“Weird Al” Yankovic
A local compilation, a Capitol single and a self-financed EP trace Yankovic’s path from student recordings to a national audience.
ListenTake Me Down · 1978
Alfred Yankovic — “Take Me Down,” recorded in 1978 and issued on SLO Grown.
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1979 · San Luis Records
“Take Me Down” on SLO Grown
An apartment recording, a chorus of neighbourhood children and a local benefit LP gave Alfred Yankovic his first commercial record appearance. “Take Me Down” captures the student musician before “Weird Al” became a nationally familiar name. [1] [2]
| Accession | OMMA-0001 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Alfred Yankovic, with Tom Walters, Jon Iverson and Joel Miller |
| Release | 1979 · United States |
| Label | San Luis Records · No catalogue number |
| Format | 12-inch compilation LP |
| Issue | Original local benefit compilation |
| Runouts | Not documented |
| Recorded grade | Sealed · VG+ sleeve |
Release history and significance
Jon Iverson, Yankovic’s former roommate, recalled recording “Take Me Down” upstairs in their living room at Foothill Garden Apartments in San Luis Obispo. His Teac 2340 four-track reel-to-reel recorder captured Yankovic’s accordion and vocal, Iverson’s guitar and bass, Tom Walters’s mandolin, and Joel Miller’s bongos. Iverson and Walters also sang backing vocals. [2]
For the ending, they gathered children from the apartment complex to join the chorus. Iverson remembered that the roommates were also playing locally and developing food-themed parodies of late-1970s rock songs—including “My Bologna.” The session was part of a small, sociable musical life around Cal Poly. [2]
The recording appears as the fourth track on side B of SLO Grown, a compilation benefiting the Economic Opportunity Commission of San Luis Obispo County. Prepared with a 1978 copyright and released in April 1979, the LP placed Yankovic among other local musicians. [1]
Market context
Discogs sales for SLO Grown range from US$30 to US$200, with a median of US$62.50, as listed on 13 September 2026. The latest recorded sale was 1 July 2026. [1]
Physical Description
A twelve-inch LP in its original illustrated picture sleeve, still enclosed in shrink wrap with a Cheap Thrills price sticker. The wrap has a split of about one and a half inches on the reverse.
Condition
Sealed, with the sleeve graded VG+ for small bumps at all four corners.
Provenance
Acquired through eBay from seller fizdryypz on 2 February 2025. This was OMMA’s first accession.
The seller wrote: “I was actually a student at Cal Poly in SLO when I picked up that record,” and remembered hearing stories about Yankovic’s student years. They described the record store’s upstairs vinyl room as an old storage attic, with inventory that appeared not to have moved for years, and wondered whether this copy might have been there since 1978.
Responding to a photograph of the copy, Iverson recalled that San Luis Records, part of Square Deal Records and associated with Cheap Thrills, distributed the album for the EOC. He remembered remaining boxes being sold through the shop in the 2000s and suggested that copies had been rewrapped then. He identified the Cheap Thrills sticker as consistent with a local purchase during that period. [2]
Sources
- Discogs, Various — SLO Grown, release 4165568. San Luis Records compilation, personnel, April 1979 release and sales history.
- Jon Iverson, recollections of Take Me Down and SLO Grown. Firsthand account of the apartment session and later local distribution.
- fizdryypz, seller correspondence. Recollections supplied with the acquisition; retained in the provenance documentation.
- WeirdAl.com, Recording Dates. Dates the Take Me Down session to mid-1978.
Catalogue text reviewed 13 September 2026.
ListenMy Bologna — Capitol single version · 1979
“Weird Al” Yankovic — the original Capitol single version of “My Bologna.”
