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Eat It

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This article is about the song. For the Humble Pie album, seeEat It(album).

"Eat It"
Singleby"Weird Al" Yankovic
from the album"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D
B-side"That Boy Could Dance"
ReleasedFebruary 28, 1984
RecordedDecember 13, 1983
Genre
Length3:19
LabelScotti Brothers
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rick Derringer
"Weird Al" Yankovicsingles chronology
"I Love Rocky Road"
(1983) 		"Eat It"
(1984) 		"King of Suede"
(1984)
Alternative covers
British single cover
Alternative cover
Japanese single cover
Music videos
"Eat It" (original version)onYouTube
"Eat It" (coverage take)onYouTube

"Eat It"is a 1984 song by Americancomedy musicartist"Weird Al" Yankovic.It is aparodyofMichael Jackson's 1983 single "Beat It",with the contents changed to be about an exasperated parent attempting to get their picky child to eat anything at all, much less to eat properly. The track was both a commercial and critical success, earning Yankovic aGrammy Award.It peaked at number twelve in the United States, making it his first top 40 hit in that country, and reached number one in Australia.

History

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The famous guitar solo, originally performed byEddie Van Halen,was reproduced by Yankovic's producer,Rick Derringer.

According to Yankovic, when he presented his lyrics to Jackson for review, he did not know how Jackson would react. Jackson allegedly thought it was amusing and agreed to allow the parody.[1]On October 19, 1989, theRIAAcertified "Eat It" as agoldsingle.[2]

Reception

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The single reached number 1 in Australia, and it was his highest-charting US single on theBillboardHot 100at number 12 until "White & Nerdy"peaked at number 9 in October 2006.[3]"Eat It" earned Yankovic a 1984Grammy Awardin the Best Comedy Recording category.[4]"Eat It" also outranked "Beat It" in overall highest position on the Australian singles chart, with its highest rank being number 1, while "Beat It" 's highest was third.

Cash Boxreviewed the single, saying "Rick Derringer’sproductionhas remained true to the energy and appeal of Michael Jackson’s original version, and the lyrics...are actually very funny. "[5]

Track listing

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1984 release

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  1. "Eat It" – 3:19
  2. "That Boy Could Dance" – 3:32

1985/1993 re-release

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  1. "Eat It" – 3:19
  2. "I Lost on Jeopardy"– 3:26

Music video

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The video for "Eat It" is styled as a shot-for-shot remake of Jackson's video for "Beat It",but with elements being parodied in various silly ways and Yankovic dressed as Jackson. The video also features a few of the same dancers from Jackson's video and Yankovic clumsily mimicking the dance moves from the original video.[6]The video ends with Yankovic looking into the camera with yellow, slitted-pupil eyes, referencing the end of Jackson's video for "Thriller".Jackson receivedroyaltiesfrom Yankovic for rights to cover the video so closely.[7]

On June 20, 2022, Yankovic uploaded an alternative version of the music video on hisYouTubechannel, which consists of a single "coverage take". The alternate take of Yankovic singing, dancing, and writhing on the bed in the bedroom was intended to be used as a backup if other shots were unusable or unable to be procured in time, although Yankovic said he believed none of the footage was used in the original 1984 cut.[8]

The original16mmfootage of the video was digitized into4K resolutionand re-edited by Yankovic (during the 2022The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour) to recreate the original video frame-for-frame.[9]This remaster was done for a scene inWeird: The Al Yankovic Story,which included a brief glimpse of the "Eat It" video with starDaniel Radcliffe's facedigitally superimposedon Yankovic's.[10]

Legacy

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In 2019, Yankovic had pulled "Eat It" and his other Jackson song parody, "Fat",from the setlist of hisStrings Attached Tourin the wake of theHBOdocumentaryLeaving Neverland,in which two men claimed Jackson had sexually abused them when they were children. "I don't know if that's going to be permanent or not," Yankovic said of the decision. "But we just felt that with what's happened recently with the HBO documentaries, we didn't want anybody to feel uncomfortable."[11]

As part of a charity effort during theCOVID-19 pandemic,David CrossandBob Odenkirkheld aMr. Showonline reunion show in May 2020 with many of their former cast members as well as other friends. The show concluded by having Cross, Odenkirk and their cast, as well as Yankovic, sing "Eat It", in a purposely tone-deaf manner that parodied aprior cover performance of "Imagine"thatGal Gadotand other celebrities had done for COVID-19 awareness but which had been taken as ineffectual.[12]

Chart history

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[18] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[2] Gold 500,000^

^Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Musical mimicry...and then some: Weird Al Yankovic's video antics come to life on stage".The Windsor Star.March 23, 1995.RetrievedApril 7,2018.
  2. ^ab"American single certifications – Weird Al Yankovic – Eat It".Recording Industry Association of America.RetrievedAugust 3,2023.
  3. ^Eat It's Highest Ranking on the Billboard 100
  4. ^"Nerds Rejoice: 'Weird Al' Talks Grammy Noms".Rolling Stone.February 8, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon February 11, 2007.
  5. ^"Reviews"(PDF).Cash Box.March 3, 1984. p. 13.RetrievedJuly 23,2022.
  6. ^Russell, Lisa (April 16, 1984)."A Playful Poke at Beat It Has Made Weird Al Yankovic the Pooh-Bah of Put-Ons".People.RetrievedApril 7,2018.
  7. ^Campbell 1995,p. 154.
  8. ^Sinclair, Carla (June 20, 2022).""Weird Al" Yankovic shares unearthed footage from "Eat It" video ".Boing Boing.RetrievedJune 25,2022.
  9. ^Yankovic, "Weird Al".Eat It (Official 4K Video).YouTube.RetrievedNovember 9,2022.
  10. ^Kaufman, Gil (November 9, 2022)."'Weird Al' Yankovic Digs Up Original 16mm Footage of 'Eat It' Video for Tasty 4K Update: 'It's Literally Never Looked Better'".Billboard.RetrievedNovember 16,2022.
  11. ^Graff, Gary (June 27, 2019)."'Weird Al' Yankovic Explains His Decision to Drop Michael Jackson Parodies From Set List ".Billboard.RetrievedJune 29,2019.
  12. ^Kohn, Daniel (May 13, 2020)."David Cross, Bryan Cranston, Jack Black and Many More Team Up to Sing Weird Al's 'Eat It'".Spin.RetrievedMay 14,2020.
  13. ^Kent, David(1993).Australian Chart Book 1970–1992(Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 344.ISBN0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^"RPM Top 100 Singles - April 14, 1984"(PDF).
  15. ^"Search"ArchivedJune 2, 2009, at theWayback Machine.Irish Charts. In the "Search by Artist" field, put inWeird Al Yankocic.Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  16. ^"Weird Al Yankovic - Eat It".New Zealand Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Archived fromthe originalon May 20, 2017.RetrievedJuly 18,2014.
  17. ^"Kent Music Report No 548 – 31 December 1984 > National Top 100 Singles for 1984".Kent Music Report.RetrievedJanuary 12,2022– via Imgur.
  18. ^"Canadian single certifications – Weird Al Yankovic – Eat It".Music Canada.RetrievedAugust 3,2023.

Works cited

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