In this interview, Bob explains what makes a great parody song, and why it's so hard to create one that sticks. But it started at Branford High School in Connecticut, where he started a radio station with hand-me-down equipment from WELI, the powerhouse New Haven station. For many years, he did four parodies a month for his radio show, the best of which appear on his Twisted Tunes albums.īob's radio career took him to WAAF in Worcester, Massachusetts (1981-1987, with co-host Zip Zipfel), 98 Rock in Baltimore (1987-1989), and KISW, KZOK and KJR in Seattle (1989-2014, with co-hosts Spike O'Neill and Joe Bryant). He's a producer with a talent for writing the parodies and getting top-tier talent to perform on them (photos of well-known rockers performing in Bob's studio are at the bottom of this story). Unlike Weird Al, Bob doesn't sing or tour. Standout tracks include "O Come All Ye Grateful Dead-Heads" and "Wreck the Malls." His Twisted Christmas album, released in 1987, went Gold, selling over 500,000 copies. His most popular is "The Twelve Pains of Christmas," which include finding a Christmas tree, rigging up the lights, and five months of bills. Bob did topical parodies for his popular radio show (like "Breaking Up Is Hard On You" about the breakup of AT&T), but made his biggest impact with Christmas parodies. Al made an impact with songs like "I Love Rocky Road" and "Eat It" - he was (and still is) very much into food. In the '80s, the two big players in parody were Bob Rivers and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
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