This will likely end up being something I do on a regular basis because this man is a genius in so many ways. I first encountred him right around the time that I think most people did (my age) and that was when he was really having some fun with just about anything that Michael Jackson.
"Fat" was not the first song I encountered by him, it was actually "Eat it" but that doesn't really matter. Weird Al and Michael actually had a wonderful real-life relationship and Michael went on to say that he was actually quite honored that Al chose to mimic his songs. Many years later, the boys in Nirvana (it was Cobain) said something along the lines of that "they knew they had made it when Weird Al wanted to parody one of their songs - that was a true measure of success."
Those weren't Kurt's exact words by the way, I couldn't find the exact quote, but the sentiment should still be understandable.
I loved Al, I still do. I remember I had his albums on RECORD, that's how long I have been a fan. I think one of my favorites by him is "One more Minute" which is actually an original song that I would never have heard had he not parodied (with permission) the more famous songs by bands like Nirvana and especially Michael Jackson.
What started out as something just comedic, actually revealed a talent for songwriting and singing that many times surpasses the people he is poking fun at. Weird Al almost never attacks anyone on a personal level and his humor is normally about something completely innocent like food or in Nirvana's case - the very real situation that existed in that none of the fans could understand the lyrics of their songs.
There are so many great songs by this man and all along the way he managed to always be family-friendly and very rarely swears not just in his songs but in real life also. There are doco's out there about how the people in his "crew" were constantly trying to get him to do drugs and go to strip clubs and other such things but Al never went with them or did any drugs. He simply didn't want to. Amazing. I'm not even famous or rich and I like both of those things.
This video is quite long because it parodies the entire Michael Jackson video and if you weren't alive back then (or paying attention) MJ had a penchant for not just making videos but making small films surrounding his songs. If i am not mistaken he was one of the first people to ever do that and even if he isn't, it was my first memory of it.
Weird Al is still alive and kicking even though unfortunately, his friend and muse Michael Jackson is not. There has only ever been one person that didn't like having their song parodied and that was Coolio, who is kind of goon anyway (imo). If you are unfamiliar with Yankovich's work, i highly suggest you look into it. If you are familiar, i would be very interested in hearing your favorites.