"Weird Al" Yankovic (partially found early demos and recordings from comedy musician; 1973-1983)
From The Lost Media Wiki
Dr. Demento (right) standing next to Weird Al (left) circa 1976.
Status: Partially Found
“Weird Al” Yankovic is an American comedy musician well known for his original music, song parodies, style parodies of other musicians, and polka medleys. Before the release of his first studio album Al recorded over 50 songs, many of which have become lost to the sands of time.
Known Early Demos and Recordings
| Song Title | Year | Notes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pico and Repulsiva | 1973 | Submitted to The Dr. Demento Show in early spring of 1973 as a part of a contest to replace the radio show's opening theme, "Pico and Sepulveda" by Felix Figueroa & His Orchestra. Unlike Al's later work, he only arranged this song with the song being performed by Mike Weyrick on vocals, Steve Willis on the horn, and Mike Solton on backing vocals. This song wasn't one of the contest winners and therefore never aired.[1] A possible small performance of this song can be faintly heard in the background of a recording of the Zygot Joke Line, a 1970s party line that Al occasionally helped out with it. | Lost |
| Belvedere Cruising | 1976 | Named after the car, the Plymouth Belvedere. This was Weird Al's first song to be played on The Dr. Demento Show[2] and was aired on March 14th, 1976.[1] In 2000, Al performed an excerpt from this song for Behind the Dementia, a Dr. Demento documentary made for Alcon 2000. Later in 2018, Al would perform half of the song while being driven by Jay Leno in a Plymouth Belvedere for an episode of the TV show, Jay Leno's Garage. | Found |
| Dr. D Superstar | 1976 | Parody of "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Tim Rice from the musical of the same name. A small snippet of the song was played on The Dr. Demento Show on March 14th, 1976, with the excerpt later being aired nationally on April 18th, 1976.[1] While the song has never been released in full, Dr. Demento likely still has a copy as he sent it to Weird Al's current drummer and official archivist, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, so he could take pictures of the tape for Al's website.[2] | Partially Found |
| KMET IDs (1976) | 1976 | Two takes of KMET legal ID submitted on the same tape as "Belvedere Cruising" and "Dr. D Superstar". KMET is the FM radio station that aired The Dr. Demento Show from December 18, 1971 to February 8, 1987. It is unknown when these aired, if they aired at all.[1] | Lost |
| School Cafeteria (bedroom demo) | 1976 | An earlier version of the "My Bologna" single's B-side. It was submitted to The Dr. Demento Show on April 16th, 1976, first aired locally on May 9th, 1976, and first aired nationally on September 5th, 1976.[1] | Found |
| Leisure Suit Serenade | 1976 | Not much is known about this song besides the fact that it was submitted to The Dr. Demento Show on the same tape as the bedroom demo of "School Cafeteria" and "Cheerios, Apple Jacks, Cheerios".[1] | Found |
| Cheerios, Apple Jacks, Cheerios | 1976 | Parody of "Cheerio, Cherry Lips, Cheerio" by Scrappy Lambert, which was The Dr. Demento Show's closing theme. This song features Mike Solton on backing vocals. This was submitted to The Dr. Demento Show in April of 1976 but never aired.[1] | Found |
| Nobody Here But Us Frogs | 1976 | Submitted to The Dr. Demento Show on July 17th, 1976, and first aired on August 8th, 1976.[1] | Found |
| American Slob (solo demo) | 1976 | Submitted to The Dr. Demento Show on the same tape as "Nobody Here But Us Frogs". Dr. Demento would later play this version of the song at the Weird Al fan convention, Alcon 2000.[1] | Lost |
| Psycho | 1976 | Submitted to The Dr. Demento Show on November 22nd, 1976. In addition to "Weird Al", the song features Mark Wurfl on banjo and backing vocals. It also features handclaps, mouth sounds, and shouting.[1] | Lost |
| Dead Car Battery Blues (1st take) | 1977 | The first take of "Dead Car Battery Blues" which was included on the same tape as the second, aired, version.[1] | Found |
| Dead Car Battery Blues
(2nd take) |
1977 | Recorded and submitted to The Dr. Demento Show on June 25th, 1977, and aired a day later.[1] | Found |
