Weird Al” Yankovic was born in Downey, California under the name of Alfred Matthew Yankovic. His first name, Alfred, is where he got the Al in “Weird Al” Yankovic. The genres he does are Comedy, Parody, and Polka. His occupations are Singer, Songwriter, Parodist, Record Producer, Satirist, Actor, Music Video Director, Film Producer, and Author. Yankovic also does vocals, plays the accordion, keyboards, and theremin, and he’s been active since 1976 and is still going. “Weird” Al made his first comedy song in 1976. He’s sold over 12 million songs (as of 2007). He’s also made over 150 parody and original albums. He has also preformed in over 1000 live TV shows. His work has awarded him with 4 Grammys and another 11 nominations, 4 gold records, …show more content…
and 6 platinum records in the U.S. His success comes in part from the effective use of music video to further parody popular culture, the song’s original artist, and the original music videos themselves. “Weird” Al Yankovic also wrote and starred in the movie UHF whose total Box office Gross was $6,157,157.He also starred in the show The “Weird” Al Show, and wrote 2 children’s books. In the 1970s Al was a huge fan of Elton John and claims Elton’s song Goodbye Yellow Brick Road “was partially how I learned to play Rock n’ Roll on my accordion”. One of his inspirations for comedy was Monty Python. Al began kindergarten a year early, and skipped the second grade. He said all my class mates thought I was some kind of rocket scientist, so I was labeled nerd early on”, his unusual schooling left him 2 years younger than most of his classmates. At Lynwood High School Al And friends started the Volcano Worshipper Club, Which did nothing and they only started it to get out of classes and to get an extra picture of themselves in the yearbook. He graduated in 1975 and he was the valedictorian of his senior class. Yankovic attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obisibo where he got bachelors in architecture. Yankovic received his first exposure via southern California Comedy radio Dr.Demento’s Radio Show.
In 1976 Dr.Demento spoke at Yankovic’s School where the then 16 year old Al Gave Him a homemade tape of original and parody songs. During Yankovic’s sophomore year as an architect at Cal Poly, he became a disc jockey at KCPR the university’s radio station. Al said that the nickname his friends gave him was “Weird” Al and thought that it fit him so “took it on professionally” as his persona at KCPR .In 1979 he released his very first recording “Take me down”. In mid 1979s shortly before his senior year “My Sharona” By: The Knack was on the charts and Yankovic took his accordion into the bathroom across the hall from the radio shack to take advantage of the echo chamber acoustics and recorded a parody called “My Bologna”. He sent it to Dr.Demento, who aired it with good feedback from listeners of the radio show. In 1992 Al became a Vegan Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001, after being introduced by common friend Bill Mumy. On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents were found dead in their Fallbrook, California, home, the victims of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from their fireplace. Information from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22Weird_Al%22_Yankovic
Howard Stern is a radio personality, producer, actor, author, and is the self proclaimed “King of All Media”. Stern is widely known for “The Howard Stern Show”, which was aired on FM radio from 1986 to 2005, until it moved to Sirius XM Radio in 2006. Stern specific style of “shock jock” radio is what makes him so popular, taking him only four years to get his show nationally syndicated in 1986.
Ove the course of his 27-year career, R. Kelly has released 12 studio albums and sold more than 100 million units worldwide. His work has helped define a new generation of RnB singers, earning him the title “King of RnB.” He shattered expectations in 2005 when he released the first five
With Chas as his partner in crime, or manager, Hendrix became known world wide. He began his very first tour with his band Jimmy James And The Blue Flames. Chas and Hendrix worked very hard that year and finally released their first Album in the late 1966 early 1967 titled Are You Experienced? This album included the famous tracks Hey Jude and Purple Haze. During mid 1967, Hendrix did something that took the world by surprise. While performing at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967 he set his favorite guitar on fire. When later asked about why he did so, Hendrix simply
Elvis grew up into a common laid back family. Elvis Aron Presley was born on January 8th 1935. He later changed his middle name to Aaron the more common way to spell that name. His parents were Vernon and Gladys Presley. He was born into a two-room house in Tupelo Mississippi. He also had a stillborn brother named Jessie Garon. Jessie would have been the identical twin brother of Elvis. This left Elvis to be the only child for Vernon and Gladys Presley.
and by the majority of his listeners a genius. He grew up in a suburb of Manhattan in the early
Billy Joel was born on May 9, 1949 in Bronx, New York. He moved at the age of four to a small town on Long Island. This is where at the ripe age of four he discovered the art of music. Originally a classical music fan, Billy Joel honed his skills with classical piano training. This undoubtedly has had a major influence on his life and certainly his music. Growing up Joel was a big fan of such greats as Ray Charles, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Otis Reading. He was greatly persuaded into a career of music when he saw the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. Amusingly Joel's first band was inspired by the uncanny opportunity to meet girls. The band was called The Echoes, but this was not the best of times for Joel because his parents were involved in a messy divorce, which included serious financial shortcomings. Joel even began working professional music gigs at night to help support his mother. Joel's schoolwork suffered a little and he began missing school way too often. He was subsequently not allowed to graduate with his high school class due to the number of absences. After high school Joel immediately joined a very popular band called The Hassels for which he recorded two albums with. Within two years Joel was on to a new band which he named Attila, and featured heavy metal drummer Jon Small who he played with during his time with The Hassels. Despite the previous release of two albums Joel still needed to bring in more money so he worked many music related jobs and gigs. He even wrote a rock and roll criticism piece in a weekly column for a magazine.
