‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Shares Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Pitch: ‘I Don’t Lose Any Sleep Over Having Not Been Nominated’
"If they're going to ever pick a comedic entry, I'd like to think I'd be considered for that," Yankovic said of his Rock Hall prospects.
"Weird Al" Yankovic attends Vulture Festival 2023 Los Angeles at The Hollywood Roosevelt on Nov. 11, 2023 in Los Angeles.
Despite his status as a pop culture icon for close to 50 years now, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic has claimed he’s not terribly bothered about being overlooked by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Speaking to Vulture, Yankovic was asked to share his pitch to the Rock Hall to “do the right thing and induct” him, though the musical parodist seemed somewhat resigned to never being inducted when he replied, “The Rock Hall is going to do what they’re going to do.”
“They’re obviously expanding the boundaries of what constitutes rock and roll when they make their decisions,” he explained. “If they’re going to ever pick a comedic entry, I’d like to think I’d be considered for that. If they pick another accordion-playing parody writer ahead of me, I’d be upset.
“I don’t lose any sleep over having not been nominated. Right now, there aren’t millions of people saying, ‘Why isn’t he in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?’ And I’d prefer that to having millions of people saying, ‘Who let that jerk in there?'”
Despite Yankovic having been eligible for inclusion into the Rock Hall since 2005, he’s yet to be nominated on any annual ballot. However, chairman John Sykes did admit in December that the influential musical satirist has “come up in conversations” over the years.
“He’s a genius,” Sykes explained. “He has made brilliant versions of the songs, but I’ll be honest: He’s never made it close to the ballot.”
Comedian John Mulaney shared his thoughts on Yankovic’s absence from the Rock Hall earlier this year, reflecting on how the likes of Chubby Checker are to be inducted this year, given his debut single “The Class” has been classified as a novelty song.
“I’m a big proponent of novelty music,” Mulaney admitted. “I’m a big proponent of ‘Weird Al’ getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This is one step closer, though I don’t know why they need to be led via steps. ‘Weird Al’ brought more people to music than is recognized at all.
“I will, in fact, greatly devalue my coolness by saying [when I was young], it wasn’t until ‘Smells Like Nirvana’ defanged ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ that I could enjoy ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’” Mulaney added. “It was scary at first. It just was like, ‘I’m pretty happy, I’m a kid.’ I needed a way in. And after you laugh at ‘Smells Like Nirvana,’ you go, ‘Oh, this is a really good song.’”
This year’s Rock Hall inductees include the likes of The White Stripes, Outkast, Soundgarden, Bad Company, Cyndi Lauper, and more.
The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction will be live on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. The 2025 ceremony will once again stream live on Disney+, with a special airing on ABC at a later date and available on Hulu the next day.
