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For the third article to this Soundtrack of a Lifetime 2023 series, I present a novelty song by none other than “Weird Al” Yankovic. Yankovic, a musician who can play multiple instruments, chose to use his accordion as his signature instrument. Something of an unusual choice in today’s pop culture.
“Weird Al” is known for his parodies of popular songs by other artists. His hits include "I Love Rocky Road", a takeoff on the song I Love Rock and Roll, made popular by Joan Jett & Blackhearts, and “Jurrasic Park”, a spoof of the hit song MacArthur Park.
The one I chose is "Wierd Al's" parody of one of the most popular singles of all time, Michael Jackson’s 1983 hit Beat It. Besides being a huge musical hit for Michael Jackson, the video paralleling the song Beat It, also became one of the most popular music videos of all time.
In his lampoon of Michael Jackson’s hit, "Weird Al" mimics the same gang theme that Jackson used in his video. Except that "Weird Al" changes, the topic. He turns it into the story of frustrated parents who are trying to get their teenager to eat the food they have prepared. The child, obviously a picky eater, refuses. The song encourages the child to eat eggs, bananas, chicken, yogurt, or anything that “Weird Al” can think of that isn't junk food.
The production is fairly complex and significant for a song of this type. If you watch the video, you will see Yankovic dressed in the same red leather jacket and flood water pants that Jackson used in his original video.
Eat It, was a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Yankovic a Grammy Award in 1984. It should be noted that the song rose to #1 in Australia. So, I guess the blokes down under really liked "Weird Al" more than the Americans did.
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Below you will find the link to the video of Weird Al performing his spoof, Eat It, of Michael Jackson’s famous video Beat It.
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