| Mr. Frump In the Iron Lung (original demo) | 1977 | A demo version of "Mr. Frump In the Iron Lung", a song featured on Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. This was on a demo tape given to Dr. Demento on June 25th, 1977, which also featured both versions of "Dead Car Battery Blues". Unlike that song, however, this song was never aired.[1] | Found |
| KMET IDs (1977) | 1977 | Five takes of KMET legal ID submitted on the same tape as both versions of "Dead Car Battery Blues" and the original demo of "Mr. Frump In the Iron Lung". KMET is the FM radio station that aired The Dr. Demento Show from 1972 to 1983. It is unknown when these aired, if they aired at all.[1] | Lost |
| Crampton Comes Alive! | 1977 | Parody of "Do You Feel Like We Do" by Peter Frampton. The song title is a riff on Frampton's 1976 live album Frampton Comes Alive!, which includes a concert performance of "Do You Feel Like We Do". The song made its debut on The Dr. Demento Show on September 25th, 1977.[1] While a live performance of the song in full can be found online the demo is still lost. | Lost |
| Hit Me With a Rock | 1977 | Parody of "Love Me Like A Rock" by Paul Simon. The song was co-written by Weird Al and Vince Sanchez. Al is on lead vocals and accordion, Sanchez on piano and backing vocals, and John James also on backing vocals as well as bass. The song was intended to be played on The Dr. Demento Show on November 27th, 1977, but it never did.[1] | Found |
| Never Met A Person Who's As Wonderful As Me | 1977 | Written in late November 1977 and then recorded in either late November or early December of the same year. Aired for the first and only time on The Dr. Demento Show on January 8th, 1978.[1] | Found |
| Take Me Down | 1978 | A song about the town of San Luis Obispo, California which was released sometime in 1978. It was included on the compilation album: SLO Grown, which was made to help fund the Economic Opportunity Commission. The song would later be included on the 2017 compilation album, Medium Rarities, which is exclusive to the compilation box set Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic. | Found |
| Number One With a Bullet | 1978 | A collaboration with novelty music band The Hollywood Offramp. The song was co-written by Weird Al and Vince Sanchez and features Al on lead vocals and accordion, George Taylor on drums, Frank Sanchez on piano, and Pete McPherson on guitar. The song was recorded in either late December 1977 or early January 1978.[1] | Lost |
| American Slob (band demo) | 1978 | Another collaboration with novelty music band The Hollywood Offramp which features the same credits as the last song. The song debuted on The Dr. Demento Show on February 19th, 1978.[1] | Found |
| Beverly Hillbillies/Miss You | 1978 | Parody of "Miss You" by The Rolling Stones, using lyrics from "The Ballad Of Jed Clampett" which is the theme song for the TV show, The Beverly Hillbillies. This was performed live by Weird Al, on vocals and accordion, and Joel Miller, on bongos, in October of 1978. This live performance was later broadcasted on The Dr. Demento Show on November 12th, 1978.[1] A similar concept was later used in the Weird Al song "Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies". | Found |
| Belvedere Cruisin' 78 | 1978 | An updated version of the 1976 song, "Belvedere Cruising" featuring a noticeably faster tempo and more polished instrumentation. This was performed in the same live set as "The Beverly Hillbillies Miss You" and aired right after it.[1] | Found |
| Mr. Frump In the Iron Lung (guitar demo) | 1979 | A version of "Mr. Frump In the Iron Lung" which features Jon Iverson on acoustic guitar and bass. The song first aired on The Dr. Demento Show on June 17th, 1979.[1] | Found |
| You Don't Take Your Showers | 1979 | Parody of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" by Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand. Collaboration between Weird Al and Jon Iverson. Recorded in the spring of 1979 and first aired on The Dr. Demento Show on June 17th, 1979.[1] While the demo is still lost, a full live performance of the song from 1980 can be found online. | Lost |
