3 Parody Songs That Hilariously Spoofed Some of the Most Iconic Names in Music History

An underrated mission in the music industry is making listeners laugh. Are there a ton of joke and parody songs out there? Yes, but we, and likely many others, would like to see more of them. Especially the latter category, as it is hilarious to see other artists make fun of some of the most popular tracks and musicians in the game. That being said, here are three parody songs that hilariously spoofed some of the most iconic names in music history.

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“Royal Jelly” by Dewy Cox (A.K.A John C. Reilly)

One of, if not the greatest parody movie of all time, is Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. The movie’s comedic beats are firing off on every cylinder, as there is not a major moment of 1960s music that is left untouched. John C. Reilly’s parodies of Johnny Cash and The Beatles are downright hilarious, but the parody that might pull the air right from your lungs is the one he does on Bob Dylan.

In the mid 1960s, some of Dylan’s lyrics were overly surreal and ambiguous to a fault. The writers of “Royal Jelly” believed so, as they composed a song for Reilly’s character that was complete and utter nonsense. The masses have always considered Dylan a very serious artist, and he is, but it is comedically refreshing to see someone contrast that perspective.

“Eat It” by “Weird Al” Yankovic

The king of parodies is, without a doubt, “Weird Al” Yankovic. He’s made a career solely off spoof songs, and the one that put him on the map was his 1984 parody “Eat It”. Making fun of Michael Jackson‘s No. 1 hit “Beat It”, Yankovic’s parody also became a hit, as it reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Yankovic’s song proves that almost any lyrics can be placed upon a hit-worthy pop melody. In addition to launching his career, Yankovic further created the space for parody songs in mainstream music. However, no one has even come close to encroaching on his legacy as a comedic musician.

“Born In East L.A.” by Cheech and Chong

Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong have created several notable parody songs under their characters of Cheech & Chong. One of the funniest and most culturally relevant is their parody of Bruce Springsteen‘s “Born In The U.S.A”, titled “Born In East L.A.”. Many people misunderstand Springsteen’s classic song, as they view it as a celebration of American patriotism. If you read the lyrics, it is clearly not, and neither is Cheech and Chong’s.

Released in the film of the same name, “Born In East L.A.” relays a similar message to Springsteen’s, but through very different lyrical means, and analyzes a different demographic of Americans. Hilarious, timely, and cleverly satirical are the defining characteristics of this 1987 comedic masterpiece.

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