W.A.Y. Moby Polka
"W.A.Y. Moby Polka", previously known as "The Ear Booker Polka", refers to a portion or portions of music written by "Weird Al" Yankovic and featured in each of his polka medleys. It is referenced separately in the album credits for legal purposes, to separate the music created by Yankovic from the music created by other artists.
Background
The composition was originally called "Ear Booker Polka" in reference to Yankovic's company, Ear Booker, affiliated with Broadcast Music Incorporated. When Yankovic's record label Scotti Brothers disbanded in 1997, they sold his recording contract to Volcano Records. In turn, Yankovic's production changed its name to WAY MOBY based on a quote from the episode "Bad Influence" of The Weird Al Show; therefore the composition also changed its name to its current version. In "Angry White Boy Polka" from Poodle Hat, "W.A.Y. Moby Polka" was temporarily changed to "Poodle Hat Polka", while in "Polkarama!" from Straight Outta Lynwood, it was changed to the "Nina Bobina Polka". On "Polka Face" from Alpocalypse it was referred to as the "Whatever's Left Over Polka" while on "NOW That's What I Call Polka" from Mandatory Fun it was referred to as "Mandatory Polka".
When asked in 1999 exactly which part of the polka medley is "Ear Booker Polka", Yankovic wrote:
Every songwriter in the polka medley is paid based on the percentage of the medley where their song is heard. "The Ear Booker Polka," basically, is the name given to every single part of the medley that is not directly attributable to another songwriter - that is, if somebody else didn’t write it, I get the credit (and the royalties). [In 1999,] the name was changed to "W.A.Y. Moby Polka" for accounting reasons.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ Ask Al - August, 1999. WeirdAl.com