Monday, July 13, 2009

"Weird Al" Yankovic talks Michael Jackson


"Weird Al" Yankovic's career launched after he parodied to Michael Jackson songs: Beat It and Bad. Weird Al and MJ teamed up to actually co-write and produce Eat It and Fat, which are 2 absolutely hilarious videos/songs that I personally loved as a kid. So, obviously Weird Al was a fan of MJ since he helped jump-start his career. Check out what he had to say about MJ, then check the videos for Eat It and Fat below.

The first time around I pursued Michael Jackson about a song parody, it was a shot in the dark. We're talking about the most popular and famous person in the known universe, and here I was, this goofy comedy songwriter. He not only returned our phone calls, but he approved it. He thought it was a funny idea. The first time I met him in person was long after I had gotten permission to do Eat It back in 1984. There's a contract somewhere that has his signature next to mine, proving that we are the co-writers of Eat It, which is surrealistic in and of itself. I don't know what kind of career I would have today if it hadn't been for Michael Jackson. In a very real sense, he jump-started my career. Eat It basically changed me from an unknown into a guy that got recognized at Burger King.



Eat It


Fat

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