make Me" on "Even Worse," and They Might Be Giants with "Everything You Know Is Wrong" from "Bad Hair Day".

Answer: Rolling Stones

"Toothless People" was a parody of a Mick Jagger solo single, "Ruthless People", not The Rolling Stones. "Living With A Hernia" was a parody of James Brown's "Living In America," while Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love" got altered to "Addicted To Spuds", and El DeBarge's "Who's Johnny?" was changed to "Here's Johnny."

Answer: "Big Time" by Peter Gabriel

The Peter Gabriel song featured in "Polka Party!" was "Sledgehammer." Other songs featured were "Sussudio" by Phil Collins, "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie, "Freeway of Love" by Aretha Franklin, "What You Need" by INXS, "Harlem Shuffle" by Rolling Stones, "Venus" by Shocking Blue, "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco, and "Shout" by Tears for Fears.

Answer: Fat

The video featured Al morphing into a fat guy in Michael Jackson's leather jacket, and dancing with a gang of fat guys in the subway.

Answer: Mony Mony

"Mony Mony" was originally performed by Tommy James and The Shondells, but Al based his parody, called "Alimony", on Billy Idol's cover.

Answer: "Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies"

"Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies" is featured in a dream sequence as Al's character imagines being on "The Beverly Hillbillies". Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, the original artists of "Money For Nothing", played guitar on the track. "Isle Thing" is a Gilligan's Island themed parody of Tone Loc's "Wild Thing." "She Drives Like Crazy" is based on Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy." "Spam" comes from REM's "Stand."

Answer: "Jumpin' Jack Flash"

"Jumpin' Jack Flash" had already been used in a polka, way back on "In 3-D". Other Rolling Stones songs included were "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "Honky Tonk Women", "Under My Thumb", "Ruby Tuesday", "Miss You", "Get Off Of My Cloud", "Shattered", and "Let's Spend The Night Together."

Answer: Nirvana

Al called lead singer Kurt Cobain up on the set of Saturday Night Live to get permission to do the parody of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." When Cobain asked if it was a song about food, Al had to admit that it was about how no one could understand the lyrics. Cobain let him do it anyway.

Answer: Vanilla Ice

It's interesting that one of Al's most memorable albums contained parodies of "The Right Stuff" by New Kids On The Block ("The White Stuff"), "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer ("I Can't Watch This"), "Baby Don't Forget My Number" and "Blame It On The Rain" by Milli Vanilli ("The Plumbing Song"), as well as "Rico Suave" by Gerardo ("Taco Grande"). "Ice Ice Baby", by Vanilla Ice, was included in "Polka Your Eyes Out", but not parodied.

Answer: The Beach Boys

"Trigger Happy" features the happy style of music used by the Beach Boys in songs like "Surfin' USA", "Surfin' Safari", and "Fun Fun Fun."

Answer: Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Bedrock Anthem" was a combination of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under The Bridge" and "Give It Away." Billy Ray Cyrus got reamed by Al in "Achy Breaky Song." Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park" got turned into a song about the recently released "Jurassic Park." Aerosmith's "Livin' On The Edge" became "Livin' In The Fridge."

Answer: "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

The "Bohemian Polka" did not skip or change a word of the original, just sped it up and put in a polka background. I really want to hear a "Stairway To Heaven" polka, though.

Answer: Coolio

Coolio got upset because he claimed that Al had asked for permission, he said no, and Al did the song anyway. Al claims that he heard from his record company that Coolio said yes. As far as I know, the Presidents didn't mind "Gump" being based on "Lump", Soul Asylum didn't care that "Syndicated, Inc." was based on "Misery," and TLC had no problems with "Phony Calls" being based on "Waterfalls."

Answer: "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"

"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" was originally released as a single associated with the Batman Forever soundtrack. It remains the only U2 song Al has ever been associated with (that includes parodies and polkas.)

Answer: "American Pie" by Don McLean

Al compiled this song based on internet spoilers about "The Phantom Menace", which was the big anticipated movie of that summer. Only a few things had to be changed in the song, and the album was released barely a month after the movie.

Answer: The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Al's foray into the neo-swing genre was "Grapefruit Diet", based on "Zoot Suit Riot" by Cherry Poppin' Daddies. He parodied Puff Daddy with "It's All About The Pentiums" (based on "It's All About The Benjamins"), The Offspring with "Pretty Fly For A Rabbi" (based on "Pretty Fly For A White Guy"), and Barenaked Ladies with "Jerry Springer" (based on "One Week").

Answer: "All Star" by Smash Mouth

Smash Mouth did have a song in the polka, but it was "Walking On The Sun." Other songs included were "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger, "Ghetto Superstar" by Pras Michel Gibb, "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by The Backstreet Boys, "Intergalactic" by The Beastie Boys, "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba, "Ray of Light" by Madonna, "Push" by Matchbox Twenty, "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind, "Dope Show" by Marilyn Manson, and "Sex and Candy" by Marcy Playground.

Answer: "Couch Potato"

Eminem denied Al the right to make "Couch Potato" into a video, fearing he'd lose respect as an artist. However, he still allowed Al to produce the song. "Trash Day" was based on Nelly's "Hot In Herre". "Ode To A Superhero" was based on Billy Joel's "Piano Man." "EBay" was based on The Backstreet Boy's "I Want It That Way."

Answer: Bob Dylan

Al sings the lyrics in a Bob Dylan voice, but it's really the lyrics that make the song. Every line is a palindrome, something that can be read both forwards and backwards. The effect sounds just like a Bob Dylan song.