Singer, musician, songwriter. Alfred Matthew Yankovic was born on An only child, he first took up the accordion at age seven when a salesman came around to solicit accordion or guitar lessons for a local music school. Yankovic claimed his parents were inspired polka star Frank Yankovic (no relation) and chose the accordion. As a child and young teen, Al became a fan of such musician/comedians as Allan Sherman, Tom Lehrer, Spike Jones and Stan Freberg. He became especially acquainted with these musicians through the radio show of Barry Hansen, aka "Dr. Demento."
After graduating as valedictorian from Lynwood High School, Al attended the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo to study architecture. It was at Cal Poly that Al had a radio show and earned the nickname "Weird Al." Although he had sent tapes to Dr. Demento in the past, it was at Cal Poly where he recorded his first single, a parody of the popular My Sharona by The Knack, called My Bologna. After graduating in 1980, Yankovic released Another One Rides the Bus, a parody of Queen’s smash hit, Another one Bites The Dust. He followed up with I Love Rocky Road, a satire of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' I Love Rock ‘n Roll. Yankovic’s success went to a whole new level, thanks to his skilled use of music video. His first was a parody of Toni Basil’s Mickey for his debut album, “Weird Al” Yankovic. But it was the video from his sophomore effort, Eat It, a parody of Michael Jackson’s smash Beat It, that became a smash on MTV.
