# Cases where the parody are more well known than the Original **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465 "2016-02-18T17:52:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [February 19, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/61 "2016-02-19T12:02:45Z")
Would Quiet Riot’s cover of Slade’s _Cum On Feel the Noize_ fall under the definition of a parody? From [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cum_On_Feel_the_Noize#Quiet_Riot_cover_version), > [@](#): > > Kevin DuBrow and Frankie Banali were dead set on not covering the song, because they claimed that they hated it. Instead, they decided to try to cover the song as badly as they could so the label would refuse to release it. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/62 "2016-02-19T13:48:54Z")
By the way, if you haven’t seen the [side-by-side Zero Hour/Airplane! comparison](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-v2BHNBVCs)it’s worth the watch—you’ll appreciate Airplane! on a whole new level! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/63 "2016-02-19T14:06:34Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but I’d wager more people remember Weird Al’s “Jurassic Park” song than the original “MacArthur Park.” And honestly, “MacArthur Park’s” lyrics are so weird to begin with that you might not be able to tell which is the original and which the parody. Oh, c’mon, “MacArthur Park” is famous for being the Worst Song Ever, thanks to Dave Barry. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/64 "2016-02-19T14:27:13Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Someone either really hates pouches, or really likes feet… :dubious: Or even likes human bodies that actually bend in ways that a human body can actually bend. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/65 "2016-02-19T14:55:33Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Would Quiet Riot’s cover of Slade’s _Cum On Feel the Noize_ fall under the definition of a parody? From [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cum_On_Feel_the_Noize#Quiet_Riot_cover_version), Not really. For one thing, that story is largely bullshit. They probably did hate the idea of covering the song, but Banali’s claim that the record is the very first take can’t possibly be true. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/66 "2016-02-19T15:35:34Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Actor Kenny Delmar’s blowhard Southern politician {“Eliminate the North! Make the whole country South!”} [Beauregard Claghorn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi_X4BFpvnY) was a popular character on Fred Allen’s 40s radio show, but has almost been forgotten now. Foghorn Leghorn, however, the cartoon rooster who began life as a parody of Claghorn, has lived on in fame and gone on to eclipse his progenitor. I was going to mention this. More broadly, there are many, many cartoon characters who are based on live-action characters or real people, and many are probably better known than the originals. These mostly fall more into the category of tributes or ripoffs than parodies, however. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/67 "2016-02-19T17:08:07Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > I was going to mention this. More broadly, there are many, many cartoon characters who are based on live-action characters or real people, and many are probably better known than the originals. These mostly fall more into the category of tributes or ripoffs than parodies, however. Good point. Kenny Delmar’s Senator Claghorn is probably the most familar case. But Betty Boop’s singing style – the “boop-boop-a-Doop” that gave her her name – was lifted from singer Helen Kane, the “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” girl, as she was known. She brought suit against Fleischer studios in 1932, claiming basically that they stole her act. During the trial, Fleischer’s attorneys showed footage of “Baby” Esther Jones, an African-American performer at the Cotton Club who used the same style earlier than Kane. They had a vocal recording, too, and a witness who testified that Kane had seen Esther’s act. Kane lost the case. Esther used the verbal interpolation “boo-boo-boo” and “doo-doo-doo” to punctuate her songs, which Kane had changed to “boop-oop-a-doop”, but the difference apparently wasn’t judged significant enough. Esther herself is thought to have died by 1934, when the case came to trial. She never sued, although she might arguably have had a case. From her pictures, she looked kinda like Betty Boop, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/68 "2016-02-19T17:31:41Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but I’d wager more people remember Weird Al’s “Jurassic Park” song than the original “MacArthur Park.” I’d wager that you’re wrong. MacArthur Park is a very, very well known song. Weird Al isn’t as popular as his fans think he is. But, I don’t see any means of settling our wager. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/69 "2016-02-19T17:38:18Z")
