Comedy rock
Encyclopedia
Comedy rock is rock music
mixed with comedy
, often satire and parody.
, who lampooned artists such as Elvis Presley
, Harry Belafonte
and The Platters
, and Sheb Wooley
whose "Purple People Eater
" reached No. 1 on the Billboard
pop chart in 1958 and stayed there 6 weeks.
In Britain during the 1950s and early 1960s comedians such as Charlie Drake
and The Goons frequently appeared in the top ten with humorous rock 'n' roll records - the latter, along with Lewis Carroll
and Edward Lear
, were to influence the word-play of John Lennon
's lyrics. Later British groups specialised in comedy: these included The Scaffold
, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and Alberto y Los Trios Paranoias.
Some comedy rock artists, such as Frank Zappa
, Tenacious D
, and more recently Flight of the Conchords
create songs with amusing, witty, and/or over-the-top lyrics. Other acts such as Dread Zeppelin
, Beatallica
, and GWAR
rely more on gimmicks such as outrageous costumes or genre-mixing for comic effect.
Dan Finnerty
with his The Dan Band
has made legendary comedy rock appearances in the Todd Phillips
movies Old School
and The Hangover
spoofing Total Eclipse of the Heart
and Candy Shop
, as well as his cult hit live show, which parodies female cover songs and was filmed as a one hour TV special directed by McG
and executive produced by Steven Spielberg
.
Many mainstream rock and punk rock
bands are known to incorporate comedy songs in their work: Bloodhound Gang
, Blink-182
, Bowling For Soup
, Reel Big Fish
, Sublime
, Primus
, System of a Down
, Green Jellÿ
, They Might Be Giants
and The Presidents of the United States of America
.
Rock has been the target of many spoof
s and several spoof bands have gone on to have hit records, for example The Hee Bee Gee Bees and Spinal Tap
in the U.S., and Bad News
in the U.K. "Weird Al" Yankovic
, now in his fourth decade of creating song parodies, has sold more than 12 million albums (more than any comedy act in history). The virtual band
Dethklok
is death metal
spoof featured in the Adult Swim
animated program Metalocalypse
and their album entitled The Dethalbum
debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard Top 200 list.
The band Steel Panther
, formerly known as Metal Skool, has become a fixture on the Los Angeles
Sunset Strip
with their spoof of 80's glam metal
and their success has opened the doors for other Hollywood spoof bands such as The Jimi Homeless Experience
.
Punk rock
has made its contribution to the comedy rock ranks, with such bands as Dead Milkmen
, The Aquabats
, Jilted John and The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black. Sid Vicious
's cover of "My Way
" is comedy rock of a more sardonic sort.
Many less popular bands are often associated with Comedy Rock, often inventing outrageous names for their genres, for example the New Zealand band "Shit, Shit, We're Dying" dubbed their comedy-hardcore style as "Post-Extreme Blasphemecore".
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
mixed with comedy
Comedy music
Comedy music is music that is comedic or humorous in nature, encompassing a wide variety of music genres. Popular types of comedy music include parody music, novelty songs, comedy rock and comedy hip hop.- Notable comedy musicians :...
, often satire and parody.
History
Early USA examples include Stan FrebergStan Freberg
Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
, who lampooned artists such as Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
and The Platters
The Platters
The Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...
, and Sheb Wooley
Sheb Wooley
Shelby F. "Sheb" Wooley was a character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater"...
whose "Purple People Eater
Purple People Eater
"Purple People Eater" is a novelty song, written and performed by Sheb Wooley, that reached #1 in the Billboard pop charts in 1958.-Composition:...
" reached No. 1 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
pop chart in 1958 and stayed there 6 weeks.
In Britain during the 1950s and early 1960s comedians such as Charlie Drake
Charlie Drake
Charlie Drake was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer.With his small stature , curly red hair and liking for slapstick he was a popular comedian with children in his early years, becoming nationally-known for his "Hello, my darlings" catchphrase...
and The Goons frequently appeared in the top ten with humorous rock 'n' roll records - the latter, along with Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
and Edward Lear
Edward Lear
Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...
, were to influence the word-play of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's lyrics. Later British groups specialised in comedy: these included The Scaffold
The Scaffold
The Scaffold were a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of Mike McGear , Roger McGough and John Gorman.-Career:...
, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and Alberto y Los Trios Paranoias.
Some comedy rock artists, such as Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, Tenacious D
Tenacious D
Tenacious D is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. Composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jack Black and lead guitarist and vocalist Kyle Gass, the band has released two albums – Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny...
, and more recently Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords are a New Zealand-based comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. The duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series and then an American television series, which premiered in 2007 on HBO, also called Flight of the Conchords.They were named...
create songs with amusing, witty, and/or over-the-top lyrics. Other acts such as Dread Zeppelin
Dread Zeppelin
Dread Zeppelin is an American band best known for performing the songs of Led Zeppelin in a reggae style as sung by a 300 pound Vegas Elvis impersonator. Over the years they would also perform songs originally by Elvis Presley, Bob Marley and The Yardbirds. The group toured extensively around the...
, Beatallica
Beatallica
Beatallica is a mash-up band that plays music made from combinations of songs of The Beatles and Metallica. A Beatallica song is typically a blend of a Beatles song and a Metallica song with a related title Beatallica is a mash-up band that plays music made from combinations of songs of The Beatles...
, and GWAR
GWAR
Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...
rely more on gimmicks such as outrageous costumes or genre-mixing for comic effect.
