Black & white & weird all over The lost photographs of "Weird All" Yankovic '83-'86

The satirical singer/songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic and his entourage goof up a storm in this album of behind-the-scenes photographs. Schwartz, Yankovic's longtime drummer, took these black-and-white photos while documenting several video projects and recording sessions in the 1980s when the singer first made a splash with his parodies of pop hits. The shoots photographed include "Ricky," Yankovic's reimagining of Toni Basil's bubble-gum song "Mickey" as a tribute to the I Love Lucy sitcom; and "I Love Rocky Road," a video of a sendup of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' cover of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" that stars Yankovic as a leather-clad rocker snarling about his favorite flavor in an ice cream shop (nonmelting, colored mashed potatoes stood in for the ice cream, Schwartz reports). Also featured are "Eat It," an homage to Michael Jackson's "Beat It" video that depicts dancing hoodlums in sullen revolt against parental orders to finish their dinners ("Eat it! Eat it! / If it's getting cold reheat it!"); and "Living With a Hernia," a parody of funkmeister James Brown's "Living in America" number in Rocky IV with Yankovic bemoaning abdominal ruptures amid a bevy of showgirls. (Two sections cover Yankovic in a recording studio, doing not much beyond singing and fiddling with audio equipment.) Schwartz's photos aren't the most aesthetically compelling, but they do have some visual interest, especially the pictures of the period pastiche for "Ricky." They show Yankovic looking unwontedly studly as the clean-shaven, strong-chinned, pompadoured Desi Arnaz to Tress MacNeille's hapless Lucille Ball, who burns everything from a casserole to an ironing board. The couple bicker, pillow-fight, and weather Lucy's meltdowns while extras in evening gowns and sombreros mill about between takes. Yankovic's absurdist sensibility is apparent in many photos--a 15-piece child accordion ensemble tuning up in the desert; the singer getting lizard eyes affixed by a makeup artist--as is his bratty mischievousness in the countless shots of him smirking and mugging for the camera. The sense of exuberant creativity and fun that comes through in these photos will appeal to Yankovic's many fans. Uneven photos that still manage to capture Yankovic's entertaining vibe. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

FOREWORD Jon Schwartz has been my drummer since September 14, 1980. I remember that date clearly because it's the night I played "Another One Rides the Bus" on the Dr. Demento Radio Show for the very first time, and Jon just happened to be there. I announced that I needed someone to bang on my accordion case for percussion, and Jon (who claimed to be a drummer) eagerly volunteered his services. He's had the job ever since. The original "band" was just the two of us - a real power duo. I didn't want Jon to be the only one in the group without a dumb nickname, so I dubbed him "Bermuda Schwartz" - and as nicknames have a tendency to do, it just kinda stuck. The last several decades have been an amazing ride. More than once - an annoying number of times, actually - Bermuda has warned me, "Someday I'm going to write a book about all this!" It became a bit of a running joke: whenever Jon would try to give me a stupid unsolicited idea, I'd roll my eyes and say, "Yeah, why don't you just put that in your book!" But now, he's actually made good on the threat. Granted, this is not some kind of tell-all biography (we're not exactly Mötley Crüe on the road, so it wouldn't have made for very salacious reading anyway). But it's a fine snapshot (actually, several hundred snapshots) of what life was like for us in the '80s - all those early recording sessions and low-budget music video shoots...[continues] - "Weird Al" Yankovic Excerpted from Black & White & Weird All Over: The Lost Photographs of Weird Al Yankovic '83 - '86 by Schwartz All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.