Three Stooges short “Men in Black” with its theme of “for duty and humanity” and “Dr Howard, Dr Fine, Dr Howard” pages is a parody of the 1934 Clark Gable Myrna Loy film “Men in White” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/70 "2016-02-19T17:43:10Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > I’d wager that you’re wrong. MacArthur Park is a very, very well known song. Weird Al isn’t as popular as his fans think he is. > > But, I don’t see any means of settling our wager. Maybe people under 30(arbitrary cutoff) are less likely to know the original. I’m also thinking that Al’s parody got more publicity than normal due to it’s subject matter. Still, can’t imagine how to get the numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/71 "2016-02-19T17:47:03Z")
Hm, it’s not really a parody or a satire, but _Lord of the Flies_ is clearly a reaction to _The Coral Island_. How may people have even heard of The Coral Island today (and of those who have, how many of them know about it because it was brought up when they were reading Lord of the Flies in English class?) ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/72 "2016-02-19T18:04:31Z")
The Roadrunner and Coyote are probably just as well known as Tom and Jerry who they were parodying. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/73 "2016-02-19T18:29:29Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What about that international bestseller “_National Lampoon’s Bored Of The Rings_”, which I just found out was a parody of an obscure fantasy trilogy(which I can’t recall the name of) by some English professor. Well to be fair, "Bored of the Rings"was hilarious, a nice antidote to all the Tolkein worship that went on back then. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/74 "2016-02-19T20:20:39Z")
“Electric Boogaloo” as a subtitle to a sequel is well-ensconced in popular culture, but few people know or have seen the movie sequel title it actually came from (Breakin’ 2). ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/75 "2016-02-19T20:27:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Not exactly a parody, but Metallica have covered Diamond Head’s _Am I Evil?_ throughout their career and only relatively recently started telling people it was a cover. Is this a whoosh or do you have a very strange definition of “relatively recently”? If the cut off date is around 30 yo, then I would think most yungins know “Are you talking to me?” from Aladdin instead of Taxi Driver. (To be fair, most of the Aladdin references) Or The Simpsons’ Cape Fear episode. (I think about 50 more Simpson ones just popped into my head) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/76 "2016-02-19T20:32:34Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but I’d wager more people remember Weird Al’s “Jurassic Park” song than the original “MacArthur Park.” And honestly, “MacArthur Park’s” lyrics are so weird to begin with that you might not be able to tell which is the original and which the parody. I listen to a good bit of Weird Al, but I’d be surprised if more people know Jurassic Park vs MacArthur Park, but I bet that’s also generational (I’m not entirely sure I know Weird Al’s version. ETA: Nevermind. I had that album. Huh. How do I not remember it? Memory is weird.) I can’t really think of one of his songs that I would say definitively is better known by the general population than the original. I think **psychonaut** ’s suggestion of “I Lost On Jeopardy” might work, but I do hear the original “Jeopardy” (“Our love’s in jeopardy, baby…”) often enough on 80s stations that I’d guess it’s fairly familiar to people (like me) who grew up in that era, but “I Lost on Jeopardy” might eclipse it in the popular culture. Among Weird Al fans, sure, I wouldn’t be surprised that his parodies are more well-known. In the general pop culture? I’m not so sure. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/77 "2016-02-19T21:25:37Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > And \*What’s Opera, Doc? \*Easily a wider audience than Wagnerian opera. _Easily?_ I’m not much of a Wagner fan—I’d rather watch Bugs than sit through the _Ring_ cycle any day—but Wagner’s operas are performed to sold-out houses [all the time, all over the world](http://wagnermelb.org.au/wp/wagner-performances-around-the-world/), and that’s been going on for about 175 years. I doubt that one Bugs Bunny cartoon could eclipse all that. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/78 "2016-02-19T21:40:30Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Here! I saw it for the first time last summer. I was about half an hour into it before I realized it was the original of AIRPLANE. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/79 "2016-02-19T21:46:32Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > I’d wager that you’re wrong. MacArthur Park is a very, very well known song. Weird Al isn’t as popular as his fans think he is. > > But, I don’t see any means of settling our wager. Here’s a list of [over 100 covers of MacArthur Park](http://rateyourmusic.com/list/pmtpimp1969/macarthur_park_and_those_who_ran_with_it/). I love Dave Barry, but his notorious “worst song” poll is largely responsible for the myth that MacArthur Park is an obscure, unpopular song. It isn’t and it never was. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465/80 "2016-02-19T22:24:31Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I was about half an hour into it before I realized it was the original of AIRPLANE. That’s understandable; it’s an entirely different kind of movie altogether. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-parody-are-more-well-known-than-the-original/746465.md?page=5)