# Are there any parody artists besides Weird Al? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226 "2026-03-05T16:00:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/1 "2026-03-05T16:00:50Z")
You’d think that in the YouTube/social media era, there would be at least one artist who has name recognition for being a parody artist. Maybe not on the same level as Weird Al (_no one_ will ever be at Weird Al’s level), but perhaps on the same level (recognition-wise) as, say Mr. Beast. Alas, no. At least, not that I can find. However, I’ve found a few parody artists on YouTube that are at least on the spectrum, so to speak. **Skinbone** : I can’t tell if he’s an earnest rapper who did a style parody of his own genre (“[The Plakette Song](https://youtu.be/Apg6OHOrhbQ?si=Xom_f7-GY0eiR10J)”), or if all of his output is parody. And frankly, I haven’t the time or the patience to go through his entire _ouvre_ to find out. **Cletus T. Judd** (real name: James Barry Poole): Literally wears the label of “the Weird Al of Country Music,” and his schtick reflects that. He does what Weird Al does: take existing songs and turn them into funny parodies via changing the lyrics, and also does original comedy songs (though not, AFAIK, style parodies, since he only performs Country). IMHO he peaked about two decades ago with “[Goodbye Squirrell](https://youtu.be/1NyogxL54NE?si=z_uwaU1jYWqoZ9-o),” a parody of The Chicks’ “Goodbye Earl.” I’ll note that his YouTube channel hasn’t had a new video in six years; do with that information what you will. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/2 "2026-03-05T16:02:10Z")
Well, there’s this guy: [The Randy Rainbow appreciation thread - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-randy-rainbow-appreciation-thread/1028011) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/3 "2026-03-05T16:09:44Z")
The great Half Man Half Biscuit… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hg043e2QL4A/maxresdefault.jpg "National Shite Day") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg043e2QL4A) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/4 "2026-03-05T16:10:21Z")
Does Ray Stevens fit here? I only know of him from the commercials back in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/5 "2026-03-05T16:12:30Z")
Going backwards in time there’s **Allan Sherman** and **Tom Lehrer**. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyEcks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnnyecks/32/18197_2.png) [@JohnnyEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyEcks)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/6 "2026-03-05T16:12:45Z")
There I Ruined it is on YouTube, he does a wide variety of computer aided style changes- 50 cent in the style of Conway Twitty, or Pulp Fiction the musical. But no, I don’t think anyone but Weird Al is actually selling albums or touring with parody music. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/7 "2026-03-05T16:13:56Z")
**Bob Rivers** , AFAIK primarily Christmas music. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Going backwards in time there’s **Allan Sherman** and **Tom Lehrer**. **Spike Jones** before them. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/8 "2026-03-05T16:17:20Z")
( @ZipperJJ ninjaed me while I took too much time writing. 🙂 ) Historically, you had people like Tom Lehrer and Allan Sherman, who, like Al, did comedy/“novelty” songs which were either direct parodies of other songs (e.g., Lehrer’s “The Elements,” Sherman’s “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”), or what Al calls “style parodies” (e.g, Lehrer’s “The Vatican Rag.”) It’s important to, as the OP notes, remember that “parody” songs (which are based on a particular existing song, or the style of another musician or type of music) are different from other comedy and novelty songs. @Joey_P mentioned Ray Stevens, who is known for a number of comedy songs (“Ahab the Arab,” “The Streak,” “Gitarzan” etc.), but his work, from what I can remember, wasn’t **parodies** , just funny original songs. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/9 "2026-03-05T16:21:38Z")
I would say [The Key of Awesome](https://www.youtube.com/@TheKeyofAwesome) was following the same pattern as Yankovic; parodies of popular songs. But they didn’t reach Yankovic’s level of fame. But the group ended in 2018 when Mark Douglas, one of the creators and main writers and performers, decided to leave. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/10 "2026-03-05T16:37:33Z")
