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Weird Al is one of the most popular parody musicians to ever live. His body of work spans several decades and only the biggest hits get the Weird Al treatment. In a way, it is a sign that a musician has arrived, that they have cemented their legacy because their song was popular enough to get the honor of a Weird Al parody.
Some of the original artists loved getting the Weird Al treatment, and others were not so stoked to see people laugh at their work. Some were so uncool with the idea of being parodied they flat out deny Weird Al permission to use their songs. While others were at first uncool with the track they later warmed up to it.
8 Hated It: Coolio
Coolio was very upset when Weird Al parodied his magnum opus "Gangster's Paradise," with the song "Amish Paradise." Coolio felt the song belittled his song's serious message and went as far as to say Weird Al did not have his permission to make the song. However, this turned out to be a miscommunication between Weird Al's representatives and Coolio's production company, and Coolio later apologized for his comments. Coolio eventually warmed up to the song, and now admits that he is a fan.
7 Hated It: Flea
Another artist who was "disappointed" with Weird Al's parody was Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. "Disappointed" was his exact words describing how he felt about "Bedrock Anthem" which parodied their hits "Under the Bridge" and "Snow (Hey Yo)." Why he was disappointed Flea never said, but he is still a Weird Al fan. Maybe his expectations were just too high. Either way, he just didn't like it.
6 Hated It: Paul McCartney
For the record, Paul McCartney is a fan of Weird Al and has even collaborated with the comedian a few times. But he is also one of the few to deny Weird Al permission to use a song. In an interview with Conan O'Brien, Weird Al revealed some of the people who turned him down. According to that interview, Weird Al wanted to parody McCartney's track "Live and Let Die" with a food anthem, "Chicken Pot Pie." McCartney is a vegetarian and instead pitched that Weird Al make the song "Tofu Pot Pie" instead. Weird Al dropped the idea because he did not think "Tofu Pot Pie" was as funny. To be fair, he has a point, the difference in syllables makes "Tofu Pot Pie," a weaker form of wordplay than "Chicken Pot Pie."
5 Hated It: Prince
There is one artist who denied Weird Al the chance to parody him every time he inquired, and it was the late rock star Prince. For some reason, Prince never warmed up to the idea of getting the Weird Al treatment. But Weird Al kept trying and inquiring for a chance until Prince passed away in 2016.
4 Loved It: Nirvana
Kurt Cobain might have been famously moody but he and the rest of the band were delighted to see themselves parodied in Weird Al's song "Smells Like Nirvana." The song gloriously roasts the band to the tune of their biggest hit, "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Dave Grohl, who was then Nirvana's drummer, also loved the song. He got the Weird Al treatment in 2018 during a live performance when Weird Al parodied the Foo Fighter's debut hit, "This Is A Call."
3 Loved It: Chamillionaire
Chamillionaire loved "White and Nerdy," the parody of his one-hit wonder "Riding Dirty." The music video for the parody is one of the most-watched videos in YouTube's history, even surpassing the video for the original song in views. Chamillionaire was top of the charts when the song was parodied, but he has since fallen into obscurity.
2 Loved It: Dire Straits
Dire Straits was more than okay with Weird Al parodying their song "Money For Nothing" with the song "Beverly Hillbillies." The song was even used as part of the soundtrack for Weird Al's popular cult classic film UHF. Mark Knopfler, Dire Strait's guitarist, had one condition for using the song, he had to be allowed to play lead guitar on Weird Al's version. The comedian happily complied. Guy Fletcher, the band's keyboard player, also joined in and played synthesizer for the Weird Al version.
1 Loved It: Michael Jackson
Of all of Weird Al's songs, one of his most famous, and one of the songs that made him so famous, was "Eat It," his parody of Michael Jackson's iconic hit "Beat It." Weird Al parodied a few other Michael Jackson songs, all with the King of Pop's blessing save for one. Jackson did not let Weird Al parody his song "Black or White," because he did not want the song's message about racial harmony to be belittled. Weird Al says he is glad Michael Jackson refused, and that the song would not have been worth it and would have been the third time he parodied the pop star, which would have made the comedy singer look a bit unoriginal.
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