# "Weird Al" Yankovic discography
The discography of "Weird Al" Yankovic (born 1959 in [Downey, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/downey-california)), the American song-parody musician, consists of 14 studio albums released between 1983 and 2014, plus a classical collaboration, soundtracks, compilation albums, and standalone singles such as the 2024 polka medley "Polkamania!"[1](https://weirdal.fandom.com/wiki/Albums) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography) • [3](https://www.arabtimesonline.com/uploads/imported_images/pdf/2024/jul/Arabtimes23jul2024.pdf) His catalog mixes direct parodies of hit songs, style parodies of artists or genres, original comedy songs, and a polka medley on nearly every album.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography) • [4](https://www.weirdal.com/archives/miscellaneous/parodies-polka/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 14, from *"Weird Al" Yankovic* (1983) to *Mandatory Fun* (2014)[1](https://weirdal.fandom.com/wiki/Albums) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography) |
| Signature parody hits | "Eat It," "Like a Surgeon," "Smells Like Nirvana," "Amish Paradise," "White & Nerdy," "Word Crimes"[5](https://www.weirdal.com/archives/biography-2/) |
| Chart peak | *Mandatory Fun* (2014) became the first comedy album in history to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and the first to reach the top of that chart since 1963[5](https://www.weirdal.com/archives/biography-2/) |
| Longevity record | With "Word Crimes" at No. 39, he joined Michael Jackson and Madonna as the only artists with a Top 40 single in each decade from the 1980s through the 2010s[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography) |
| Labels | Scotti Brothers through the 1980s and 1990s; Zomba, Volcano, Jive, and RCA in later years[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography) |
| Clearance practice | He obtains permission from the original writers of the songs he parodies[6](https://www.weirdal.com/archives/faq/) |
| Recent output | No studio album since 2014; releases since then include the "Polkamania!" medley (2024) and the *WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story* soundtrack (2022)[7](https://rockcellarmagazine.com/weird-al-yankovic-interview-2026-bigger-and-weirder-tour/) • [8](https://www.weirdal.com/news/) |
## Studio albums
Yankovic's first album, *"Weird Al" Yankovic*, appeared in 1983 on Scotti Brothers, followed at roughly one- to two-year intervals by *In 3-D* (1984), *[Dare to Be Stupid](https://www.edgepedia.org/dare-to-be-stupid)* (1985), and *Polka Party!* (1986).[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography) The 1984 album produced "Eat It," his parody of [Michael Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-jackson)'s "Beat It"; the single won a Grammy and reached the Top 15, and its video, which mocked the "Beat It" clip scene for scene, became an MTV hit.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography)
The late-1980s releases were *[Even Worse](https://www.edgepedia.org/even-worse)* (1988), *UHF* (1989, the soundtrack to his film of the same name), and a side project, *Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf / Carnival of the Animals, Part II* (1988), recorded with composer Wendy Carlos for CBS Masterworks.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography) • [9](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/7746d775-9550-4360-b8d5-c37bd448ce01) The 1990s brought *Off the Deep End* (1992), *[Alapalooza](https://www.edgepedia.org/alapalooza)* (1993), *Bad Hair Day* (1996), and *[Running with Scissors](https://www.edgepedia.org/running-with-scissors-weird-al-yankovic-album)* (1999).[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography) *Alapalooza* reached No. 46 on the Billboard 200 during a four-week run in late 1993.[10](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-11-13-N.pdf) *Bad Hair Day* contained "Amish Paradise," a parody of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise"; Coolio publicly contended that he had never given his blessing to the song, although Yankovic's standing practice is to obtain permission from the original writers of the songs he parodies.[6](https://www.weirdal.com/archives/faq/)
The final run of studio albums comprised *[Poodle Hat](https://www.edgepedia.org/poodle-hat)* (2003), *Straight Outta Lynwood* (2006), *Alpocalypse* (2011), and *Mandatory Fun* (2014).[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography) *Straight Outta Lynwood* yielded "White & Nerdy," which reached No. 8 on the Billboard singles chart in 2006.[11](https://device.report/m/9acc46fc7496df5242d52512ebdcadccb8799847044d8b866e055eccd775db81.pdf) *Mandatory Fun*, his 14th studio album and first for RCA, debuted at No. 1 on the [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) 200; no comedy album had debuted at the top spot before, and none had topped the chart at all since 1963.[5](https://www.weirdal.com/archives/biography-2/) • [12](https://time.com/3031183/weird-al-hitting-number-1-doesnt-change-plan-to-stop-making-albums/) The single "Word Crimes" hit No. 39, giving Yankovic a [Top 40](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-40) single in each decade from the 1980s through the 2010s, a distinction he shares with Michael Jackson and Madonna.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography) The album's other tracks included "Tacky," "Foil," "Sports Song," and the polka medley "NOW That's What I Call Polka!"[13](https://www.weirdal.com/product_categories/studio-albums/)
