Weird Al Net Worth in 2021

Weird Al Net Worth
Credits: Billboard

Weird Al is a multi-disciplinary artist. He is a singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, actor, satirist, music director, and author of American descent. He is known for his unconventional art of making light of pop culture and of specific songs by contemporary musical acts. Let us read about some fascinating details about him and Weird Al Net Worth in 2021.

His trademark accordion is featured by polka medleys of several popular songs performed by him. He as sold over 12 million copies of his albums. He has recorded 150 parody and original songs and has performed over 1,000 live shows.

Other than being a musician he has written and starred in various films and made guest appearances in many television shows.

He is the recipient of five Grammy Awards and has had many gold and platinum in the U.S. He has directed many music videos and his success can be attributed to his originality and unconventional style.

Weird Al Net Worth and Overview

Net Worth$20 Million
OccupationSinger, Songwriter, Musician, Author, record producer, and Actor
Date of BirthOctober 23, 1959
Age60 years
Height6’ ft. or 1.83 m
Spouse(s)Suzanne Yankovic (m. 2001)
ChildrenNina Yankovic
Country of OriginThe United States of America
Source of WealthMusic Albums, Movies, Shows
Instagram Followers524.7k
Twitter Followers5 million
YouTube Subscribers1.89 million
Last UpdatedDecember 2020

Early Life

Weird Al Early Life
Credits: HuffPost

Alfred Matthew Yankovic was an only child. He was born on October 23rd, 1959, in Downey California, and raised in Lynwood, California.

His parents were Mary Elizabeth and Nick Yankovic. His father was of Yugoslavian descent and his mother was of English and Italian ancestry.

Yankovic’s father had worked as a medic in World War II. His mother was a stenographer. Yankovic’s parents got him to learn the accordion, influenced by Frankie Yankovic, another famous accordionist which later sparked Weird Al’s interest in music.

He attended Lynwood High School and passed out as valedictorian of his senior class. He acquired a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Yankovic was a huge fan of Elton John. He is his inspiration to try rock and roll. He considers artists such as Tom Lehrer, Stan Freberg, Frank Zappa, Allan Sherman, and Shel Silverstein to be his influences in comedy and parody music. Yankovic also loved The Dr. Demento Radio Show.

Later one of his original songs, which he had made at age 16 was played on the radio show, thus launching Yankovic’s career.

Career Highlights and Achievements

Early Career
Credits: Twitter

Dr. Demento and Early Years (1976-1981)

“Belvedere Cruisin” was his first song, which was on Dr. Demento’s radio show and he released his first recording “Take Me Down” in 1978.

His nickname of Weird Al was used as a demeaning name by the residents of his dorm, but he later took it professionally as his persona. He even played at local coffeehouses, along with his fellow dormitory resident on bongos.

He became a disc jockey at KCPR, the radio station of the Cal Poly university where he was pursuing Architecture as a sophomore year.

Shortly before his senior year in the mid-1979, Yankovic recorded a parody titled “My Bologna” with his accordion in a restroom near the radio station to make use of the echo chamber acoustics.

It was a parody of the song “My Sharona” by The Knack which was on the charts at the time.

Capitol Records released “My Bologna” as a single.  Doug Fieger, the lead singer of The Knack liked the song and it was at his request that the same was done.

The label gave Yankovic a six-month recording contract. It was at this time he realized from his average grades in his architecture degree that he can make a career in comedy music.

In 1980, Yankovic went as a guest on the Dr. Demento Show. He recorded a new parody live called “Another One Bites the Bus”, a parody of Queen’s hit, “Another One Bites the Dust”.

The song became so popular that Yankovic’s first television appearance was a performance of the song on The Tomorrow Show on April 12, 1981, alongside Tom Snyder.

On the show, he played his accordion. His record label went bankrupt about 2 weeks post the release of the single so he received no royalties from its initial release.

