Another One Rides the Bus (EP)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Another One Rides the Bus'' is the debut extended play (EP) by American parodist
"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...
. It was released in 1981 by Placebo Records. The title song is a parody of English rock band Queen's 1980 single "
Another One Bites the Dust "Another One Bites the Dust" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by bassist John Deacon, the song was featured on the group's eighth studio album '' The Game'' (1980). It was a worldwide hit, charting number one on the US ''Billb ...
". The EP also features three other songs, all of which are original recordings. All four songs on ''Another One Rides the Bus'' later appeared on Yankovic's eponymous debut studio album; the three original songs were re-recorded for the album, while the title song is the same version that appears on the EP. ''Another One Rides the Bus'' EP—of which only one thousand copies were made—was released to capitalize on the recent success of the titular parody. Yankovic borrowed money from Barret "Dr. Demento" Hansen to pay for the record, and he distributed them to records stores under consignment deals. Due to the underground success of this release, TK Records signed Yankovic and issued "Another One Rides the Bus" as a commercial single.


Recording

The EP features the titular parody, as well as three original comedy songs, with music written by Yankovic. In April 1980, Yankovic recorded the first song for the album, "Gotta Boogie". The song, co-written by Joe Earley, is a play on words discussing a man with a " boogie" on his finger and his quandary therein. The second song to be recorded for the EP was "Another One Rides the Bus", on September 14, 1980. Yankovic wrote the song, a parody of Queen's hit "
Another One Bites the Dust "Another One Bites the Dust" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by bassist John Deacon, the song was featured on the group's eighth studio album '' The Game'' (1980). It was a worldwide hit, charting number one on the US ''Billb ...
", and debuted it live on the '' Dr. Demento Show'', hosted by Barret "Dr. Demento" Hansen. While practicing the song outside the sound booth, Yankovic met Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz who told Yankovic he was a
drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
. Schwartz agreed to drum on Yankovic's accordion case to keep a steady beat to the song.Rabin and Yankovic, p. 28. "Another One Rides the Bus" became so popular that it landed Yankovic a short-lived record deal with TK Records and also led to his first appearance on a TV show, '' The Tomorrow Show'' with Tom Snyder. On the show, Yankovic played his
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
and Schwartz banged on Yankovic's accordion case and played the bulb horns.Rabin and Yankovic, p. 30. In January 1981, the song "Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung" was recorded. The song, an audience favorite from Yankovic's days playing in
coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
s at Cal Poly, describes the rather lopsided relationship between the narrator and the eponymous "Mr. Frump" in his iron lung, until the latter's death. The final song, recorded on January 19, 1981, was "Happy Birthday". A morbidly depressing
birthday song "Birthday Song" is a song by American rapper 2 Chainz, released July 24, 2012 as the second single from his debut studio album ''Based on a T.R.U. Story'' (2012). The song, which features fellow American rapper Kanye West, was produced by Sonny ...
detailing ails of the world, including
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
, nuclear holocaust, and eventual solar cataclysm, the song is based on the music of artist Tonio K. Only seeing two popular birthday songs at the time—" Happy Birthday to You" by Patty and
Mildred J. Hill Mildred Jane Hill (June 27, 1859 – June 5, 1916) was an American songwriter and musicologist, who composed the melody for "Good Morning to All", later used as the melody for "Happy Birthday to You". Biography Mildred Jane Hill, born in Louisvil ...
, and " Birthday" by The Beatles—Yankovic decided to write his own "severely twisted version of one". "Happy Birthday' was recorded in the garage of Richard Bennett, the brother of Schwartz who would go on to be a noted guitarist and record producer. All of the tracks, sans "Another One Rides the Bus", were recorded on a 4-track Portastudio; because only four tracks were available for mixing and recording, Yankovic had to carefully plan which parts of the songs he wanted to record at a time, and then mix them down before adding more song elements. The EP's version of "Happy Birthday" is included on the '' Permanent Record: Al in the Box''
box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
, and was
remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
ed into
stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
for the
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
charity album A charity record or charity single is a song released by musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. George Harrison's "Bangla Desh (song), Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the fir ...
''Laughter Is a Powerful Weapon Volume II''. "Gotta Boogie", "Happy Birthday", and "Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung" were re-recorded for Yankovic's eponymous debut studio album, while "Another One Rides the Bus" was not.


Release

Yankovic desired to release the song on a record label, although no label wanted to sign him at the time. Thus, Yankovic borrowed some money from Dr. Demento and pressed up one thousand copies of the four-track EP by himself.Rabin and Yankovic, p. 33. Yankovic then distributed the EP to various record stores, selling them through consignment deals.Rabin and Yankovic, p. 31. Yankovic released the record under Placebo Records, a one-off label founded by Yankovic for the sole purpose of distributing the EPs. Due to the underground success of the release, Yankovic secured a short-lived record deal with TK Records, who issued the title song as a commercial
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
. Due to the fact that only one thousand copies of the ''Another One Rides the Bus'' EP were made, today it is considered a very rare record to locate.


Track listing


Personnel

Credits adapted from EP liner notes, except where noted. Musicians * "Weird Al" Yankovic –
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
, lead vocals; thumps (track 3) * Damaskas (Dan Hollombe) – background vocals (tracks 1, 2, 3) * Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz – accordion case (track 1), drums (track 2), background vocals (track 2) * Musical Mike (Mike Kieffer)hand music (track 1), background vocals (track 2) * Sulu (Sue Lubin) – hand music (tracks 1, 3) * Beefalo Bill (Bill Burk) – "miscellaneous insanities" (track 1) * Tohm – "miscellaneous insanities" (tracks 1, 3) * Jeri – "miscellaneous insanities" (tracks 1, 3) * Bobcat Bennett – guitar (track 2) * Frank (From the Bank) Sanchez – bass guitar (track 2) * Kamikaze Coco – background vocals (track 2) * BEH (
Barry Hansen Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...
) – background vocals (track 2) * Jammin' Joel Miller – bongos * Leroy Finklestein – "choreography" * Madman Mike Solton – background vocals (track 3) * Tegan – background vocals (track 3) * Rick Turner – "gaffer and key grip" Technical * Beefalo Bill – sleeve design


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* {{Authority control "Weird Al" Yankovic EPs 1981 debut EPs