"Weird Al" Parodies The White Stripes, Charles Nelson Reilly

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The last time we heard from "Weird Al" Yankovic, he was recalling his relationship with Michael Jackson, the man responsible for jump-starting his career, for this Website. Now the suddenly prolific Yankovic has popped up on JibJab today to premiere his new video for "CNR," a tribute to Match Game panelist and actor Charles Nelson Reilly. "CNR" finds "Weird Al" playing the role of both Jack and Meg White, with Yankovic donning Jack's trademark hat and stringy black hair and using the Stripes' classic red-white-and-black motif.

Just as Weird Al is indebted to the White Stripes' "Icky Thump" for the sound of the song, the lyrics borrow just as heavily from those Chuck Norris Facts — for example: "Chuck Norris has counted to infinity. Twice." — except with Charles Nelson Reilly cast as a superhuman that can turn coal into diamonds and figure out cold fusion. Reilly passed away after a bout with pneumonia in 2007, thus depriving him the opportunity of hearing Yankovic tell tales about how "CNR" makes love to a manatee in front of school children at the aquarium and swallows Volkswagens whole.

The White Stripes join Nirvana, Michael Jackson, T.I., Dire Straits and countless more as recipients of "Weird Al" parodies. Prior to his original "Skipper Dan" video, Yankovic mocked the Doors' sound, style and Jim Morrison's meandering poetry with his "Craigslist" video. Both the "CNR" song and video is available now on all digital music outlets. Additionally, JibJab, who animated the clip, are offering members of their website to somehow plaster their own face onto one of the people who are terrorized by Reilly in the video.

Related Stories:
• "Weird Al" Yankovic Mocks Doors, Casual Encounters in "Craigslist"
• Flashback: Celebrating 20 Years of "Weird Al" Yankovic’s "UHF"

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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