| My Bologna (Capitol single version) | 1979 | Parody of "My Sharona" by The Knack. Recorded fall of 1979 in the men's restroom (room 229) across from the KCPR studio in San Luis Obispo, California. First aired on KSAN on September 9th, 1979, then aired for the first time on The Dr. Demento Show on September 16th, 1979. The song was released as a single by Capitol Records on December 26th, 1979. It was first rereleased in 1980 on Dr. Demento's Dementia Royale and it has been included in many compilation albums since.[1] Would later be rerecorded for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Found |
| More Than A Filling | 1979 | Parody of "More Than A Feeling" by Boston. Recorded fall of 1979 in the men's restroom (room 229) across from the KCPR studio in San Luis Obispo, California.[1] Currently, only small a snippet of the song exists and comes from an interview conducted by The "Weird Al"phabet podcast with one of Weird Al's college friends, Joe Earley. | Partially Found |
| My Favorite Things | 1979 | Parody of "My Favorite Things" by Julie Andrews from the movie musical, The Sound Of Music. Recorded at the same time and location as "More Than A Filling".[1] | Lost |
| More Songs About Food | 1979 | A recorded take on Weird Al's "Food Medley" which he's performed at live shows since 1979. This medley contains the songs "Feel Like Throwing Up" (parody of "Feel Like Makin' Love" by Bad Company), "Throw Gravy On You" (parody of "Crazy On You" by Heart), "Take Me To The Liver" (parody of "Take Me To The River" by Al Green), and "Fatter" (parody of "Shattered" by The Rolling Stones). Recorded at the same time and location as "More Than A Filling" and "My Favorite Things". The name of the track is likely a reference to Talking Heads' 1978 album More Songs About Buildings and Food, which includes a cover version of "Take Me to the River". The song debuted on The Dr. Demento Show on November 18th, 1979.[1] Despite the demo still being lost, a live performance of the song can be found online. | Lost |
| School Cafeteria (Capitol single version) | 1979 | A rerecording of "School Cafeteria" made for the b-side of the "My Bologna" single. Recorded November or December 1979 in the men's restroom (room 229) across from the KCPR studio in San Luis Obispo, California.[1] | Found |
| Dr. Demento Jingle | 1980 | A very brief opening for The Dr. Demento Show made sometime in 1980. Rereleased in 2017 as a part of the Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic box set. | Found |
| Baby Likes Burping (original mix) | 1980 | Parody of "Baby Talks Dirty" by The Knack. Submitted to The Dr. Demento Show on February 21st, 1980, and debuted on February 24th, 1980. The song didn't air nationally until August 22nd, 1999. Rereleased in 2003 as a part of Dr. Demento Basement Tapes No. 11.[1] | Found |
| Baby Likes Burping (new mix) | 1980 | A new mix "Baby Likes Burping" submitted after the first on March 14th, 1980. It is unknown when or if this aired.[1] | Lost |
| Gotta Boogie (T.K. single version) | 1980 | Submitted to The Dr. Demento Show on April 30th, 1980, and first aired on May 18th, 1980. The song features Weird Al on lead vocals and accordion, Joel Miller on bongos, and Sulu, Damaskas, Mike Solton, Tegan, Tohm, and Jeri on background vocals. It was released as a single by T.K. Records in February 1980 and rereleased in 2005 on Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes No. 13.[1] Would later be rerecorded for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Found |
| Orgy On My Own (solo demo) | 1980 | A somewhat infamous song in the Weird Al community due to its vulgar subject matter. The only available excerpts from the song come from a tape one of Al's friends and early band members, Joe Earley, gave to the members of The "Weird Al"phabet podcast. While several people have asked them for a full copy of the song they refuse to release it until Al himself gives them permission. | Partially Found |
| You Light Up My Life | 1980 | Punk cover of "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone. Submitted to The Dr. Demento Show on June 1st, 1980, but seemingly never aired. While the demo is still lost, live performances of the song in full can be found online.[1] | Lost |
