Weird Al Yankovic often goes out of his way to make sure he has express permission to record and release a parody. Most of the time, he gets that permission, with many artists considering it an honor to be parodied by Weird Al. However, there are some who were outright rejected. Here’s a list of some of the songs Weird Al never officially released.
Weird Al Parodies That Were Rejected By the Artist
Prince
Weird Al steadfastly wanted to do a Prince parody, pitching him multiple ideas. He had plans for “Purple Rain,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “When Doves Cry,” “Kiss,” and “1999.” Prince always said no, and after a while Al stopped asking. When Prince died in 2016, Al said, “I hadn’t approached him in about 20 years because he always said no, but I had this fantasy that he’d come out with a new song, I’d have a great idea, he’d finally say yes and it would erase decades of weirdness between us. But that’s obviously not going to be the case.”
Michael Jackson
While Michael Jackson was actually fond of Weird Al’s parodies of his songs (“Fat” and “Eat It”), but when Al came to him with an idea for “Black or White,” Jackson refused. The proposed parody was titled “Snack All Night,” but Jackson felt the subject of his original song was too serious to be parodied. While Al never released the song, he did write it, but has only ever played it live.
Paul McCartney
When Al came to Paul McCartney with a parody of “Live and Let Die” McCartney initially said yes, according to a report from Billboard. However, when Al revealed the title, “Chicken Pot Pie,” McCartney refused on the grounds that he was a vegetarian. The irony? Weird Al is a vegetarian, too. Like with “Snack All Night,” Al has only played “Chicken Pot Pie” live and never released it.
Led Zeppelin
As a general rule, Led Zeppelin holds their music notoriously close to the vest. Occasionally the band will allow their songs to be used in other media, like when Jack Black convinced them to allow School of Rock to use “Immigrant Song.” However, when Weird Al approached them about a polka medley, Zeppelin said no, of course. Although, the band did allow Al to use a snippet of “Black Dog” in the song “Trapped In the Drive-Thru,” as a treat.
Weezer
Initially, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo approved the use of the song “Buddy Holly” in “Alternative Polka,” but at the last minute rescinded the approval. At this point, acknowledgments thanking Weezer for their permission were already printed on the CD inserts and the song was already recorded. Because of the last minute change, Al had to “physically cut” the snippet of “Buddy Holly” out of the track. For his troubles, Al decided to release the “Buddy Holly” polka snippet as a free, 23-second download.
[RELATED: Weird Al Could Be Headed to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame—And Here’s Why He Deserves It]
Songs Rejected By the Record Label
“You’re Pitiful” / “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt
Weird Al went to James Blunt for permission to write “You’re Pitiful,” a parody of Blunt’s wildly popular radio hit “You’re Beautiful.” While Blunt was on board, Atlantic Records was not. The song was already recorded and was set to be the lead single from Straight Outta Lynwood, but the record company refused to let Al release it. In response, he released it as a download anyway, apparently having no problem going against the wishes of a record company as opposed to an artist. As Al told NPR in 2006, “James Blunt could still let me put it on my album if he really wanted to, but he obviously doesn’t want to alienate his own record company.”
Songs That Were Rejected That Al Released Anyway
“Amish Paradise” / “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio
Weird Al wrote, recorded, and released “Amish Paradise” with the understanding that Coolio had given him permission. However, once the song was released, Coolio claimed that he had never approved the parody (even though “Gangsta’s Paradise” lifts it’s main themes from Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise”). He made an expletive-laden statement claiming he didn’t like the parody, and Al regretted offending Coolio. Since then, Al has tried to get permission directly from artists instead of record labels. However, in 2006, all seemed to be forgiven, as the two were photographed at a trade show together. Then, in a 2014 Vice interview, Coolio stated, “I was being cocky and s–t and being stupid and I was wrong and I should’ve embraced that s–t and went with it.”
He continued, “It’s one of those things where I made a wrong call and nobody stopped me. That’s one thing I’m still upset about — my management at the time. Somebody should’ve stopped me from making that statement because it was dumb. And I think it hurt me a little bit. It made me seem stupid.”
“Perform This Way” / “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga
Weird Al was required to finish recording his “Born This Way” parody before Lady Gaga and her management would make a decision. Allegedly, her management said no to the finished product—without consulting Gaga first. Al released the song as a free download as he had done in the past, and then it came out that Gaga actually loved “Perform This Way.” It was then rereleased as the lead single on Alpocalypse along with “Polka Face.” The proceeds from downloads of these songs were donated to the Human Rights Campaign.
Featured Image by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