## Parodies, style parodies, and originals
A studio album typically contains three kinds of material. Direct parodies rework a specific hit song with new lyrics; the official website maintains an alphabetical listing of every parody released on his commercial albums, paired with the original song and artist.[4](https://www.weirdal.com/archives/miscellaneous/parodies-polka/) Style parodies are wholly original songs written in the manner of an artist or genre rather than a particular track, and the remainder are original comedy songs; [Howard Stern](https://www.edgepedia.org/howard-stern)'s survey of these "Al-riginals" argues that Yankovic is an accomplished songwriter in his own right, with originals such as those on the *UHF* soundtrack standing alongside the parodies.[14](https://www.howardstern.com/show/2016/05/17/al-riginals-weird-als-overlooked-original-songs/)
His parody titles typically alter the original by substituting a single word or phrase while keeping the rhyme, meter, and syllabification, as in "I Love Rocky Road" ([Joan Jett](https://www.edgepedia.org/joan-jett)'s "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"); a scholarly survey of 50 of his song titles identifies this wordplay-driven strategy as his predominant one.[15](https://repozytorium.ur.edu.pl/bitstreams/09e591d0-23d1-4236-a668-a1fe6503f9ab/download) He and his long-time band labor over the production so that a listener hearing a parody out of context might mistake it for the original.[16](https://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0293.pdf)
## Polka medleys and compilations
Nearly every studio album includes a polka medley that strings together contemporary hits played in polka style, from "Polka Power!" on *Running with Scissors* to "NOW That's What I Call Polka!" on *Mandatory Fun*.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography) • [13](https://www.weirdal.com/product_categories/studio-albums/) In 2024, to mark the tenth anniversary of *Mandatory Fun*, he released "Polkamania!" as a standalone single, a medley of a dozen of the biggest pop hits of the preceding decade, including [Billie Eilish](https://www.edgepedia.org/billie-eilish)'s "Bad Guy," Adele's "Hello," [Luis Fonsi](https://www.edgepedia.org/luis-fonsi) and [Daddy Yankee](https://www.edgepedia.org/daddy-yankee)'s "Despacito," and Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off."[3](https://www.arabtimesonline.com/uploads/imported_images/pdf/2024/jul/Arabtimes23jul2024.pdf)
His catalog also includes the boxed set *Permanent Record: Al In The Box*, documented in detail at the Demented Music Database, which compiles a complete U.S. discography assembled by Al's drummer Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz.[17](https://dmdb.org/al/) The 2017 retrospective *Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic* later won a Grammy for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, his fifth.[8](https://www.weirdal.com/news/)
## After 2014
Yankovic has released no studio album since *Mandatory Fun*.[7](https://rockcellarmagazine.com/weird-al-yankovic-interview-2026-bigger-and-weirder-tour/) He had said before that album's release that he planned to move toward releasing singles digitally rather than conventional albums once his contract ran out, and the No. 1 debut did not change that plan.[12](https://time.com/3031183/weird-al-hitting-number-1-doesnt-change-plan-to-stop-making-albums/) Standalone releases since then include "Now You Know," the closing-credits song he wrote for the 2022 biopic *WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story*, whose 46-track soundtrack album also collects early Weird Al songs re-recorded for the movie and the film's entire orchestral score; the soundtrack earned him a 17th Grammy nomination.[8](https://www.weirdal.com/news/) In 2018 he had already demonstrated the non-parody side of the catalog on the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, 77 shows on which he and his bandmates of over 35 years played set lists made up almost entirely of original, non-parody material without costumes, props, or video screens.[5](https://www.weirdal.com/archives/biography-2/)
## References
1. [Albums, Weird Al Wiki (Fandom)](https://weirdal.fandom.com/wiki/Albums)
2. ["Weird Al" Yankovic Discography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/weird-al-yankovic-p140212/discography)
3. [AP interview via Arab Times (July 2024), "Polkamania!" release](https://www.arabtimesonline.com/uploads/imported_images/pdf/2024/jul/Arabtimes23jul2024.pdf)
4. [Parodies & Polkas, weirdal.com](https://www.weirdal.com/archives/miscellaneous/parodies-polka/)
5. [Biography, weirdal.com](https://www.weirdal.com/archives/biography-2/)
6. [Frequently Asked Questions, weirdal.com](https://www.weirdal.com/archives/faq/)
7. [Rock Cellar Magazine, 2026 interview with "Weird Al" Yankovic](https://rockcellarmagazine.com/weird-al-yankovic-interview-2026-bigger-and-weirder-tour/)
8. [News, weirdal.com](https://www.weirdal.com/news/)
9. ["Weird Al" Yankovic, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/7746d775-9550-4360-b8d5-c37bd448ce01)
10. [The Billboard 200, Billboard, November 13, 1993 issue](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-11-13-N.pdf)
11. [Billboard singles chart page (2006), device.report archive](https://device.report/m/9acc46fc7496df5242d52512ebdcadccb8799847044d8b866e055eccd775db81.pdf)
12. [Weird Al: Hitting Number 1 Doesn't Change Plan to Stop Making Albums, TIME (2014)](https://time.com/3031183/weird-al-hitting-number-1-doesnt-change-plan-to-stop-making-albums/)
13. [Catalog Studio Albums, weirdal.com](https://www.weirdal.com/product_categories/studio-albums/)
14. [Al-riginals: Weird Al's Overlooked Original Songs, Howard Stern](https://www.howardstern.com/show/2016/05/17/al-riginals-weird-als-overlooked-original-songs/)
15. [Contrafacta parodies study, University of Rzeszów repository](https://repozytorium.ur.edu.pl/bitstreams/09e591d0-23d1-4236-a668-a1fe6503f9ab/download)
16. [A Philosophy of Cover Songs, Open Book Publishers](https://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0293.pdf)
17. [The Demented Music Database: "Weird Al" Yankovic](https://dmdb.org/al/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Discographies and musical catalogues › Artist and group discographies › Pop, R&B, and Christian/gospel artist discographies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license