Editing Polka Party! (section)

===Parodies and polka===
{{Listen|filename=Living With a Hernia.ogg|title="Living with a Hernia" (sample)|description="Living with a Hernia", from Yankovic's 1986 album ''Polka Party!''. The sample illustrates Yankovic's parody, including the musical re-creation of the original song.|format=[[Ogg]]}}

[[File:James-Brown 1973.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The album's lead parody, "Living with a Hernia", is a parody of [[James Brown]]'s (''pictured'') single "[[Living in America (James Brown song)|Living in America]]".|250px]]
On August 4, Yankovic began recording parodies starting with "Living with a Hernia".<ref name="recordingdates"/> The song, a spoof of "[[Living in America (James Brown song)|Living in America]]" by [[James Brown]]—which was also the theme to the 1985 film ''[[Rocky IV]]''—is about [[hernia]]s.<ref name=ppliner/><ref name="praitb"/> When it came time to pick a song to parody as the lead single for ''Polka Party!'' Scotti Brothers Records "had some very strong ideas" and wished to have Yankovic parody a musician who was signed on the same label. After "Living in America" became a hit, the record label insisted that Yankovic parody the song, to which Yankovic obliged.<ref>Rabin and Yankovic, p. 77</ref> In order to accurately write the song, Yankovic researched the various types of hernias. Yankovic noted that "it was a real thrill to do James Brown. I'm a total non-dancer, never went to any dances in high school, but if I analytically dissect a dance routine I can figure it out."<ref name="praitb"/> A choreographer named Chester Whitmore was hired to accurately create the dance scenes featured in the video, which was shot on the concert set actually used in the movie ''Rocky IV''.<ref name="praitb"/> The second parody recorded was "Addicted to Spuds", a pastiche of "[[Addicted to Love (song)|Addicted to Love]]" by [[Robert Palmer]], about a man's [[Fixation (psychology)|obsession]] for [[potato]]es and potato-based dishes.<ref name="recordingdates"/><ref name=ppliner/> A music video for the song was never made because there was a strict budget for videos for the album, and Yankovic felt that the video would be "one joke" and not really worth its own video. A parody of Palmer's video, however, was later inserted into Al's "UHF" video.<ref>{{cite web|last=Yankovic|first=Alfred M.|title='Ask Al' Q&As for April, 1999|url=http://weirdal.com/archives/miscellaneous/ask-al/#0499|work=The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site|access-date=April 24, 2013|date=April 1999}}</ref>

On August 5, Yankovic recorded "Here's Johnny", a parody of "[[Who's Johnny]]" by [[El DeBarge]].<ref name="recordingdates"/> The song, a loving ode to ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' announcer [[Ed McMahon]], features John Roarke of the television series ''[[Fridays (TV series)|Fridays]]'' fame doing an impression of McMahon's voice.<ref name="praitb"/><ref name="Players">{{cite web |url=https://www.weirdal.com/archives/miscellaneous/players/ |title=Players |website=[["Weird Al" Yankovic]] |access-date=January 19, 2023}}</ref> According to Yankovic, [[Peter Wolf (producer)|Peter Wolf]], the man who wrote "Who's Johnny", enjoyed the parody idea so much that he personally brought into the studio the [[floppy disc]] that contained the song's programmed synthesizer parts.<ref name=houstonchron>{{cite news|last=Graff|first=Gary|title=A Few Words With... Weird Al Yankovic|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/s/InfoWeb/aggdocs/NewsBank/0ED7ACC1043C20E2/0F8479522BD09CA1?s_lang=en-US|access-date=April 24, 2013|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|publisher=[[Hearst Corporation]]|date=December 28, 1986}} {{subscription required}}</ref> The final parody recorded for the album was "Toothless People", a play on [[Mick Jagger]]'s "[[Ruthless People]]", which was recorded on August 29, 1986. The song, about elderly people who are missing their teeth, was written after Yankovic heard it would be the theme to the 1986 film ''[[Ruthless People]]''. Assuming the song would be a hit, Yankovic requested and received permission from Jagger to record a [[parody]] version. Jagger's song, however, was never a hit, but because Jagger had "approved" the parody, he decided that failing to produce it would be an "insult" to the artist.<ref>{{cite web|title=FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions|url=http://www.al-oholicsanonymous.com/faq/index.html#toothless|publisher=Al-oholics.com|access-date=April 24, 2013|year=1997}}</ref>

The album's polka medley, the titular "Polka Party!", was recorded on the same day as "Here's Johnny".<ref name="recordingdates"/> This was Yankovic's third polka medley, and his only medley to bear the same name as an album. Like his other medleys, the song is a conglomeration of then-popular songs in music.<ref name=parodies>{{cite web|last=Yankovic|first=Alfred M.|title=Parodies & Polkas|url=http://weirdal.com/archives/miscellaneous/parodies-polka/|work=The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site|access-date=April 24, 2013}}</ref>