Dan Finnerty
Dan Finnerty
-Early and personal life:Finnerty was born in Rochester, New York, but grew up in the small town of Bath, New York and attended Emerson College in Boston. He was a member of the hit off-Broadway show Stomp in New York City. On August 8, 1995, he married actress Kathy Najimy. Gloria Steinem...
with his The Dan Band
The Dan Band
The Dan Band is a comedy band from Los Angeles, California, created by actor/comedian Dan Finnerty.The band is well known for its covers of originally female-performed pop songs, with added obscenities and swearing...
has made legendary comedy rock appearances in the Todd Phillips
Todd Phillips
Todd Phillips is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for directing the comedy films Road Trip, Old School, The Hangover, and Due Date.-Early life:...
movies Old School
Old school
In slang, old school can refer to anything that is from an earlier era. Old school refers to something that is fairly old and not very recent. Depending on the context and intent, the term can imply a high regard or respect, or be a pejorative...
and The Hangover
The Hangover
The Hangover is the second solo album by former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke, released in 1997.-Track listing:All tracks by Clarke unless otherwise stated.# "Wasn't Yesterday Great" – 2:45# "It's Good Enough for Rock N' Roll" – 3:12...
spoofing Total Eclipse of the Heart
Total Eclipse of the Heart
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a song written and produced by Jim Steinman and recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for her fifth studio album, Faster Than the Speed of Night...
and Candy Shop
Candy Shop
"Candy Shop" is the second single by rapper 50 Cent from his second commercial album The Massacre . It features R&B singer Olivia, and was written by 50 Cent....
, as well as his cult hit live show, which parodies female cover songs and was filmed as a one hour TV special directed by McG
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
and executive produced by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
.
Many mainstream rock and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands are known to incorporate comedy songs in their work: Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang is a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based American comedy band, although it began as a rap group and gradually changed its genre throughout the years...
, Blink-182
Blink-182
Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992...
, Bowling For Soup
Bowling for Soup
Bowling for Soup is an American pop-punk band which originally formed in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1994...
, Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out". The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band...
, Sublime
Sublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
, Primus
Primus (band)
Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...
, System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
, Green Jellÿ
Green Jellÿ
Green Jellÿ is a Grammy-nominated American comedy rock band formed in 1981. Originally named Green Jellö, the band changed its name due to legal pressure from the owners of the Jell-O trademark, Kraft Foods, who claimed that it was an infringement of their trademark...
, They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
and The Presidents of the United States of America
The Presidents of the United States of America (band)
The Presidents of the United States of America, commonly referred to as Pot USA or "PUSA" or The Presidents, are a twice Grammy-nominated American alternative rock band. The band formed in Seattle, USA, in 1993. The three-piece group currently comprises vocalist and "basitarist" Chris Ballew,...
.
Rock has been the target of many spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
s and several spoof bands have gone on to have hit records, for example The Hee Bee Gee Bees and Spinal Tap
Spinal Tap (band)
Spinal Tap is a parody heavy metal band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner...
in the U.S., and Bad News
Bad News
Bad News were a spoof rock band, created for the Channel 4 television series The Comic Strip Presents.... Its members were Vim Fuego , vocals and lead guitar ; Den Dennis, rhythm guitar ; Colin Grigson, bass ; and Spider Webb, drums .-Biography:Bad News made their television debut during...
in the U.K. "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
, now in his fourth decade of creating song parodies, has sold more than 12 million albums (more than any comedy act in history). The virtual band
Virtual band
In music, a virtual band is any group whose members are not corporeal musicians, but animated characters...
Dethklok
Dethklok
Dethklok is both a virtual band featured in the Adult Swim animated program Metalocalypse, as well as a real band created to perform the band's melodic death metal music in live shows. The band was created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha. The music heard on Metalocalypse is performed by Brendon...
is death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
spoof featured in the Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
animated program Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse is an American animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006 on Adult Swim...
and their album entitled The Dethalbum
The Dethalbum
The Dethalbum is the debut album by virtual band Dethklok, from American animated sitcom Metalocalypse. It was released on September 25, 2007. The album features full length songs from the TV series, as well as previously unreleased tracks...
debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard Top 200 list.
The band Steel Panther
Steel Panther
Steel Panther is a glam metal band from Los Angeles, California mostly known for their profane and humorous lyrics as well as their exaggerated on-stage personas...
, formerly known as Metal Skool, has become a fixture on the Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
with their spoof of 80's glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
and their success has opened the doors for other Hollywood spoof bands such as The Jimi Homeless Experience
The Jimi Homeless Experience
The Jimi Homeless Experience is a comedy rock act created, produced and managed by Jon Kinyon. The band performs mainly in and around Hollywood, CA...
.
Punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
has made its contribution to the comedy rock ranks, with such bands as Dead Milkmen
Dead Milkmen
The Dead Milkmen is an American satirical punk rock band formed in 1983 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Rodney Linderman , guitarist and vocalist Joe Genaro , bassist Dave Schulthise and drummer Dean Sabatino .Beginning within the local underground...
, The Aquabats
The Aquabats
The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in 1994 in Orange County, California. They have released five full-length studio albums and have toured internationally. They are best known for their mythology, in which they claim to be superheroes on a quest to save the world from evil through music...
, Jilted John and The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black. Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious was an English musician best known as the bassist of the influential punk rock group Sex Pistols...
's cover of "My Way
My Way (song)
"My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the...
" is comedy rock of a more sardonic sort.
Many less popular bands are often associated with Comedy Rock, often inventing outrageous names for their genres, for example the New Zealand band "Shit, Shit, We're Dying" dubbed their comedy-hardcore style as "Post-Extreme Blasphemecore".