Weird Al Yankovic Shares the Moment He Left His Mailroom Job After His Song Hit the Billboard Hot 100
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In a nostalgic reflection, “Weird Al” Yankovic shared insights from his early days in the music industry during his appearance on the December 4 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. His journey to success began in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a time when record labels were unsure how to navigate the novelty of parody music.
“Nobody wanted to sign me. They said, ‘Oh, you’re very funny, this is amusing, you’re a genius,’” Yankovic recalled. He described how his work was often categorized as ‘novelty music,’ a label that typically relegated artists to one-hit wonder status.
Despite initial skepticism from the industry, Yankovic eventually secured a record deal and began to release singles from his debut, self-titled album. However, success did not come without struggle; he was still working a mailroom job for minimal pay when he achieved his first major chart success. “I was still working in a mailroom, literally for like $5 an hour, which I think was minimum wage back then. I picked up the mail from the post office one morning, and sticking out of the sack was the new Billboard magazine,” he shared. “And I opened it up to the Hot 100 chart, and I was on the Hot 100 chart. And that was the day I gave notice!”
Although Yankovic did not mention the specific song during his interview, he was referencing “Ricky,” his 1983 parody of Toni Basil’s “Mickey,” which humorously focused on I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Since that breakthrough moment, Yankovic has not needed a secondary job to support his music career. Earlier this year, he announced an impressive addition of 90 new dates for his ongoing Bigger and Weirder tour, which notably included a sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden—his first after 46 years in the music business.
“Even before I played, I walked around the Garden, and there’s posters all over the place of Elton John and Taylor Swift and all of these people — it’s the greatest venue in the world!” he told Colbert. “There’s one from Eddie Vedder saying, ‘You’re nothing until you’ve played Madison Square Garden’… but now Eddie Vedder thinks I’m something, so I’m very happy about that.”
Yankovic also participated in a humorous cold open segment titled “A Holiday Message From ‘Weird Al’” during the show. In it, he humorously voiced his frustration over the mispronunciation of his last name. “My last name is pronounced Yankovic, not Yanko-vich!” he exclaimed. “The Yankovics didn’t come to this country with just an accordion on their backs and the wrong words to other people’s songs in their hearts just to have their names mangled and butchered!”
For those interested, Yankovic’s complete interview with Stephen Colbert can be viewed below:
