Weird Al Yankovic can sing! Vocal ANALYSIS of Weird Al's parody of Michael Jackson's "Beat It"

Weird Al actually goes into detail about talking when he first made this video. He got permission from Michael Jackson and his management to utilize the exact same set that Michael Jackson used for his beat it video so everything you see is from the original Michael Jackson song is also in weird Al’s video.

That is a picture of Dr. Demento. The DJ who brought Weird Al to the attention of the world. He played his music on his radio show and then funded his first record. Dr Demento used to have a national radio show.

Elizabeth analyzing the attack and decay of fart noises is simply next level. And I’m here for it.

MJ was a great fan of Al and left him the original locations for both "Eat it" and "Fat" (Al's persiflage of MJ's hit "Bad"). He stuck to the "Beat it" video so closely that you can play them side by side and you have to admire the synchronicity of Al's "remake".

The picture in the background in the bedroom is Doctor Demento, from the syndicated radio show of the same name. He played comedy, offbeat, and rare recordings (he has a massive collection). He's largely responsible for launching Weird Al's career by playing Al's first parodies such as My Bologna (My Sharona) and Another One Rides the Bus (Another One Bites the Dust) Mainly those were just Al on accordion and some added percussion and sound effects.

The squeaky "fart" noises are actually the sounds of the hands of "musical" Mike Kieffer. Known as a Manualist, the art of playing music by squeezing air through the hands, he is featured on a few of Als earlier songs and had a minor career of his own.

As a huge Weird Al fan I have to mention that Al is a perfectionist and has an extraordinary band that for over 40 years has been playing every genre of music you can think of. What Weird Al does is not easy. Which is why he is the only one consistantly doing it and has been making legit hits for over 40 years. He has even starred in his own hilarious film which he helped write called UHF. He has also directed other people's videos. Many people may not realize that Al has also recorded the entire Peter and the Wolf album and has written children's books. He is an all around savant.

For any who are confused by the yellow slitted eyes at the end: Beat It was released as part of the Thriller album, and the video for the title track ended with Jackson sporting similar eyes.

18:53 Not only did Eddie Van Halen play that solo, but he did it for free (if you don't count the two 6-packs of beer they brought in for him in the studio) and he did it all in basically one take

The amazing thing about Al is he can sound like whoever he's parodying while still sounding like himself as well. It's not just Eat It, it's every song he does, practically.

I took my mom to see Weird Al, thinking it would just be a goofy good time, and it was legitimately one of the best concerts I've ever attended. Not only was I crying laughing through most of it, but he is actually very talented. Like even just the quick-changes he did were impressive. Walks behind the drums in a suit, comes out from behind them in a spongebob t-shirt and a tutu. It was ridiculous, hilarious and very entertaining.

Boy, that took me back. In the 80's if Weird Al did a parody of your song it was a huge badge of honor. MTV couldn't wait for Al to cover a popular song, the cover video became as big as the original in some cases.

The picture at the end is of Dr. Demento. The Dr. Let Al do "Another One Rides The Bus" on his radio show early on. The Dr's show inspired Al to work on comedy and parody music. A beautiful homage to his origins while in the throws of his success 🧡

Weird Al's diction when singing is not only amazing, it's super important to his craft. He has to make sure you hear every word for those jokes to land, while fitting it into someone else's song.

The fact that Al's guitarist, Jim West, has to emulate not only Eddie Van Halen, but also Rick Derringer (who did the solo here), when doing this song live really speaks to his skill on the instrument, and the same can very much be said about the rest of the band. Those guys have serious chops for such a comedic group.

When Weird Al was first starting out, one of his things is that he wouldn't parody an artists song without their permission, even if the studio had already given permission. He had a hard time at first getting artists permission, until he approached Michael Jackson who loved the idea so much he not only showed him the exact set locations and gave him props from his music video to use, but went to all of his fellow artists and advocated for Weird Al and convinced a lot of them to allow him parody their songs. MJ was the first and biggest Weird Al fan.

Weird Al is one of the most creative and genius musicians in any genre. 40 years of being THE example of how to do a parody. Been a big fan since the 80s myself. Also, the picture hanging on the wall above the bed is Dr. Demento. The show that got Al his first start.

damn near forty years later, and I can still sing every lyric of this song. EDIT: the picture in the background on Al's wall is a radio comedy DJ named "Dr. Demento" - the guy that gave Al his big break with his song "My Bologna". Dr. Demento used to have a sydicated radio show where he played funny songs ranging from stuff by Tom Lehrer to T-Bone Stankus.

Weird Al is hands down one of the greatest musicians of all time.

I saw Weird Al live for the first time in March. It was incredible and whoever did the mixing for his live performances deserves a medal. It wasn't until I was sitting there that I realised, not only does he have to sing well, but every word needs to come through clearly in concert in order for his jokes to land. This was particularly pertinent since he was singing only his "deep cut" original songs, a couple of which i hadn't even heard before. He is a rare talent and probably aligns more with musical theater in how he has to sing well and play a character.