Polka-style medleys of cover songs are a distinguishing part of American musician, satirist, parodist, and songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic's catalog. Twelve of his fourteen albums contain them; his self-titled debut and Even Worse omit them.[1]

The medleys are composed of various popular songs, each one reinterpreted as a polka (generally an instrumentation of accordion, banjo, tuba, clarinet, and muted brass interspersed with sound effects) with the choruses or memorable lines of various songs juxtaposed for humorous effect and profane lyrics are covered with cartoon sound effects. Yankovic has been known to say that converting these songs to polka was "...the way God intended."[2] Yankovic said that the medleys were something he did "even before I had a record deal" in live performances, and that many of the songs are included due to not receiving a full parody version - "if there’s a song that I think is really ripe for parody but I just can’t think of a clever enough idea, sometimes it’ll end up in the polka medley."[3] Regarding their popularity, Yankovic has said, "At this point, it's sort of mandatory for me to do a polka medley. Fans would be rioting in the streets, I think, if I didn't do a polka medley."[2] Yankovic has always asked permission from every artist whose songs compose a medley due to royalties issues.[4] He acknowledged some influence of Spike Jones in the medleys, such as the sound effects.[5]

Three of Yankovic's polka medleys—"Hooked on Polkas", "Polka Power!", and "The Hamilton Polka"—have been released as singles (either in international markets or domestically). "Polka Your Eyes Out" and "Polkas on 45" were also the only polkas to appear on a greatest hits album and "Polka Face" is the only polka to have an official video released for it that are not clips of the original songs music videos.

A Yankovic composition, originally titled "Ear Booker Polka" but retitled for later medleys, appears in each medley and is "...[Any] part of the medley that is not directly attributable to another songwriter...".[6]

"Polkas on 45"

"Polkas on 45"
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D
ReleasedFebruary 28, 1984 (1984-02-28)
RecordedDecember 13, 1983[7]
Genre
Length4:23
LabelScotti Brothers

"Polkas on 45" is Yankovic's first recorded polka medley.[8] It appears on his second album, In 3-D. This and "The Hot Rocks Polka" are Yankovic's only polka medleys to focus on popular rock songs from the 1960s and 1970s rather than contemporary songs, though "Polkas on 45" includes some of the latter (e.g. Talking Heads and The Police). The song title is a take on the medley-releasing novelty band Stars on 45 and their self-titled 1981 single.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Notes:

"Hooked on Polkas"

"Hooked on Polkas"
The Japanese sleeve of the single
Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album Dare to Be Stupid
ReleasedJune 18, 1985 (1985-06-18) (Japan only)
RecordedMarch 25, 1985[7]
Genre
Length3:51
LabelScotti Brothers
"Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology
"One More Minute"
(1985)		 "Hooked on Polkas"
(1985)		 "Dare to Be Stupid"
(1986)

"Hooked on Polkas" is the second polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appeared on his third album, Dare to Be Stupid. The song was released as a single in Japan.

Its title is a reference to the 1981 record Hooked on Classics, in which very recognizable extracts from classical music pieces were played over a continuous, more disco-style beat.[11]

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Single track listing

  1. "Hooked on Polkas" – 3:51
  2. "I Want a New Duck" – 3:01

"Polka Party!"

"Polka Party!"
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album Polka Party!
ReleasedOctober 21, 1986 (1986-10-21)
RecordedAugust 29, 1986[7]
Genre
Length3:15
LabelScotti Brothers
Songwriter(s)"Weird Al" Yankovic

"Polka Party!" is the third polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his fourth album, Polka Party!.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Notes:

"The Hot Rocks Polka"

"The Hot Rocks Polka"
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album UHF
ReleasedJuly 18, 1989 (1989-07-18)
RecordedMay 24, 1989[7]
Genre
Length4:50
LabelScotti Brothers
Songwriter(s)

"The Hot Rocks Polka" is the fourth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his sixth studio album, UHF - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff. All of the songs in "The Hot Rocks Polka" medley are songs by The Rolling Stones, with the addition of Yankovic's "Ear Booker Polka" at the end. The title of the song refers to Hot Rocks 1964-1971, a greatest hits album of The Rolling Stones music.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

"Polka Your Eyes Out"

"Polka Your Eyes Out"
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album Off the Deep End
ReleasedApril 14, 1992 (1992-04-14)
RecordedJanuary 27, 1992[7]
Genre
Length3:50
LabelScotti Brothers

"Polka Your Eyes Out" is the fifth polka medley by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is included on his 1992 album, Off the Deep End, and also on his Greatest Hits Volume 2 compilation. It was first performed in 1991 at the Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary show.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

"Bohemian Polka"

"Bohemian Polka"
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album Alapalooza
ReleasedOctober 5, 1993 (1993-10-05)
RecordedJuly 17, 1993[7]
Genre
Length3:39
LabelScotti Brothers
Songwriter(s)Freddie Mercury (arr. "Weird Al" Yankovic)
Music video
"Bohemian Polka" on YouTube

