Maps of Music

Bad Hair Day (1996)

Where the lyrics of Bad Hair Day take you, and where it was really made.

The album's title was partly a joke at Coolio's expense: Yankovic felt the name could lampoon Coolio's distinctive hairstyle while also serving as the album title.

Key places

Where the Bad Hair Day sessions began (1996)

Recording site Ruby Red — Yankovic entered Santa Monica Sound Recorders in November 1994 to begin the first of the Bad Hair Day sessions, which he produced himself. The point is set at the city center of Santa Monica, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Bad Hair Day: ninth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released March 12, 1996
• Last studio album for Scotti Brothers Records before the label was purchased by Volcano Entertainment in 1999
• Lead single "Amish Paradise" lampoons Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and the Amish lifestyle
• Built on parodies and pastiches of mid-1990s pop and rock, mainly alternative rock and hip-hop
• Includes style parodies and imitations of They Might Be Giants and Elvis Costello

Background

• Final studio album to feature Yankovic's signature look of curly hair, glasses, and a mustache, kept since 1979
• "Amish Paradise" caused a minor controversy after Coolio objected to the parody; the two later made amends
• Yankovic had been toying with the name Bad Hair Day for some time before settling on it

Recording

• Recorded in five sessions, beginning in November 1994 at Santa Monica Sound Recorders in Santa Monica, California
• Yankovic produced the album himself
• Session musicians: Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz on drums, Steve Jay on bass, Jim West on guitar
• Lead single "Amish Paradise" recording began January 15, 1996

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic (born October 23, 1959) is an American musician known for comedy songs that often parody other musicians' songs.
• He also performs original songs in the style of other acts and polka medleys of popular songs, usually featuring his accordion.
• His first on-air exposure came in 1976, when a comedy song he made was played on The Dr. Demento Radio Show at age 16.
• He has sold more than 12 million albums (as of 2025), recorded more than 150 parodies and original songs, and performed more than 2,000 live shows.
• He has won five Grammy Awards and earned eleven further nominations.
• His first top ten Billboard album (Straight Outta Lynwood) and single ("White & Nerdy") were both released in 2006.
• His album Mandatory Fun (2014) became his first number-one album in its debut week.
• He wrote and starred in the film UHF (1989) and the television series The Weird Al Show (1997).
• He has produced two satirical films about his own life: The Compleat Al (1985) and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022).
• He has not released a full album since Mandatory Fun and mainly releases singles.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Bad Hair Day was met with mixed to positive reviews, with many critics praising "Amish Paradise" in particular
• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette review concluded that the record reinforced Yankovic's reign as pop music's King of Comedy
• The review credited Yankovic with an unparalleled ability to capture the styles of other bands and turn boring pop songs into fun tunes
• The Baltimore Sun review noted that Yankovic himself can be pretty smart, and highlighted "The Alternative Polka" and "The Night Santa Went Crazy"
• The Washington Post critic judged "Amish Paradise" the cleverest and funniest track on the album and found most other parodies weak
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine criticized the album for lacking humor and the impish energy of Yankovic's early albums
• The Rolling Stone Record Guide awarded the album two out of five stars.

Reappraisal

• "Amish Paradise" went on to become one of Yankovic's best-known singles
• The Rolling Stone Record Guide later referred to "Amish Paradise" as "gut-busting"

Records

• Debuted at number 28 on the Billboard 200 on March 30, 1996, and peaked at number 14
• Spent a total of 56 weeks on the chart, Yankovic's longest-charting album
• "Amish Paradise" charted at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100; "Gump" peaked at No. 102
• Sold 1,317,000 copies in the United States in 1996 alone
• RIAA gold on May 15, 1996; platinum on June 11, 1996; double platinum on October 3, 2019
• Peaked at No. 9 on the Canadian Albums Chart and was certified Platinum by CRIA
• Yankovic's best-selling album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album's title came partly from a joke at Coolio's expense, since Yankovic felt the name could lampoon Coolio's hairstyle.
• The number dialed at the start of "Phony Calls" is 372-5806, which at the time was guitarist Jim West's home phone number.
• For "Cavity Search", Yankovic called in his actual dentist, who brought a real drill and a human tooth that the two took turns drilling while recording.
• The Weezer chorus in "The Alternative Polka" was cut from the master tape just before release, but Weezer was still credited in the liner notes because they were already printed.
• Yankovic said he sent Coolio a sincere letter of apology that was never returned.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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