Let’s address the elephant in the room immediately.
The elephant named Weird Al Yankovic.
You can’t make a list of parody songs without mentioning his name.
In fact, you could easily make a list of parody songs featuring nothing but his name.
But I didn’t want this whole list of hilarious parody songs to be only Weird Al songs.
So I included two of his and four by other people.
Keep reading for the full list of funny parody songs that actually got more attention than the originals.
Hilarious Parody Songs That Got More Attention Than the Originals
You will see that there is one song below, where the original got far more attention than the parody, and a few others where the parody only overshadowed the original for a while. But all were worth including, because they were so well done.
White & Nerdy by Weird Al Yankovic (Parody of Ridin’ by Chamillionaire)
Two old gems – one is a legit rapping masterpiece, and the other is the parody that vastly overshadowed it, at least for a while.
I remember Chamillionaire’s Ridin’ going on heavy rotation on MTV over a decade ago. The slick backing beats, classic hip-hop aesthetics, and a new face were all it took for the tune to garner millions of views.
However, Weird Al and his prolific career, as well as unique antics and a habit of twisting anything and everything into comedy, is a mix that’s been trending among various communities, not exclusively rap and hip-hop. When he released White & Nerdy, it towered above Ridin’ for months, if not years.
The original ultimately became a more popular tune over these long 14 years with over 300+ million streams, but White & Nerdy aged well with over 170+ million.
My God by Whoopi Goldberg (Parody of My Guy by Mary Wells)
Not too long ago, it was quite common for artists to dig up super-old songs and cover them. A slightly weaker trend existed where such covers were parodies, but it’s almost unheard of for actors (or actresses) to sing comical covers in high-profile movies.
One such example is Whoopi Goldberg’s My Guy (My God), which was purposefully made for an iconic skit in the Sister Act movie.
Unlike direct parodies like White & Nerdy, Whoopi’s My God changed the direction of the original, spicing it up with gospel influences and changing the protagonist.
The tune became a comical mesh of religious and satiric content, so it bears very few similarities with the original My Guy.
While the soundtrack didn’t get too many streams across social media platforms, the movie it was featured in was among the top comedy titles upon release, placing it in the same ranks as the legendary Batman Returns and Lethal Weapon.
The Diwali Song by Steve Carell (Parody of The Chanukah Song by Adam Sandler)
I just mentioned that it’s quite uncommon for actors to make parody covers of actual singers. Well, actors covering other actors is an even rarer event, but it happened with The Office when Steve Carell picked up Adam Sandler’s Chanukah Song and repurposed it into The Diwali Song.
Making the connection between the two can be difficult due to the unique idiosyncratic nature of The Office show, and the equally exquisite role Steve Carell played.
Michael (Steve) brims with anxiety and looks as if he wishes the earth could swallow him throughout the performance.
In contrast, Adam is joyous and comical as he performs The Chanukah Song, and it actually feels like a song, even though it was mostly used as an SNL skit.
Still, the unceasing rise in popularity of The Office helped The Diwali Song receive a lot more attention than Adam Sandler’s Chanukah.
Eat It by Weird Al Yankovic (Parody of Michael Jackson’s Beat It)
The ability to view this video on other sites has been disabled by the owner, so you’ll have to head to Youtube to check it out.
Before I upset any MJ fans, let me add a disclaimer – Eat It never got more attention than Jackson’s Beat It, but it was one of the most majestic parodies of an ultra-popular hit ever, so I had to include as an honorable mention.
First of all, Weird Al did an amazing job with music and at least hit the right vibe when it comes to singing. He couldn’t come close to the late King of Pop in this field, but he sounds surprisingly good for a parody specialist.
What I love the most about this parody is that it strives to emulate the authentic atmosphere of the original with elaborate dance choreography, showdowns, monsters, and everything else that made Beat It one of the most popular tunes of all time (with over a whopping billion views on YouTube alone).
Al focused the lyrical content on, you guessed it, eating, so the majority of the skits in the video revolve around food. Although it doesn’t stack too well against the retro horror dynamics of the original, it almost got a bit more attention when it was released in the 2010s.
Alley Oop by Hollywood Argyles (Parody of Alley Oop by Dallas Frazier)
Although this might not be the most popular or the biggest parody song of all time, it’s one that’s far more famous than the original, to the point that many people believe it’s not a funny cover.
The Hollywood Argyles’ version of Alley Oop has the same name and arrangements, and to a degree, the music sounds almost the same as Frazier’s Alley Oop.
Argyles’ version takes us to the Stone Age with the band dressed up as Neanderthals, brandishing wooden clubs and playing in front of a cave.
It’s not the first thing that would come to mind when one says “Alley Oop”, and it’s certainly not the direction Fraizer took his song, but it’s a tune that overshadowed the original and keeps getting more popular.
Monster Mash by Vincent Price (Parody of Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett)
This is one of the “oldie goldies” that can never be eclipsed, no matter how innovative the parody actors get.
The famous Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett is such a unique tune and clip, especially for its time, and it’s great that it’s already spiced with a bit of comedy so Vincent Price didn’t have to go overboard to justify the injection of satiric content.
What’s unique about this parody is that it doesn’t change the tone and vibe of the original in the slightest. He carefully emulated everything Bobby was aiming for but with a healthy dose of modern aesthetics, different voices, and a few different faces.
This was enough for Vincent’s version to gain more popularity, albeit temporarily, than the original by Bobby Pickett.
However, the lack of novelty content and the fact that the tune is a 1:1 recreation of the original Monster Mash didn’t help the parody grow too big, so it currently numbers slightly below 1 million streams on YouTube, and hundreds of thousands across other social media platforms.
Best Parody Songs: Final Thoughts
There have been a lot of great parody songs, but few of them managed to outshine the original songs they were parodying. So few, that it was hard to make a list.
That is why most of the songs on this list were most popular than the originals for a period of time, but not over all time. And one was never more popular, but it was an excellent parody that did get a lot of attention. It just happened to parody one of the most famous songs of all time.
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