'Weird Al' Yankovic Quits Mailroom Job After Seeing His Song on Billboard Hot 100 Following Rejections

Even stars have humble beginnings, as Weird Al Yankovic demonstrated with his breakthrough in 1983. On the December 4 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Yankovic shared stories from his early days in the music industry, explaining how record labels struggled to categorize him in the late 70s and early 80s, when comedic songs werent typically seen as chart material.

Nobody wanted to sign me. They said, Youre very funny, this is amusing, youre a genius, Yankovic said. Anything humorous in rock was treated as novelty music, and novelty was usually associated with one-hit wonders.

Eventually, Yankovic landed a record deal and began releasing singles from his debut, self-titled album. At the time, however, he was still working a regular 9-to-5 job.

I was still working in a mailroom for about $5 an hour. One morning I grabbed the mail from the post office, and sticking out of the sack was the new Billboard magazine, he recalled. I opened it to the Hot 100 chart and saw my song listed. That was the day I handed in my notice!

The song in question was Ricky, a 1983 parody of Toni Basils Mickey featuring Tress MacNeille. Yankovic transformed the power-pop hit into a humorous tribute to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz from I Love Lucy.

Since that pivotal moment, Yankovic has focused entirely on his music career. Earlier this year, he announced 90 additional dates for his ongoing Bigger and Weirder tour, which had already led to a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden, marking the first time he achieved this milestone in his 46-year career.

Even before performing, I walked around the Garden and saw posters of Elton John, Taylor Swift, and many others. Its the greatest venue in the world! he said. Eddie Vedder once said, Youre nothing until youve played Madison Square Garden. Now, I guess Im something in his eyes, which makes me very happy.

Yankovic also participated in a humorous cold open for Colbert, titled A Holiday Message From Weird Al, where he comically addressed the frequent mispronunciation of his name.

My last name is pronounced Yankovic, not Yanko-vich! The Yankovics didnt come to this country carrying just an accordion and the wrong lyrics to songs only to have our names butchered! he joked.

Author: Ethan Caldwell