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RE: Music is My Joy - Day 123 - Daily Haiku - and a Tribute to Tom Lehrer's Comic Genius
#weirdalyankovic - "How ya doin' Bernie? Oy tay!" -- ohhh man I love Weird Al
#weirdalyankovic - "How ya doin' Bernie? Oy tay!" -- ohhh man I love Weird Al
I do too, but with my parents guide to musical comedy as my guide, what he did was #donebefore, #oldhat, and #standingontheshoudersofgiants.
Like the rest of us.
Allen Sherman and Tom Lehrer, not to mention the Smothers Brothers and many others, were there first. And, to Weird Al's credit, he credits them all as influences, which is the mark of a respectful performer.
Which is another one of the reasons why I love him too. ;-)
Remember Allen Sherman? "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah (Here I Am at Camp Grenada)?"
Although he wrote the occasional original tune, such as "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah," by far the majority of his work was the 50s and 60s version of what Weird Al would begin in the 70s, following in Sherman's large and storied footsteps. He was hugely popular in his day, especially in our house, and among my parents and their friends.
A few of the many reasons why I love him are found here,, here,, and here,.
He was also the one who came up with the brilliant and cutting adaptation of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf," turning it on its ear as "Peter and the Commissar," which was a brilliant and hilarious takedown of Communist USSR.
On Side 2 of that same album, which was recorded with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, there is the inimitable "Variations on 'How Dry I Am,'" which first showcases the beginnings of numerous classical and popular tunes that begin with the same four notes, followed by even more pieces that begin with those four notes reversed. And, at a pivotal moment, Arthur Fiedler himself provides the hiccup. ;-)
Sherman skewered so many popular standards that he ruined them for my family, because as the first few bars played, we'd already be laughing, remembering his altered lyrics. Too bad for anyone singing them straight. ;-)
And then of course there were the Smothers Brothers, whose gentle and hilarious brand of comedy gave way to biting wit and satire, and ultimately got their popular show canceled, when they starting telling too much truth to power on national TV.
But I'll save that for another day.