Top 10 Parody Songs HATED by the Original Artist

#10: “Bedrock Anthem” (1993)

“Weird Al” Yankovic

One of the biggest insults you could give to a parody artist is that you just generally felt that one of their releases wasn’t up to standard. For Flea, of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, despite being a fan of “Weird Al” Yankovic, he was forced to admit that he just didn’t find this specific parody very funny. In other words, he was disappointed that Yankovic didn’t do better with his spin on Chili Pepper classics “Under the Bridge” and “Give It Away”. The track, entitled “Bedrock Anthem”, took elements from each song and their iconic video, and while the band didn’t block the parody, they clearly weren’t thrilled with the result.

#9: “Blurred Lines” (2013)

Bart Baker

To say that “Blurred Lines” was a turning point in the career of Robin Thicke would be putting it lightly. First of all, it marked a major commercial breakthrough for Thicke after years on the periphery of success. However, it was not to last. The song’s lyrical content eventually pulled the rug out from under him, and its undeniably creepy undertones left Thicke looking like a total sleazebag. It didn’t take long for the parodies to begin flowing - most notably with Bart Baker’s version of the track. Despite Thicke’s attempts to defend the song as female empowerment, the damage was done and he couldn’t stop the waves of ridicule that followed. To this day, his reputation has never recovered.

#8: “In Another Size” (1999)

Cledus T. Judd

There’s nothing quite like hearing a story like the collision between country legend Garth Brooks and the parody-artist, Cledus T. Judd. After putting his own spin on Brooks’ duet with Trisha Yearwood, “In Another’s Eyes”, things became hilariously tense. Supposedly, Brooks confronted Judd in a golf-course parking-lot about his track, entitled “In Another Size”. He voiced his concerns about the song itself, its subject matter, and most importantly, that its release might hurt his chances of winning a Grammy award. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. Anyway, Judd didn’t budge on his release date, and yet, Brooks still took home his beloved Grammy.

#7: “Couch Potato” (2003)

“Weird Al” Yankovic

This one is a little different from the others. Eminem, who is no stranger to making fun of other artists and celebrity figures, didn’t try to stop “Weird Al” Yankovic from parodying his seminal track “Lose Yourself”. However, he did stop the comedian from releasing his song “Couch Potato” as a promotional single or from creating any form of music video for it. In Eminem’s mind, the intensity and overall message of the original would’ve been damaged if Yankovic was allowed to joke about it on a visual level. Seems like a strange hill to die on, but Yankovic was a good sport and didn’t fight him on it.

#6: “Friday” (2011)

Bart Baker

You gotta feel for Rebecca Black to some degree. She didn’t exactly realise just how famously, or even infamous, she would become for that one innocent little music video she made as a teenager. However, in the years that followed, her track “Friday” has become the gold standard for awful music. So it makes sense that a whole string of parodies quickly followed. Black would make it clear in interviews that these only compounded the anxiety she felt about her newfound fame. Right at the forefront of this wave of joke songs was Bart Baker’s version, and boy, did he not hold back. In fairness, it’s an incredibly easy song to make fun of.

#5: “Cheese and Onions” (1978)

The Rutles

There are very few bands in history who opened themselves up to spoofing quite as much as The Beatles. Everything from their haircuts and outfits to their accents and mannerisms were fair-game in the 1960s and 70s. However, despite the fact that the Fab Four were generally good sports, Paul McCartney genuinely did not like his portrayal in the parody band The Rutles. Apparently, Neil Innes was a quick study of McCartney’s quirks and idiosyncrasies for his character Dirk McQuickly and it annoyed Macca initially. He did eventually come around, but he probably still cringes every time he hears “Cheese and Onions”, their own answer to Beatles classics like “Let It Be”.

#4: “Achy Breaky Song” (1993)

“Weird Al” Yankovic

There might not be an example of “Weird Al” Yankovic sounding more direct and pointed than he does on “Achy Breaky Song”. He takes aim at Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart”, writing a song about the painful experience of actually listening to the original. Considering the source material, it's a pretty hilarious angle. However, Billy Ray himself was not too pleased, speaking with uncertainty about the good a parody like that actually does. Sure, it stands among Yankovic’s meaner moments, but it still works tremendously well. In hindsight, he thought the idea of lambasting Cyrus was so out-of-character for him that he decided to donate all the proceeds of the song to charity.

#3: “Bad Blood” SNL Parody (2015)

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

There’s no denying that Taylor Swift is one of the most powerful popstars of the era. However, when she tried to get an SNL sketch that parodied her song “Bad Blood” pulled before it aired, that was a level of petty that did not go unnoticed. Supposedly SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels said “we don’t negotiate with terrorists” and hung up. Tiny Fey, Amy Poehler, and a host of others, took aim at Swift’s track in a very funny rendition. The fact that Swift tried to block its release made the whole thing even funnier. When the news of her behind-the-scenes call was leaked, she eventually was forced to save face, sending flowers to Michaels with an apology that read “I hope there’s no bad blood”.

#2: “Gay Fish” (2009)

South Park

Sometimes great spoofs have a way of leaking into reality. For South Park, they took aim at Kanye West’s inability to understand a joke because he was so fixated on how it might be specifically aimed at him. Then, when the episode entitled “Fishsticks” aired, Kanye got real angry. However, he wasn’t angry about the idea of his lack of self-awareness being mocked. Nope, he instead thought the writers were calling him a ‘gay fish’ because of his fashion choices. The song, “Gay Fish”, that ended the episode was just a cherry on top. Instead of realising that the joke was about his ego, he let that very same ego take over - preventing him from getting the message. A truly hilarious and unique pop-culture moment.

#1: “Amish Paradise” (1996)

“Weird Al” Yankovic

There might not be a more iconic “Weird Al” parody than “Amish Paradise”, his legendary rip on Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”. Yankovic was well and truly firing on all cylinders with this one, without truly taking too many shots at the original. However, for Coolio, the song’s very existence was a step too far, and he publicly spoke about his anger with the song. Thankfully, as time went on, his stance softened, and he realised that the parody didn’t take anything away from his own song. He later expressed regret for lashing out, making peace with Yankovic in the process.

But what do you think is the greatest parody song of them all? Let us know in the comments below.