Really? It's still gets regular airtime on the targeted-to-slightly-more-chronologically-advanced-people radio stations in our area. I know I heard it on the communte just a week or so ago while scanning stations, and stayed on it just so I could prove I still knew the lyrics to Yoda.
Most of Weird Al's song parodies came out within a few years of the original song. La Bamba was decades old by the time he parodied it, so the year clue is not as helpful.
never knew that King of Suede was a parody. Always thought it was one of his originals. Love Weird Al. I hope he stops getting snubbed for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
It's really remarkable how successful this guy has been. He was the first guy to do parodies of current songs for a living, so it's understandable he could succeed initially as a novelty, but he's still the king almost 40 years later. Lots of people are doing parodies now, but Weird Al is still the best. His parody of Blurred Lines (called "Word Crimes" and about people with poor grammar) is hilarious, and among his best.
Weird Al may be the most well known for making a living doing parodies of current songs, but there have been musical parodies for centuries. I remember Victor Borge doing classical music parodies in the '60s and I remember someone parodying an early Elvis song but I can't remember who it was. I remember in the '60s when they used to play humorous songs on the radio where someone would tell a story but they would replace phrases or answer questions with lines from popular songs. It wasn't really a parody but it was what passed for musical humor in that period.
He found lasting success doing something that so few others find lasting success doing. I also imagine he inspired so many of the people making parodies on Youtube, etc., which seems to be a pretty popular thing these days.
Love Weird Al. My personal favourite of his is "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota" not sure if its a parody as such but the music is similar to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".
You Got It
(The Right Stuff).
That achy breaky song
I might blow up my radio!