Editing Polka Party! (section)

==Reception==
===Promotion===
To promote the album's release, Scotti Brothers Records purchased full-page ads in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine that advertised the release as Yankovic's "biggest bash yet".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=October 18, 1986|volume=98|issue=42|page=5|title=A-Wonderful! A-Wonderful! A-'Weird Al' 'Polka Party!'|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sSQEAAAAMBAJ&q=polka+party+weird+al&pg=PA5|access-date=April 25, 2013}}</ref> Unlike previous albums, Yankovic did not undertake a tour to promote ''Polka Party!'' Instead, he opened for the American rock band [[the Monkees]]; Yankovic later joked that the Monkees merely "closed" for him.<ref name="praitb"/> Yankovic explained that while it "was a fun tour" and that the crowds were very enthusiastic, the tension between the Monkees was obvious; on his website, he wrote that while the band members "are all terrific people individually", they "didn't seem to get along all that great when they weren't on stage."<ref>{{cite web|last=Yankovic|first=Alfred, M.|title='Ask Al' Q&As for December, 1999|url=http://weirdal.com/archives/miscellaneous/ask-al/1299|work=The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site|access-date=April 25, 2013|date=December 1999}}</ref>

===Critical response===
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="allmusic">{{Cite web| last = Chadbourne | first = Eugene | title = Polka Party! – Weird Al Yankovic | publisher = [[AllMusic]] | url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/polka-party%21-mw0000196425 | access-date = April 21, 2011}}</ref>
| rev2 = The Daily Vault 
| rev2score = F<ref name ="daily"/>
| rev3 = ''[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]''
| rev3score = 6.1/10<ref name="pitchfork">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/weird-al-yankovic-squeeze-box-the-complete-works-of-weird-al-yankovic/ |title="Weird Al" Yankovic – Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic |publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]] |access-date=December 7, 2017 |last=Thomas Erlewine |first=Stephen|date=7 December 2017 }}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name ="rolling stone book">{{cite book| last = Brackett | first = Nathan |author2=Christian Hoard | title = The Rolling Stone Album Guide | publisher = Simon and Schuster | year = 2004 | location = New York City, New York | pages = [https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/893 893] | isbn = 0-7432-0169-8 | url = https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac| url-access = registration | quote = rolling stone weird al yankovic alapalooza review. }}</ref>
}}

''Polka Party!'' received mixed to negative reviews from critics. [[AllMusic]] reviewer [[Eugene Chadbourne]] gave the album three stars and wrote that "just about anyone could feel let down by this album."<ref name="allmusic"/> Chadbourne was largely critical of the parody choices, noting that many of the original versions would be forgotten in "fifteen years".<ref name="allmusic"/> Christopher Thelen from The Daily Vault gave ''Polka Party!'' an F and described it as an album that "seemed like it could well have been the 'last call' for Yankovic."<ref name ="daily"/> Thelen heavily criticized the record, writing that both the parodies and originals were not good and that "Yankovic [was] going through the motions".<ref name ="daily"/> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' awarded the album three-and-a-half stars, tying it with the 1992 album ''[[Off the Deep End]]'' and the 1999 release ''[[Running with Scissors ("Weird Al" Yankovic album)|Running with Scissors]]'' as Yankovic's best-rated album.<ref name ="rolling stone book"/> Although it was not a critical success, the album was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] for [[Best Comedy Recording]] in [[Grammy Awards of 1987|1987]],<ref name="awards">{{cite web | url = http://weirdal.com/archives/awards/ | title = Awards | access-date = 17 April 2011 | last = Yankovic | first = Alfred M. | author-link = "Weird Al" Yankovic | year = 2003 | work = The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site}}</ref> but lost to [[Bill Cosby]]'s ''[[Those of You with or Without Children, You'll Understand]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Past Winners Search|url=http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=&field_nominee_work_value=&year=1986&genre=6|publisher=Grammy.com|access-date=April 24, 2013}}</ref>

Despite the album's lackluster reception, many of the songs on the album, such as "Dog Eat Dog", "Addicted to Spuds", and "Christmas at Ground Zero", went on to become fan favorites and live staples.<ref name="praitb"/><ref name="tdet">{{cite web | url = http://weirdal.com/archives/miscellaneous/set-lists/ | title = The Deep End Tour | access-date = April 23, 2011 | last = Yankovic | first = Alfred M. | author-link = "Weird Al" Yankovic | year = 2003 | work = The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site}}</ref><ref name="pht">{{cite web | url = http://weirdal.com/archives/miscellaneous/set-lists/ | title = Poodle Hat Tour 2003/2004 | access-date = April 23, 2011 | last = Yankovic | first = Alfred M. | author-link = "Weird Al" Yankovic | year = 2003 | work = The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site}}</ref><ref name="setlist4"/> Two of the album's tracks, "Living with a Hernia" and "Addicted to Spuds", appeared on Yankovic's [["Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits|first greatest hits album]] (1988),<ref name="great1liner">{{cite AV media notes|title=Greatest Hits|others="Weird Al" Yankovic|year=1988|type=liner|publisher=Scotti Bros. Records}}</ref> "Christmas at Ground Zero" appeared on the [[Greatest Hits Volume II ("Weird Al" Yankovic album)|second volume]] (1994).<ref name="great2liner">{{cite AV media notes|title=Greatest Hits Volume II|others="Weird Al" Yankovic|year=1994|type=liner|publisher=Scotti Bros. Records}}</ref> In addition, the 1994 box set ''[[Permanent Record: Al in the Box]]'' contained five of the album's songs: "Addicted to Spuds", "Dog Eat Dog", "Here's Johnny", "Living with a Hernia", and "Christmas at Ground Zero".<ref name="praitb"/> Only "Dog Eat Dog", however, appeared on Yankovic's 2009 ''[[The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic|Essential]]'' collection, although the 3.0 version contained "Living with a Hernia".<ref name="essentialliner">{{cite AV media notes|title=The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic|others="Weird Al" Yankovic|year=2009|type=liner|publisher=[[Legacy Recordings]]}}</ref><ref name="essentialliner2">{{cite AV media notes|title=The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic 3.0|others="Weird Al" Yankovic|year=2009|type=liner|publisher=[[Legacy Recordings]]}}</ref>

===Commercial performance===
''Polka Party!'' was released October 21, 1986.<ref name="awards"/> After it was released, the album peaked at No. 177 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref name="awards"/> Compared to Yankovic's previous albums—''[[Dare to Be Stupid]]'' peaked at No. 50 and ''[[In 3-D]]'' peaked at No. 17<ref name="awards"/>—''Polka Party!'' was considered a commercial disappointment for the comedian. The album was the lowest-charting studio album released by Yankovic<ref name="awards"/> and is one of his few studio albums not to be certified either [[Music recording sales certification|Gold]] or [[Platinum record|Platinum]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA).<ref name="awards"/> The others include the [[UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff|soundtrack]] to his film ''[[UHF (film)|UHF]]'' (1989) and ''[[Poodle Hat]]'' (2003).<ref name="awards"/>

Yankovic was dismayed by the album's lackluster reception. He noted that he "thought it was the end of [his] career".<ref name="praitb"/> Yankovic explained that "I figured I'd peaked with '[[Eat It]]' and '[[Like a Surgeon]]' and now people were slowly forgetting about me and I was well on my way to obscurity."<ref name="praitb"/> However, Yankovic's next album, ''[[Even Worse]]'', would resurrect his career and become his best-selling album at the time; the experience led Yankovic to realize that "careers have peaks and valleys, and whenever I go through the rough times, another peak might be right around the corner."<ref name="praitb"/>