FROM THE VAULT: How Weird Al Yankovic’s “Fat” Saved His Career and Became an MTV Sensation

Gamut Podcast Network

21 October 2025

Riding high on satire…Weird Al Yankovic seemed unstoppable in the mid 80s after Eat It! and Like A Surgeon. but when his fourth record, Polka Party essentially flopped, he almost called it quits. But instead, he started writing for his life. And out of this trepidation, he created a supersized song patterned after the King of Pop Michael Jackson’s latest hit Bad called Fat. It not only won over listeners, but captivated MTV audiences across the world with a hilarious video in 1988. If you lived through the 80s, I don’t think there’s any way you could have missed this one. It was huge! How Weird Al went platinum with Even Worse and rocked 88. Check out this classic, next on Professor of Rock. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.