The Wurzels had 2 main hits. ‘I’ve got a brand new combine harvester’ which was a rework of ‘brand new Key’ and ‘I am a cider drinker’ which was a rework of ‘Paloma Blanca’. I’ve seen them live twice, once in 1976 and once in 2000. Those were the only songs they played both times. (in 76 I was 4 and didn’t have much choice. In 2000 they were playing on a ferry to Ireland and it was a choice between listen to them or swim. I chose poorly.)
The Grumbleweeds I’ve got confused with the Barron Knights. Similar TV show with comedy sketches, but a lot of parody songs too. One about the office xmas party set to the tune of ‘daytrip to bangor’ sticks in my head.
Back when the BBC Orchestra and the Musicians Union held an iron grip over the Light Entertainment Department. You don’t shoot anything around here without including a song or two.
I think I am seeing far too many "were there"s in a thread asking for "are there"s. I agree that, currently, Randy Rainbow is the best example. Gemtracks has a list of the top parody artists, but I don’t know which ones (if any) are current. 49+ Top Parody Artists + Songs (2025 UPDATE) - Gemtracks Genres
On recent American TV, you’ll find “style parodies” aplenty: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Schmigadoon!, Galavant, and Documentary Now! (at least in the “Co-Op” episode).
ETA: also John Mulaney’s Broadway parody medley sketches on SNL.
You’re not wrong. To be entirely fair, the thread title doesn’t really specify “current,” though the actual OP does, indirectly, by asking about parody artists on YouTube.
I think Bo Burnham, a comedy genius in his own right, may be a spiritual successor to Weird Al, though he’s a lot more crass and cynical. His ability to parody multiple genres of music to a degree that indicates serious musical talent is reminiscent of Al’s songs that sound like they were written by a certain band.
He doesn’t do direct song-to-song parodies like Al, but when I hear stuff like “Panderin’” which could be seamlessly inserted into basically any bro-country soundtrack, I think, this guy understands genre (and comedy!) He’s parodied so many genres. He is wildly popular among Millennials and Gen Z.
If you do not know who Bo Burnham is, please get started on finding out right away. I knew he was a genuis when I saw him do Words, Words, Words and he was 19 years old.
I love a lot of Bob Rivers’ stuff. He isn’t quite as witty as Weird Al, but IMHO one point in which he actually exceeds Al is in exactly replicating the sound of the original. Before the lyrics start (or even after, if you aren’t paying close attention), could you tell that this is not Baba O’Reily, that this is not D’yer Mak’er, that this is not Love Shack, or that this is not Night Moves?
Stan Freberg did parodies of popular songs in the1950s. His take on Harry Belafonte’s “Banana Boat” is among my favorites.
He also did original comedy bits, often political, and take-offs on TV shows like the Lawrence Welk Show. If you ever had to sit through the Welk show at your grandma’s house, Freberg’s “Wunnerful Wunnerful” will crack you up.
Song parodies were just part of the Freberg repertoire.
This is not the same thing at all because they don’t change the lyrics but The Cleverlys are damn tight for a band that plays bluegrass versions of popular songs.
Not mentioned yet, but they definitely belong in the conversation: Dread Zeppelin, the Elvis/ Led Zeppelin cover band with a dash of Reggae thrown in for good measure.
