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“Weird Al” Breakthrough Album ‘In 3-D’ Turns 40

As the “Weird Al” classic ‘In 3-D’ turns 40, Discogs reflects on the truly unusual story of “Weird Al’s” career and breakthrough album.

Cover of Weird Al Yankovic In 3-D album

A year before “Weird Al” Yankovic released his breakthrough classic, “Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D, he was working in a mailroom, and writing parody and original songs as a side hustle. MTV changed all that. Following the release of his self-titled debut album in 1983, the network picked up his single “Ricky” (a parody of the Toni Basil song “Mickey”) and the video started getting airplay. With the MTV success, “Weird Al” arrived at a crossroads: continue sorting mail or go all in on a music career.

How Alfred Yankovic Became “Weird Al”

During his first year of college, Alfred Yankovic saw the new beginning as a chance to start over and reinvent himself. He started introducing himself as “Al” instead of “Alfred,” but Al was not your average freshman. He was only 16, wore thick glasses, and was shy. He never partied, preferring the comforts of his dorm room. When passing fellow freshmen from the “in” crowd in the hallway, he would make weird faces or oddball remarks. Once, one of the group replied, “Hey, it’s ‘Weird Al,’ ” and a star was born.


“Weird Al” Begins Writing “Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D

In October of 1983, “Weird Al” began writing material for his second studio album, “Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D. It was his second album with producer and musician Rick Derringer, (famous for the song “Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo.”) Derringer played the Eddie Van Halen guitar solos on “Eat It,” which was released as the album’s first single.


“Weird Al” Parodies Everything from Devo to Jimi Hendrix

Five of the 11 songs on In 3-D are parodies of artists such as Michael Jackson (“Eat It”), the Police (“King of Suede”), Men Without Hats (“The Brady Bunch”), the Greg Kihn Band “(I Lost on Jeopardy”), and Survivor (“Theme from Rocky Xlll”). The medley “Polkas on 45” features hot takes on songs from Devo, Deep Purple, the Beatles, the Doors, Iron Butterfly, Jimi Hendrix, Talking Heads, Foreigner, the Police, the Clash, Rolling Stones and the Who. “Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D also contains five original songs. (Since Yankovic’s career began, he’s written and recorded more than 80 originals.)


“I Lost on Jeopardy” Got The Okay from Merv Griffin

The song “Jeopardy” from the Greg Kihn Band was reworked into “I Lost on Jeopardy” for “Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D. To perform the song, Yankovic employed the use of actual Jeopardy announcer Don Pardo for voice-overs (“That right, Al, you lost!”) and original Jeopardy host Art Fleming for the music video. He even made sure to clear the idea with Jeopardy creator Merv Griffin. Eventually, “Weird Al” performed the song on The Merv Griffin Show. The song has since made multiple appearances on Jeopardy, including as a Daily Double in 2018. 


“Weird Al” Visited Clothing Stores For Inspiration

For “King of Suede,” a cover of the Police’s “King of Pain,” “Weird Al” visited fabric stores to do research for lyric writing, taking notes as he walked around. “I got a lot of nasty stares from store managers,” said Yankovic in the liner notes of the Permanent Record box set.


“Weird Al” Goes Top 40

The final parody recorded for “Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D was “Eat It,” a parody of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” told from the perspective of a parent whose child refuses to eat most foods. Yankovic was hesitant to ask for Michael Jackson’s consent to parody the song, but Jackson thought it was funny and gave his permission. “Eat It” was “Weird Al’s” first Top 40 hit, peaking at Number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It earned Yankovic a Grammy in the Best Comedy Recording category. The video, played heavily on MTV, was a shot-for-shot remake of Jackson’s video, for which Jackson received royalties. “I had high hopes for ‘Eat It’ but I had no conception of how big it would be,” “Weird Al” told GQ in 2023. Until “Smells Like Nirvana” was released by “Weird Al” in 1992, “Eat It” was Al’s only top 40 hit. 


“Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D Goes Gold

On April 30, 1984, two months after its release, “Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making it Yankovic’s first Gold record. On August 18, 1995, it was certified Platinum by the RIAA.


The Enduring Legacy of “Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D

“Weird Al” refers to each record he makes as a “comeback record,” because parody artists typically do not have lasting careers. Weird Al has never really gone away, though. Instead, he continues to reinvent himself and his parodies, bouncing from pop to grunge to hip-hop and back again, always with an eye to PG-rated laughter. To many, “Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D was an introduction to a world where comedy and mainstream music co-existed happily ever after. 40 years later, “Weird Al” remains one of the most successful musicians ever to navigate the balance between comedy and music. And that’s why we’re still “eating it” up.

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