| Won't Eat Prunes Again | 1980 | Parody of "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who. The song was written circa May 1980 and recorded in San Luis Obispo, California in early July 1980. The song first aired on The Dr. Demento Show on July 13th, 1980.[1] | Found |
| It's Still Billy Joel To Me (bedroom demo) | 1980 | Parody of "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me" by Billy Joel. Recorded in fellow novelty artist Damaskas' bedroom in late July and early August 1980. Aired on The Dr. Demento Show on August 10th, 1980. Rereleased in 1996 as a part of Dr. Demento Basement Tapes No. 5.[1] | Found |
| Orgy On My Own (keyboard demo) | 1980 | A rerecording of "Orgy On My Own" featuring Damaskas on the keyboard. It is unknown when or if this aired.[1] | Lost |
| Miniature Golf | 1980 | A collaboration between Damaskas, Weird Al, Beefalo Bill, and Artie Barnes. First aired on The Dr. Demento Show on August 17th, 1980.[1] | Found |
| It's Still Billy Joel To Me (studio demo) | 1980 | A studio rerecording of "It's Still Billy Joel To Me" that occurred around August 14th, 1980. The studio recording was deemed unsatisfactory however and never aired.[1] | Lost |
| Robert Hilburn | 1980 | A collaboration between Damaskas, Weird Al, and Sulu poking fun at a somewhat famous music critic at the time. First aired on The Dr. Demento Show on September 7th, 1980.[1] | Found |
| Mr. Frump In the Iron Lung (Placebo EP version) | 1980 | The final demo for "Mr. Frump In the Iron Lung" which was recorded in December 1980. Released by Placebo Records as a part of the "Another on Rides the Bus" EP on February 1st, 1981.[1] Would later be rerecorded for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Found |
| Happy Birthday (Placebo EP version) | 1981 | Recorded on January 19th, 1981, in Richard Bennett's garage. The song features Weird Al on lead vocals and accordion, Richard "Bopcat" Bennett on guitar, Frank Sanchez on bass, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz on drums and background vocals, and Damaskas, Kamikaze Coco, Musical Mike Kieffer, and Dr. Demento also on background vocals. Released by Placebo Records as a part of the "Another on Rides the Bus" EP on February 1st, 1981.[1] Later rereleased in 1993 on Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes No. 2 (from the record) and in 1994 on Permanent Record: Al In The Box (from the master tape).[1] | Found |
| Yoda (apartment demo) | 1981 | Parody of "Lola" by The Kinks. Recorded in January 1981, at Weird Al's apartment in West Hollywood. First aired on The Dr. Demento Show on April 19th, 1981. Rereleased in 1997 on Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes No. 6.[1] Would later be rerecorded for Al's third studio album, Dare to Be Stupid. The song would later be included on the 2017 compilation album, Medium Rarities, which is exclusive to the compilation box set Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic. | Found |
| I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead (home demo) | 1981 | Recorded on March 26th, 1981. The song features Weird Al on vocals and accordion, Richard "Bopcat" Bennett on guitar, bass, and ukulele, and Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz on drums. It is unknown when or if this aired.[1] Would later be rerecorded for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Lost |
| I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead (studio demo) | 1981 | Recorded on July 18th, 1981, at Westwood One Studios. The song features the same people as the previous version of "I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead" in addition to Joan Manners on backup vocals. First aired on The Dr. Demento Show on July 26th, 1981, and first aired nationally on August 16th, 1981. Rereleased on Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes No. 3 in 1994.[1] Would later be rerecorded for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Found |
| Stop Draggin' My Car Around (1st vocal demo) | 1981 | Parody of "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Recorded from August 22 to August 24th, 1981, but never aired. This version has a different second verse than the final version.[1] Would later be rerecorded for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Found |