"Bohemian Polka" is a cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", done in Yankovic's traditional polka style. Though it primarily consists of a single song in its entirety, Yankovic's official website has categorized "Bohemian Polka" as a polka medley.[14]

The following songs are contained in the medley:

"The Alternative Polka"

"The Alternative Polka"
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album Bad Hair Day
ReleasedMarch 12, 1996 (1996-03-12)
RecordedJanuary 3, 1996[7]
Genre
Length4:50
LabelScotti Brothers
Music video
"The Alternative Polka" on YouTube

"The Alternative Polka" is the seventh polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his 1996 album, Bad Hair Day. The medley primarily consists of alternative rock songs, with the title being a reference to the genre.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Notes
  • "The Alternative Polka" was originally going to have an interpretation of the Weezer song "Buddy Holly" between "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" and "My Friends". However, Rivers Cuomo decided against the idea at the last minute, forcing Yankovic to edit the song out of the medley. Weezer, however, was thanked in the liner notes since the layout had been prepared beforehand.[15] Weezer later allowed Yankovic to include their hit "Beverly Hills" in the polka medley from Straight Outta Lynwood. On August 22, 2009, Yankovic released the "unmixed, physically-deleted-from-the-master-tape 'Buddy Holly' polka" on Twitter and later on YouTube.[16][17][18]

"Polka Power!"

"Polka Power!"
Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album Running with Scissors
ReleasedSeptember 26, 1999 (1999-09-26) (Germany only)
RecordedApril 20, 1999[7]
Genre
Length4:20
Label
"Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology
"It's All About the Pentiums"
(August 4, 1999)		 "Polka Power!"
(1999)		 "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi"
(November 22, 1999)
Music video
"Polka Power!" on YouTube

"Polka Power!" is the eighth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his 1999 album, Running with Scissors. The title of the song is a reference to "Girl Power!" a phrase made popular by the Spice Girls, the first act to be featured in the polka. The song was released as a single in Germany.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

"Angry White Boy Polka"

"Angry White Boy Polka"
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album Poodle Hat
ReleasedMay 20, 2003 (2003-05-20)
RecordedMarch 21, 2003[7]
Genre
Length5:04
LabelVolcano
Music video
"Angry White Boy Polka" on YouTube

The "Angry White Boy Polka" is the ninth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his 2003 album Poodle Hat and consists of Christian metal, nu metal, rap metal, garage rock, and rap tracks performed primarily by white males; however, members from groups System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine and P.O.D. are multiracial and drummers Meg White of The White Stripes and Stefanie Eulinberg of Kid Rock's band are female. Rage Against the Machine would have their style parodied on the 2006 track "I'll Sue Ya" from Straight Outta Lynwood.

The following are contained in the medley:

"Polkarama!"

"Polkarama!"
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album Straight Outta Lynwood
ReleasedSeptember 24, 2006 (2006-09-24)
RecordedApril 12, 2006[7]
Genre
Length4:17
LabelVolcano
Music video
"Polkarama!" on YouTube

"Polkarama!" is the tenth polka medley by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released on his 2006 album, Straight Outta Lynwood.

The following songs are contained in the medley:

Notes
  • "Polkarama!" was used as the set opener for Yankovic's 2007-08 Straight Outta Lynwood tour.[19]
  • Yankovic initially wanted to include a verse of "Photograph" by Nickelback, and even got the band's permission. However, since he was unable "to find a way to incorporate the song into 'Polkarama' where it didn't sound wedged in or tacked on", Yankovic decided not to use it, but still thanked Nickelback in the liner notes for the album.[20]

"Polka Face"

"Polka Face"
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album Alpocalypse
ReleasedJune 21, 2011 (2011-06-21)
RecordedMay 8, 2010[7]
Genre
Length4:47
LabelVolcano
Music video
"Polka Face" on YouTube

"Polka Face" is the eleventh Weird Al polka medley. It was performed in concert in 2010, and was released on the 2011 album Alpocalypse. The medley consists of then-recent dance-pop, hip hop, and R&B songs.

The following songs are contained in the medley:[21]

The title is a reference to Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face".

On September 25, 2011, Comedy Central's website Jokes.com premiered an animated music video for this polka medley.[22] The video features a distinctive animation style for each of the segments of the parody. Some are Flash-animated ("Right Round", "Baby", "Blame It", "Break Your Heart", and "I Kissed a Girl"), others contain cut-out ("Fireflies"), hand-drawn ("Down"), stop-motion ("Womanizer"), and experimental scribbling animation ("Replay").

Weekly chart positions

Chart (2011) Peak
position
US Comedy Digital Tracks (Billboard)[23] 6

"NOW That's What I Call Polka!"

"NOW That's What I Call Polka!"
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album Mandatory Fun
ReleasedJuly 15, 2014 (2014-07-15)
RecordedApril 15, 2014[7]
Genre
Length4:06
LabelRCA

"NOW That's What I Call Polka!" is the twelfth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It appears on his 2014 album Mandatory Fun, and the title of the medley is the parody of compilation album series Now That's What I Call Music!