Band (1981-1997)

Weird Al with his band
Credits: Pinterest

Yankovic went on tour for the first time as a part of Dr. Dementor’s stage show in 1981. His stage act in a nightclub in Phoenix, Arizona caught the attention of the manager, Jay Levey. He asked Yankovic to consider a full band and doing his career in music.

Levey held auditions when Yankovic replied in the affirmative. They formed a new band and his first show with his new band was on March 31, 1982.

His song “I Love Rocky Road” (a parody of “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”) in 1982 was a hit on Top 40 radio. This led to him signing with Scotti Brothers Records. He also released his first self-titled album with them. He then released his second album “Weird Al” Yankovic in 3-D in the year 1984.

The first single “Eat It”, is a parody of Michael Jackson’s song “Beat it”. It peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 and remained his highest-charting work until “White & Nerdy” in the year 2006. However, his movie UHF in 1989 did not do well in the box office.

In the year 1985, he co-wrote and starred in a mockumentary of his own life, called “The Compleat Al”. Four years later a biographical book was also released. In the mid-1987 he and his band toured as the opening act for The Monkees.

Up through 1992, six albums of Yankovic were produced by Rick Derringer, 2 of which won Grammy Awards. He then took over the production of his albums in the year 1992.

Later Career

Yankovic got into the digital distribution of his songs in the year 2008. He took a keen interest in parodying Lady Gaga’s work.

He was the judge for the 10th annual Independent Music Awards in order to support the career of individual artists.

Furthermore, he released the album, Mandatory Fun which received strong critical praise.

It was the No.1 debut album on the Billboard charts on the week of its release. With consecutive videos being released over 8 days, the album became his first No.1 album and drew viral attention.

Yankovic received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018. Later, in March of the same year, he released a new song “The Hamilton Polka”. The song is the first Polka song to chart on the Billboard’s Digital Songs Sales Chart.

Personal Life

Weird Al and Suzanne
Credits: Getty Images

Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski. Bill Mumy introduced Suzanne to Yankovic in 2001. She was a marketing executive with 20th Century Fox.

They were later blessed with a daughter, Nina in 2003. Though he has an engaging and bold persona on stage, he is shy and introverted according to his friends, family and associates.

Yankovic became a vegetarian in 1992, after his girlfriend introduced him to John Robbins’ book ‘Diet for a New America’. He said in a 2011 interview that he is still a vegetarian and has tried to be vegan.

Tragedy stuck his family in April, 2004, when his parents passed away due to an accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from their fireplace.

Even during this time, he continued to perform at his concerts and later stated that they were therapeutic and helped against falling into depression.

What is Weird Al Net Worth in 2021?

Weird Al has worked across several disciplines in his career of over four decades. He started his career with a song release on a radio show. And over the years, he discovered several other facets of Entertainment industry.

Weird Al earned a lot of fame and prosperity with his art and talent. Weird Al Net Worth in 2021 is estimated to be $20 million.

Some Lesser Known Facts About Weird Al

Unknown Facts
Credits: NY Times
  • Weird Al was put to school a year early than other kids.
  • He skipped 2nd grade and as a result, was always around kids who were 2 years older than him in age.
  • As a derogatory nickname from his dorm residents, he is called Weird Al. He took as an insult but later took on as his professional name.
  • Also, he was looked upon as an outcast by the people around him.
  • He attributes the spark that light his career to Dr. Demento.
  • His mother had banned him from listening to Dr. Demento’s show but he listened to it discreetly.
  •  Michael Jackson was a big fan of his work!

Summary

Weird is an artist who was always keen to try out new things. He started as an amateur musician and got exposure on a radio show of Dr. Demento.

But over the years he transformed into a singer, producer, actor, satirist, and a lot of other things.

Weird Al gave several hits as a musician and some of his works went on to rank high on the Billboard. He won quite a few honors in his long career of 40+ years. Weird Al Net Worth in 2021 is $20 million and his work in several domains contributes to his prosperity.

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