I think @Dung_Beetle 's example of Randy Rainbow is the biggest non-Weird-Al parody star right now. He tours, he has a book, he has an album, he has a huge following. The main difference between him and Al is his source material is mostly musicals. He does do mainstream pop songs from time to time (Taylor Swift, Chappel Roan) but it’s not quite the same as Weird Al in that regard. Also he has been doing exclusively political content. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/11 "2026-03-05T16:48:00Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > > > Going backwards in time there’s **Allan Sherman** and **Tom Lehrer**. > > **Spike Jones** before them. And a few centuries earlier, John Gay in _The Beggar’s Opera_. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/12 "2026-03-05T16:51:22Z")
In the UK in the 70’s and 80’s we had the Grumbleweeds and the Wurzels. > **[The Grumbleweeds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grumbleweeds)** > > The Grumbleweeds are an award winning British comedy act and band. They were mostly popular on radio and television in the 1980s, including The Grumbleweeds Radio Show which ran from 1979 to 1988 on BBC Radio 2, and a later television incarnation, which ran from 1983 to 1988 on ITV (also known initially as The Grumbleweeds Radio Show, the name of the television series was later changed to simply The Grumbleweeds Show). Still active today, Robin Colvill is the only member who has been with t Th... > **[The Wurzels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wurzels)** > > The Wurzels are a Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, best known for their number one hit "The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976. > The name of the band was dreamt up by founder Adge Cutler. It is short for mangelwurzel, a crop grown to feed livestock. > The Wurzels' particular "genre" of music was named Scrumpy and Western after the group's first EP of the same name, issued early in 1967. Scrumpy is a name given to traditionally-made rough cider in south... ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/13 "2026-03-05T17:05:38Z")
Les Luthiers! A short example of their work: [The second vals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHmGOYK9xGI) A more educational one: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q8F538tA-jI/hqdefault.jpg "Les Luthiers - Teorema de Thales ilustrado") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8F538tA-jI) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/14 "2026-03-05T17:07:19Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > **Bob Rivers** Yea, he was the first one I thought of. I have some of his CDs. Hilarious stuff. I think my favorite is [DWI Colorado](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYvTZEnSA0c), written after John Denver got a couple DWIs. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/15 "2026-03-05T17:12:15Z")
Red Ingle [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NwcvKNuPC8g/maxresdefault.jpg "Serutan Yob (A Song For Backward Boys And Girls Under 40)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwcvKNuPC8g) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LzVV2NJ1wx4/hqdefault.jpg "1947 HITS ARCHIVE: Temptation (Tim-Tayshun) - Red Ingle & Jo Stafford (a #1 record)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVV2NJ1wx4) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/16 "2026-03-05T17:12:28Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > In the UK in the 70’s and 80’s we had the Grumbleweeds and the Wurzels. How much of their music was specifically _parody_ (i.e., humorous/reworked takes on other songs or artists), versus general comedy? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/17 "2026-03-05T17:13:02Z")
Adam Sandler! [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3Fw0OvKFKhw/hqdefault.jpg "Adam Sandler- Piece of Shit Car(song)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fw0OvKFKhw) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/18 "2026-03-05T17:16:24Z")
Seems to me there was a recent movie that featured ALL parody songs. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wMQZG9u4Sjg/maxresdefault.jpg "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues - Official Trailer - Only In Cinemas Now") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMQZG9u4Sjg&t=33) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/19 "2026-03-05T17:16:33Z")
Local a cappella group [Da Vinci’s Notebook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Vinci%27s_Notebook) is primarily known for original comedy songs but they did have at least one parody in their repertoire. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ezd_gZxOukw/maxresdefault.jpg "Secret Asian Man") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezd_gZxOukw) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226/20 "2026-03-05T17:18:20Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > In the UK in the 70’s and 80’s we had the Grumbleweeds and the Wurzels. > > [The Grumbleweeds - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grumbleweeds) And the Two Ronnies had a parody medley in every episode. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-parody-artists-besides-weird-al/1028226.md?page=2)