Postmodern Jukebox does the same thing in multiple styles:
I forgot all about them. I saw them once and they were a hoot.
When I was young, one recurring Animaniacs skit was Rita and Runt, a stray cat and dog who would do re-worded musicals. I think that there was an Animaniacs re-launch a couple of years back-- Did it include Rita and Runt?
Liam Lynch put out an album called Fake Songs that included “Fake Talking Heads Song”, “Fake Bjork Song”, “Fake David Bowie Song” and others.
I would not call Postmodern Jukebox a parody band. They are a serious band who rearranges music into different genres. The Cleverlys are doing things for laughs which they show with their between song patter. They are playing comedic characters who just happen to be excellent bluegrass musicians.
Nobody seems to have mentioned the hee bee jee bees yet. They were a long time ago now, though.
If “parody artists” can be extended to other art forms besides singing, I give you the Ballet Trockaderos. An all-male ballet troop that parodies classic ballets like Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, etc. We saw them and they are hilarious.
Edit: They could be considered the Weird Als of the dance world, in that they’ve been doing this for quite a while and it’s what they are known for. And they are good at it.
Richard Cheese does “lounge” versions of popular songs. Not sure that counts, but they’re pretty good. I think his version of “Baby Got Back” is an improvement over the original.
I was going to mention the various classical parody artists but most of them are past tense: Anna Russell, Victor Borge, Peter Schickele, Malcolm Arnold (with Gerald Hoffnung), Flanders and Swann - even Spike Jones had an excellent classical music parody record.
Then I remembered that Weird Al also has a classical music parody album out, although he only did the words. The musical parody was courtesy of the excellent Wendy Carlos. If you have not heard their spoofs on “Peter and the Wolf” and “Carnival of the Animals”, you’re missing out.
And I was going to mention Igudesman and Joo as one that’s still present-tense, but they apparently retired their act two years ago.
The comedy barbershop quartet FRED is (supposedly?) still going strong:
Parodies are a staple of their performances, and their parodies (well-known songs set to different words) often have Barbershop in-jokes where they poke fun at other quartets and singers, themselves, and even the contest judges.
They’re very crude, but Garfunkel & Oates deserve at least a mention. Not necessarily as parody artists, but they are musical comedians.
I was thinking about Garfunkel & Oates. They’re more satirical than parody IMO, with amazing songs, but the humor doesn’t really derive from imitation of serious works.
True. But they inject so much pop culture into their music that I think warrant at least a tangential mention.
The Capitol Steps were active until 2020:
Then there’s Tom Smith, the world’s fastest filker.
If the Rutles weren’t a parody band, then nobody was.
I’d never heard of them. I’m pretty impressed!
“You like it when they listen but not when they reply” is pretty good. I met a lot of dudes like that in philosophy class. And unfortunately in my husband’s family.