The following songs are included in the medley:[24]

Weekly chart positions

Chart (2014) Peak
position
US Comedy Digital Tracks (Billboard)[25] 4

"The Hamilton Polka"

"The Hamilton Polka"
Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic
ReleasedMarch 1, 2018 (2018-03-01)
RecordedFebruary 13, 2018
Genre
Length5:01
Songwriter(s)Lin-Manuel Miranda
"Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology
"Captain Underpants Theme Song"
(2017)		 "The Hamilton Polka"
(2018)		 "Who's Gonna Stop Me"
(2020)
Music video
"The Hamilton Polka" on YouTube

"The Hamilton Polka" is the thirteenth polka medley recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released on March 1, 2018, as a digital single and is composed primarily of songs from the Broadway musical Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and based on the life of Alexander Hamilton.[26] The song was released as part of Miranda's "Hamildrop" series.[27]

The following songs are included in the medley:

Others

Reception

Yankovic's polka medleys are often well-received by fans, with some calling them "a staple of his albums" and "often featured as a highlight for fans of his unique musical style and comedic sensibilities."[30] However some polka musicians such as The Dreadnoughts have criticized them, saying that they play into the "dumb euro" stereotype (portraying Slavic and Eastern European people as "goofy" or "unintelligent") and that they "unwittingly [teach] the next two generations that polka is just a mashup comedy style."[31]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Padgett, Ray (2017). Cover me : the stories behind the greatest cover songs of all time. New York. pp. 130–138. ISBN 978-1-4549-2250-6. OCLC 978537907.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. 1 2 Moss, Corey (2006-09-26). "Track By Track: In Weird Al's Lynwood, Green Day's 'Idiot' Is Canadian". MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  3. ↑ Watercutter, Angela (2011-06-20). "Alpocalypse Now: 'Weird Al' Yankovic Says 'Twitter Saved My Album'". Wired. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  4. ↑ ""Weird Al" Yankovic: The Ask Al Archive". Weirdal.com. December 1998. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  5. ↑ ""Weird Al" Yankovic: The Ask Al Archive". Weirdal.com. June 1999. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  6. ↑ ""Weird Al" Yankovic: The Ask Al Archive". Weirdal.com. August 1999. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Archive of recording dates for Weird Al songs". weirdal.com. Archived from the original on 2010-07-09. Retrieved 2014-07-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), October 6, 2014
  8. ↑ Padgett, Ray (2017). Cover me : the stories behind the greatest cover songs of all time. New York. pp. 130–138. ISBN 978-1-4549-2250-6. OCLC 978537907.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ↑ Padgett, Ray (2017). Cover me : the stories behind the greatest cover songs of all time. New York. pp. 130–138. ISBN 978-1-4549-2250-6. OCLC 978537907.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. 1 2 Yankovic, Weird Al. "Set Lists". "Weird Al" Yankovic. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
  11. ↑ AllMusic
  12. ↑ "Weird Al" Yankovic: The Opening for The Monkees Tour - July 22, 1987 Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Audio), retrieved 2023-07-25
  13. ↑ Weird Al - "Polka Party", retrieved 2023-07-24
  14. ↑ "Parodies & Polkas". Zomba Recordings LLC. Archived from the original on 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  15. ↑ Ask Al: July/August 1996 retrieved on February 14, 2016
  16. ↑ Archived March 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ @alyankovic (November 4, 2010). "... Cut out of "The Alternative Polka" at the last minute due to a misunderstanding with Rivers Cuomo…" (Tweet). Retrieved July 15, 2015 – via Twitter.
  18. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: ""Weird Al" Yankovic - Buddy Holly". YouTube.
  19. ↑ ""Weird Al" Yankovic: Concert Set Lists". Weirdal.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  20. ↑ "Ask Al June 6, 2007". Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  21. ↑ "Live performance of 2010 polka medley". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  22. ↑ Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  23. ↑ "Comedy Digital Tracks: July 7, 2014". Billboard. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  24. ↑ Mandatory Fun (liner notes). "Weird Al" Yankovic. RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. 2014.
  25. ↑ "Comedy Digital Tracks: August 2, 2014". Billboard. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  26. ↑ Greene, Andy (March 2, 2018). "Lin-Manuel Miranda, 'Weird Al' Yankovic Talk New 'Hamilton Polka'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  27. ↑ Miranda, Lin-Manuel. "Hamilton's Hamildrops". Hamildrops. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Weird Al's Guide to the Grammys". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  29. ↑ "Polkamon". Bulbapedia. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  30. ↑ "'Weird Al' Yankovic: Now That's What I Call Polka (Music Video 2020) - Plot". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  31. ↑ Dreadnoughts, The (2022-02-21). "Polka Might Actually Die". Roll And Go: Dreadnoughts Blog. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
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