So, does Weird Al belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?
I say, absolutely and unequivocally. He pulled parody music from the depths of AM radio/Dr. Demento and made it popular and relevant again. I think his legitimacy was cemented when Kurt Cobain (I think it was) said that he realized he had made it when Weird Al called to ask about parodying one of his songs.
That man absolutely spews talent.
100% yes he does.
Agreed, he does.
Cobain may have said it out loud but his legitimacy is cemented by the numerous big names that were on board and even thrilled to be a “victim”.
Except Prince. Fuck that guy.
I agree that Prince was a pompous humorless prick but when he died, Al was asked about possible Prince parodies and he said the parodies died with him.
Pure class.
I obviously think he does, as I’d previously said so. A bit more as to why I think so:
His career has spanned almost 50 years; he has released 14 studio albums (five platinum, three gold), and 47 singles.
His fame is from his parodies of specific hit songs, on which he is a brilliant lyricist, creating parody lyrics that are simultaneously witty, while also often poking fun at both cultural trends and the most mundane everyday things. But, he also creates excellent original songs, which are often funny pastiches of particular artists or genres (e.g., “One More Minute” is a spoof of Elvis Presley), as well as his polka-themed medleys of popular songs.
He is widely beloved among other musical artists*, who see Yankovic doing a parody of one of their songs as a sign that they have made it. Yankovic will only do a parody of an artist’s music with their express permission, and some artists have even collaborated with him on the parodies.
And, through all of his career, Yankovic has remained a kind and thoughtful person, who adores and respects his fans.
*- As noted above, Prince was a notable exception to this. Even Coolio, with whom he had a misunderstanding over permission to do “Amish Paradise,” later apologized.
It would have been a tad hypocritical of Coolio not to apologize, seeing as “Gangsta’s Paradise” is itself a parody of Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise.”
On the subject of Prince and pompous, humorless asses, I’ll note that Don Henley is legendarily stuck up his own ass when it comes to his and The Eagles’ music. They haven’t had a Top 40 hit since Weird Al has been around, so there’s a lack of relevance, but I’ll note that Al has never parodied the Eagles. I wonder if Henley had anything to do with that.
And on the subject of dead artists, I don’t know if Weird Al has ever posthumously parodied someone. He did a style parody of reggae (“Buy Me a Condo”) in which he name-checks Bob Marley, who at the time had been in his grave for a few years.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he actively chooses not to. As he actively seeks out permission from artists to do his song-specific parodies, I suspect that he would want permission from the artist themselves, and not the estate of a deceased artist.
I’m not seeing this. I feel “One More Minute” is more a parody of doo wop.
Another measure is that his band has had no turnover.
“Bermuda” Shwartz was recruited in the hallway right before Al performed “Another One Rides The Bus” on the Tom Snyder Show in 1980, the next two, Steve Jay and Jim West joined in 1982 and the kid, Ruben Valtierra joined in 1991.
Also, besides the parody part, Al is a genuinely talented musician who can play multiple genres.
I’d not heard that one before. “Gonna buy me a T-shirt wid de alligator on!” 
Of course Weird Al belongs in the Hall of Fame!
That’s fair. My attribution may be more influenced by the music video, which is a spoof of Elvis’s 1968 Comeback Special.
If you want a clearer “style parody,” then “Dare to be Stupid,” from the same album, is a Devo parody.
I don’t know how narrow or wide the criteria are for inclusion in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, but unless there’s a reason to explicitly exclude him, Al deserves all the kudos one can bestow upon him.
The only firm criterion is that at least 25 years has passed since the artist’s first commercial music release. Yankovic qualified under that criterion long ago, as his first album was released 43 years ago.
Beyond that, it’s up to the whims of the committee which places artists on the ballot, and the broader pool of voters which votes on the year’s nominees. (There is a “fan vote,” but the results of the fan vote comprise one ballot, among the thousand-plus ballots which are filled out by industry members.)
Who has been put on the ballot, as well as who has made it into the Hall, is a mix of artists who were hugely popular for a long time, as well as artists who had little commercial success (or only existed for a brief time), but who were highly influential (establishing a genre, or being an inspiration for many later artists) – the Sex Pistols and the Velvet Underground are the classic examples here.
The above describes artists who are inducted via the main “performer” ballot. There are also people who are inducted into the Hall via special committees (“influencers” and “musical excellence,” the latter of which typically goes to session musicians, producers, etc.).
This raises a question. When Yankovic parodies the general style of another performer like Devo, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Oingo Boingo, or Talking Heads, but not a particular song, does he still seek permission from the performer?
“Genius In France” is a great parody of Frank Zappa, in my opinion.