‘Weird Al’ Puts His Spin On Rock Hits

Some people don’t comprehend the importance of “Weird Al” Yankovic.

A singer or band truly haven’t arrived without Yankovic having written a parody of their hit songs. “Weird Al” plays the Grandstand Arena at the Interstate Fair on Tuesday night.

“That’s what I tell them,” Yankovic said during a phone interview from a Burbank, Calif., recording studio this week. “Oddly enough, it does seem to be kind of like a status symbol now. Forget about how many Grammys you’ve got; how many ‘Weird Al’ parodies have you got?”

Over the years, Yankovic’s witty sense of humor and nasal vocals have touched the careers of many important artists. He turned Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” into a feeding frenzy with “Eat It.” In “Smells Like Nirvana,” he reflected on the indecipherable lyrics of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. He transformed the Presidents of the United States of America’s hero “Lump” into “Gump,” a song about pop culture’s favorite dim son.

Almost always, bands are flattered when Yankovic chooses to spoof their hit songs. That is, until he took a crack at Coolio’s rap smash “Gangsta’s Paradise” with “Amish Paradise.”

Standard protocol for the singer is to contact an act and get its permission before he gives a song the “Weird Al” treatment. An executive at Yankovic’s label was given Coolio’s blessing for “Amish Paradise.” Or, so he thought.

Backstage at the Grammy Awards last spring, Coolio apparently chastised the spoof goof and his take on the song.

“That whole episode was very very sad for me,” says Yankovic. “Because up until Coolio, I had a perfect record of artists being pleased with what I’ve done. I always get permission when I do parodies. I was told from my record company that we had gotten permission from Coolio. Coolio claims that he never gave us permission.”

Following the Grammys, Yankovic wrote the rap star a letter apologizing for causing any disrespect, but he never heard back from Coolio.

Coolio ought to lighten up, however. If the song mocks anything, it’s the technologically challenged Amish culture, not his song.

The video, one of Yankovic’s most brilliant, makes this very clear. Set in a rural Amish community, Yankovic, his pious homies and his wife (played by Florence Henderson) engage in all kinds of Amish pastimes like milking cows, raising barns and churning butter.

Fortunately for Tuesday fairgoers, Coolio’s disapproval hasn’t prompted Yankovic to drop the songs from his set list. He’ll be playing that tune along with all his other comical gems.

“Weird Al” may stir up some yucks with his songs, but don’t call him a novelty act.

“Novelty is always a title that I’ve always been uncomfortable with just because of the implications,” he explains. “Obviously, what I do is comedy. Any kind of comedy in the rock ‘n’ roll world is, by definition, novelty, because there isn’t that much of it.

“When you think of novelty artists, you think of one-hit wonders, basically.”

This why Yankovic couldn’t score a major record deal when he first started out.

“I was sending these tapes around and the companies were saying: ‘This is really funny. This is brilliant. You’re gonna sell a million records. We’re not interested.”’ Yankovic, who has been signed to an independent label all of his career, has proved he is not a one-hit wonder.

All 10 of his albums have contained at least two hits. His current release, “Bad Hair Day” has spawned hits with the aforementioned “Amish Paradise” and “Gump.” Like his previous albums, “Bad Hair Day” is steadily climbing to platinum sales (1 million sold).

“I’ve really bucked the odds by not only having a career, but by having a career that’s lasted longer than most conventional pop careers.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: “Weird Al” Yankovic Location and time: Spokane Interstate Fair Grandstand Arena, Tuesday, 8 p.m. Tickets: The concert is free with paid fair admission