Six Hilarious Musical Parodies (before Weird Al)

Part 1: The 1930’s-50’s (Your grandparents’ generation was cooler than you think)

Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash

Musical parodies, like satire in general, are often directed at individuals or ideas that the parodist considers pompous or out of touch. Although the result might be humorous, parodies (including these 6+2) may be seen as a kind of corrective to art gone awry — a reality check on artists or interpreters of art.

Charlie Barnet and Billy May, “The Wrong Idea” (1939)

During the swing / big band era of the 30’s-40’s, two styles predominated:

”Sweet” Swing (people like Glenn Miller) — had less improvisation, was a bit slower, restrained with a slight swing feel, and was for the white upper class dinner parties.

“Hot” Swing (people like Duke Ellington) — was more daring, experimental, faster, with longer improvisations, stronger rhythmic drive, and a rough blues feeling. (“Swing Music Explained,” The Jazz Piano Site)

Bandleader Charlie Barnet embraced “Hot” Swing, and his was one of the few white orchestras to play in Black venues (The Autobiography of Malcolm X describes one of these sessions). In “The Wrong Idea,” Barnet and his arranger / trump player Billy May…