Will stars align for Weird Al?
Weird Al Yankovic is a star. Now, his fans want to give him one. They’ve mounted an online campaign to raise money to sponsor a star for the pop-music punster on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But will the joke be on the fans if their plan doesn’t work?
weirdal.com
Weird Al has been amusing audiences with his Grammy-winning parodies of hit pop songs since the 1980s, when he broke out with “Eat It,” a send-up of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Equally awarded music videos cemented his popularity with the MTV generation, and he remains popular today. “White and Nerdy,” his hilarious Wonder Bread take on Chamillionaire’s gangsta-driven “Ridin’,” went Top 10 last year, along with its album, “Straight Outta Lynwood.”
He’s on a national tour, including stops in Denver and the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo in August (weirdal.com/touring.htm). His Web site includes his latest music videos, links to his Webonly parody of James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” (“You’re Pitiful”) and lots of involvement by His Royal Weirdness. But I couldn’t find anything about the fans’ campaign to get Weird Al a star on the Walk of Fame.
weirdalstar.com
That’s because those fans asked Weird Al to take a hands-off approach because they wanted the honor to come solely through their efforts, said David Rossi, founder of the Weird Al Star Fund.
“We had to get permission from Al, and he has been very supportive,” Rossi said from New Jersey.
The fans nominated Weird Al last year, but he wasn’t selected.
“We have no plans to give up,” Rossi said. “We’ll continue to keep trying as long as it takes.”