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1979 · Capitol Records
My Bologna / School Cafeteria
“My Bologna” brought Yankovic’s food-themed parody of the Knack’s “My Sharona” to Capitol Records. This promotional single preserves the original 1979 recording, paired with “School Cafeteria.” [1]
| Accession | OMMA-0003 |
|---|---|
| Artist | “Weird Al” Yankovic |
| Release | 1979 · United States |
| Label | Capitol Records · P-4816 |
| Format | 7-inch vinyl single · 45 rpm · mono |
| Issue | White-label promotional issue |
| Runouts | A: S45-96404 (partial transcription) B: S45-96405 (partial transcription) |
| Recorded grade | NM |
Release history and significance
Yankovic recorded “My Bologna” in a public bathroom for its tiled echo. Dr. Demento played it on his radio show, where it became a favourite. [2]
When the Knack played the campus, Yankovic met Doug Fieger backstage. Fieger recognised the “My Bologna” singer and urged the man beside him—Capitol executive Rupert Perry—to release it. Perry agreed. Yankovic recounted the encounter as the unexpected opening that got the single onto Capitol. [2]
The December 1979 release paired “My Bologna” with the original song “School Cafeteria.” This white-label promo carries the same two tracks as the commercial single. The original bathroom recording differs from the version remade in 1982 for Yankovic’s 1983 debut album. [1] [3]
Market context
Discogs sales for this Capitol promo range from US$9.99 to US$55.25, with a median of US$29.99, as listed on 13 September 2026. The latest recorded sale was 21 August 2026. [1]
Physical Description
A white-label Capitol promotional single in a Capitol company sleeve. The labels identify the mono release as P-4816, with “My Bologna” on side A and “School Cafeteria” on side B. [1]
Condition
The disc is graded Near Mint, with clean white labels.
Provenance
Acquired through Discogs from seller GroovesVinyl on 28 November 2025.
Sources
- Discogs, Weird Al Yankovic — My Bologna / School Cafeteria, release 4056981. Capitol P-4816 promotional issue and sales history.
- The New Yorker, How Weird Al Spoofed Himself. Yankovic interview.
- WeirdAl.com, Recording Dates. September 1979 original, November 1979 B-side, and March 1982 remake.
Catalogue text reviewed 13 September 2026.
ListenAnother One Rides the Bus — complete EP · 1981
The original four-track Placebo EP, including “Another One Rides the Bus.”
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1981 · Placebo Records
Another One Rides the Bus EP
Yankovic put out this four-song EP himself after his brief Capitol connection. Its title track turns Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” into an overcrowded bus ride, with the percussion supplied by an accordion case. [1]
| Accession | OMMA-0002 |
|---|---|
| Artist | “Weird Al” Yankovic |
| Release | 1981 · United States |
| Label | Placebo Records · 3626 |
| Format | 7-inch vinyl EP · 45 rpm |
| Issue | Self-financed original commercial EP |
| Runouts | A: PLACEBO 3626-A don B: PLACEBO 3626B |
| Recorded grade | VG+ · VG+ sleeve |
Release history and significance
“Another One Rides the Bus” was recorded live on Dr. Demento’s KMET programme on 14 September 1980. Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz played Yankovic’s accordion case while other participants added hand music and comic interruptions. The record keeps the energy of a radio-studio gathering rather than a polished studio production. [1] [2]
Released in early 1981 in a pressing of about 1,000 copies, the Placebo EP paired the Queen parody with three original comic songs: “Happy Birthday,” “Gotta Boogie” and “Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung.” The tracks draw on sessions from 1980 and early 1981. [1] [2]
The four-song programme shows how much material Yankovic was already making outside a lasting record deal. The EP followed SLO Grown and the Capitol “My Bologna” single; it gave that growing body of work a release he could distribute himself. A later T.K. single took “Another One Rides the Bus” into a different release campaign. [3]
Market context
Discogs sales for the Placebo EP range from US$160 to US$499.99, with a median of US$356.34, as listed on 13 September 2026. The latest recorded sale was 21 June 2026. [1]
Physical Description
A seven-inch black vinyl EP in its original picture sleeve, with Placebo labels. The sleeve credits the unusual accordion-case percussion alongside the other performers. [1]
Condition
Disc and sleeve are graded VG+. A small chip is recorded around the spindle hole; the remaining disc surface was described as very clean. The sleeve has slight creasing at its opening.
Provenance
Acquired through Discogs from Boo Boo Records on 6 February 2025.
This EP and SLO Grown were among the records that inspired the creation of the Origins of Modern Music Archive.
Sources
- Discogs, Weird Al Yankovic — Another One Rides the Bus, release 2578636. Placebo EP, credits, recording note, runouts and sales history.
- WeirdAl.com, Recording Dates. 14 September 1980 broadcast recording and the EP’s other sessions.
- Dohtem, Another One Rides the Bus discography. Placebo and later T.K. issues.
Catalogue text reviewed 13 September 2026.