| Stop Draggin' My Car Around (2nd vocal demo) | 1981 | Parody of "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Recorded in late August 1981 but not aired until September 22, 2002, possibly to promote Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes No. 10 for which it is featured on. Contains the same alternate second verse as the first demo.[1] Would later be rerecorded for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Found |
| Stop Draggin' My Car Around (3rd vocal demo) | 1981 | Parody of "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Recorded in early September 1981, first aired on The Dr. Demento Show on September 27th, 1981, and first aired nationally on October 11th, 1981.[1] Like the last two demos, this features a different second verse than the on found on the album version. | Found |
| Pac-Man | 1981 | Parody of "Taxman" by The Beatles. Recorded December 12th, 1981, on a TEAC Cassette Portastudio. The song debuted on The Dr. Demento Show on December 20th, 1981. While the song was played a few more times after this, KMET received a cease and desist letter from the owners of Pac-Man, Namco, forcing them to pull the song from rotation. The song was later rereleased in 1995 on Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes No. 4 where it's called "Bonus Track".[1] The song was rereleased again in 2017 as a part of the Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic box set under its original title as all legal problems related to the song had been solved.[3] | Found |
| The Check's In The Mail (demo) | 1982 | Recorded on February 6th, 1982. It is unknown when or if this aired. Rereleased in 2004 on Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes No. 12.[1] Would later be rerecorded for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Found |
| I Love Rocky Road (demo) | 1982 | Parody of "I Love Rock 'n Roll" by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts. Recorded February 21st, 1982, at Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz's house. Rereleased in 2001 on Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes No. 9.[1] Would later be rerecorded for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Found |
| Yoda (instrumental demo) | 1982 | During the recording sessions for Al's first album, a backing track was recorded for this March 14th, 1982, but it was not completed because legal issues would have prevented its release at the time.[1] Would later be rerecorded for Al's third studio album, Dare to Be Stupid. | Lost |
| The Ballad Of Chuck & Diane (parody version) | 1982 | Parody of "Jack & Diane" by John Mellencamp about Prince Charles and Princess Diana of the British Royal Family. Recorded on December 5th, 1982.[1] Would later be reworked into "Buckingham Blues" for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Lost |
| The Ballad Of Chuck & Diane (1st rewrite) | 1983 | Rewritten from the last demo to avoid being a direct parody after John Mellencamp denied "Weird Al" permission to parody the song. Recorded on January 16th, 1983.[1] Would later be reworked into "Buckingham Blues" for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Lost |
| The Ballad Of Chuck & Diane (2nd rewrite) | 1983 | Rewritten again to be even farther away from the initial parody. Recorded on January 30th, 1983.[1] Would later be reworked into "Buckingham Blues" for Weird Al's 1983 self-titled debut album. | Lost |
See Also
- Orgy on My Own (found unreleased "Weird Al" Yankovic song; 1981)
- UHF (lost original cut of comedy film starring "Weird Al" Yankovic; 1989)
- Pretty Fly For A Rabbi (lost official remix of "Weird Al" Yankovic song from Yahoo! Music Beatnik GrooveGrams Contest; 1999-2000)
- Couch Potato (lost production materials of unreleased Weird Al Yankovic music video; 2003)
- Al's Brain (partially found 3D educational short film; 2009)
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 1.48 1.49 1.50 1.51 1.52 1.53 unreleased "Weird Al" Yankovic recordings on the Dr. Demento Database. Retrieved 11 Apr '23.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 UNLABELED TAPE 1976 from weirdal.com Retrieved 9 Apr '23.
- ↑ Weird Al Talks His Previously Unreleased Song "Pac-Man," Which You Can Finally Hear! by Matt Grosinger from Nerdist. Retrieved 12 Apr '23.