He is best known for writing and performing comedy songs that often parody specific songs by contemporary musicians. He also performs original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts, as well as polka medleys of several popular songs, most of which feature his trademark accordion. Since having one of his comedy songs aired on The Dr. Demento Radio Show in at age 16, Yankovic has sold more than 12 million albums as of [update] , [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ needs update ] recorded more than parodies and original songs, [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] and performed more than 1, live shows.
His fourteenth studio album, Mandatory Fun , became his first number-one album during its debut week. Yankovic's success has been attributed to his effective use of music videos to further parody pop culture, the song's original artist, and the original music videos themselves. He has directed some of his own music videos and has also directed music videos for other artists including Ben Folds , Hanson , the Black Crowes , and the presidents of the United States of America.
With the decline of music television and the onset of social media, he used YouTube and other video sites to publish his videos; this strategy helped boost sales of his later albums. He has not released a full album since Mandatory Fun , opting instead for timely releases of singles. He was raised in nearby Lynwood, California. She moved to California a decade before Yankovic was born.
Yankovic's first accordion lesson, which sparked his interest in music, took place on the day before his seventh birthday. Yankovic claims that his parents chose the accordion over the guitar because "they figured there should be at least one more accordion-playing Yankovic in the world"; this was in reference to Frankie Yankovic , [ 18 ] [ 17 ] to whom he is not related.
In the s, Yankovic was a big fan of Elton John and cites John's album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road as one of the reasons he "learned to play rock 'n roll on the accordion". Demento Radio Show. Yankovic began kindergarten a year earlier than most children and skipped second grade , later saying, "My classmates seemed to think I was some kind of rocket scientist, so I was labeled a nerd early on. He was not interested in sports or social events but was active in other extracurricular programs, including the National Forensic League -sanctioned public speaking events; a play based on Rebel Without a Cause ; the yearbook, for which he wrote most of the captions; and the Volcano Worshippers club, which he later said did "absolutely nothing" and was started "just to get an extra picture of [themselves] in the yearbook".