Charlie Sheen is a well-known actor, although the person he is today is no longer Carlos Irwin Estevez. Charlie sheen, born on September 3, 1965, is the son of Martin Sheen. Charlie almost died at birth and was named after his doctor for this, thus his middle name was Irwin. His father, also an actor, was entering the stage of Broadway around the time Charlie was born. Charlie’s mother is Janet Sheen and the two of them had three other children. These included Ramon Estevez, Renee Estevez, and Emilio Estevez. All of them turned out to be actors, following in the footsteps of their father.
Norman Rockwell is best known for his depictions of dail life of a rural America. Rockwell’s goals in art revolved around his desire to create an ideal America. He said “ I paint life as I would like it to be.”
“Kanye Ran onto the stage saying, ‘I'm sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!’” (Top 10 Outrageous Kanye West Moments), says Kanye West at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards after Taylor Swift had just won “Best Female Video.” People that are like this have typically not always been this way. They were probably raised as a polite and respectful person before they were exposed to fame and fortune, and other “celebrities,” making them feel like they are the only people on the planet. Causing them to do things like that. Although, Kanye West is an amazing musician based on his 14 Grammy Awards and multiple albums going “Double-Platinum” (Manheim, James M., and Carol Brennan). He fell victim to fame and fortune, and turned into an arrogant and overconfident person making him more popular and praised among media. But looked down upon by everyday people. Kanye Omari West, born on June 8th, 1977, is a world famous rapper who, like all other celebrities, started out like a nice person who made nice music for nice families to listen to. West was a confident and competitive person even as a child, “He was determined even then to get out of his crib and be free, even if he split his head in the process—and he did. He has fought ever since to do exactly what he wanted to do—no matter what,” says Donda West, his mother in her book, Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar. By the time West was ten, he was already creating his own raps, and according to the people around him, he was pretty good at it even at that young of an age. (Manheim, James M., and Carol Brennan) West was not too interested in school as he grew up, but he was able to get by because of his talent. If he dropped out of one ...
Louis Armstrong was born to William and May-Ann Armstrong, on August 4, 1901; although it is rumored he was born on July 4, 1900. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana where as he went back and forth between his 'grandmother’s house and his mother’s house. He had on sister named Beatrice who was just two years younger than him who he looked after as a young child. When he was seven he begin singing on the street for a little money with his friends and that is where he got his nickname “Satchelmouth” which was later changed to “Satchmo” because of his smile. While playing in the street he met a trumpeter by the name of Bunk Johnson who taught him things he knew about music and the trumpet. In his memoir he said, “But somehow all that jive didn’t faze me at all, I was so happy to have some place to blow my horn” (Armstrong). Trouble didn't meet Mr. Armstrong until 1912 during a New Year’s Eve celebration. Louis Armstrong fired a pistol into the air and was immediately arrested and he spent the night in a jail cell. He was sentenced to a Colored Waif’s House, where he stayed for 18 months.
Avi was born in 1973 on December 23. He has a twin sister who was born 5 minutes after him, her name was Emily. She called him Avi and for some reason, it stuck with him and to this day people refer to him as Avi. Growing up in Brooklyn, he went to a public school. He was in the same class as his sister until eighth grade. He came from a family of writers, artists, and musicians. "Today we have all that, plus filmmakers, actors, and theater, and Tv directors". (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/avi) Avi's real name was Edward Irving Wortis according to wikipedia.org (as of September 11, 2015). Avi wanted to be a designer of airlines, but flunked science in high school, so he got help on his English, and it led him
• AW and her ex-husband Melvyn Leventhal were the first legally married interracial couple to live in the state of Missisippi (married in 1967, divorced in 1976). They had a daughter, Rebecca. She later remarried fellow editor Robert Allen.
Imagine at the age of eight you are the lead singer of one of the most popular bands at the time with multiple songs reaching number one and produces incredibly popular albums, and at the age of around twelve you start a solo career, ("Jackson 5"). Michael Jackson's life was just that, including many multi-million selling songs across two music groups the Jackson 5 at the age eight and going solo at the age of twelve and having many adoring fans it contributed to Jackson being the best pop singer of all time. Although there were rape allegations which people suggest that Michael Jackson should be stripped of his title of the "King of Pop". Michael Jackson even with the faulty allegations, the popularity
“He was born on June 9,1963 in Owensboro Kentucky.” (Hawes 5/6)He was the fourth child and had the biggest passion in music. The moved to Miramar Florida when he was 7 to accommodate his father job. Johnny began smoking at the age of 12. His parents divorced when he was 15 and he was the only one living with his mom. They split up because of the rift between johnny and his father. When he was 16 he dropped out of high school and joined a gang. (Hawes 5-6) (Biography.com).
The celebrity lifetime story that intrigue me is MICHAEL JACKSON. He was born MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON in August 29 1958 in Gary Indiana. His parents were Jo and Kathrine Jackson. Michael Jackson had 7 siblings named RANDY, JANET, MARLON, TITO, JACKIE, LATOYA and JERMAINE . He engaged in music at a very young age and founded the Jackson 5 alongside his siblings Marlo, Jermaine, Jackie and Tito . Michael Jackson turned out to be the break out star of the group and went on to pursue a solo career in 1971 and sure enough he didn’t disappoint. By 1980’s MICHAEL JACKSON had achieve great success with his songs and his music videos like THRILLER that top the chart for 37 weeks , BEAT IT, and BILLIE JEAN. He reveal his signature dance move