Before They Were Stars: 16-Year Old Weird Al Yankovic’s First Recorded Demo

Here’s a fact that will probably blow your mind: Weird Al Yankovic has now officially been recording music for 40 YEARS! When Weird Al was just 16 years old (and still known as plain old Alfred Yankovic), the comedy radio personality, Dr. Demento, came to speak at his school, so Alfred provided him with a demo cassette tape containing a song he recorded called “Belvedere Crusin'”, which was basically a tune about the Yankovic family’s Plymouth Belvedere played on his accordion. Dr. Demento actually decided to play the demo tape on his radio show, forging a relationship with the future Weird Al which would jumpstart his career. And as the popular Internet meme goes, Weird Al Yankovic’s career has now lasted longer than most of the artists he’s parodied.