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Eat It
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Eat It
| cover = Eat It Weird Al.jpg
| alt =
| border = no
| type = single
| artist = "Weird Al" Yankovic
| album = "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D
| B-side = That Boy Could Dance
| released = February 28, 1984
| recorded = December 13, 1983
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 3:19
| label = Scotti Brothers
| writer =
| producer = Rick Derringer
| prev_title = I Love Rocky Road
| prev_year = 1983
| next_title = King of Suede
| next_year = 1984
| misc =
}}
"'Eat It'" is a 1984 song by American comedy music artist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a spoof of Michael Jackson's 1983 single "Beat It", with the contents changed to be about an exasperated parent attempting to get their picky child to eat properly, much less eat anything at all. The track was both a commercial and critical success, earning Yankovic a Grammy Award. It peaked at number twelve in the United States, making it his first top 40 hit in that country, and reached number one in Australia.
History
The famous guitar solo, originally performed by Eddie Van Halen, was reproduced by Yankovic's producer, Rick Derringer.
According to Yankovic, when he presented his lyrics to Jackson for review, he did not know how Jackson would react. Jackson allegedly thought it was amusing and agreed to allow the parody. On October 19, 1989, the RIAA certified "Eat It" as a gold single.
Reception
The single reached number 1 in Australia, and it was his highest-charting US single on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 at number 12 until "White & Nerdy" peaked at number 9 in October 2006.[http://www.billboard.com/charts/1984-05-26/hot-100 Eat It's Highest Ranking on the Billboard 100] "Eat It" earned Yankovic a 1984 Grammy Award in the Best Comedy Recording category. "Eat It" also outranked "Beat It" in overall highest position on the Australian singles chart, with its highest rank being number 1, while "Beat It"'s highest was third.
'Cash Box' reviewed the single, saying "Rick Derringers production has remained true to the energy and appeal of Michael Jacksons original version, and the lyrics...are actually very funny."
Track listing
1984 release
# "Eat It" – 3:19# "That Boy Could Dance" – 3:32
1985/1993 re-release
# "Eat It" – 3:19# "I Lost on Jeopardy" – 3:26
Music video
The video for "Eat It" is styled as a shot-for-shot remake of Jackson's video for "Beat It", but with elements being parodied in various silly ways and Yankovic dressed as Jackson. The video also features a few of the same dancers from Jackson's video and Yankovic clumsily mimicking the dance moves from the original video. The video ends with Yankovic looking into the camera with yellow eyes, referencing the end of Jackson's video for "Thriller". Jackson received royalties from Yankovic for rights to cover the video so closely.
In June 20, 2022, Yankovic uploaded an alternative version of the music video on his YouTube channel, which consists of a single "coverage take". The alternate take of Yankovic singing, dancing, and writhing on the bed in the bedroom was intended to be used as a backup if other shots were unusable or unable to be procured in time, although Yankovic said he believed none of the footage was used in the original 1984 cut.
Legacy
As part of a charity effort during the COVID-19 pandemic, David Cross and Bob Odenkirk held a 'Mr. Show' online reunion show in May 2020 with many of their former cast members as well as other friends. The show concluded by having Cross, Odenkirk and their cast, as well as Yankovic, sing "Eat It", in a purposely tone-deaf manner that parodied a prior cover performance of "Imagine" that Gal Gadot and other celebrities had done for COVID-19 awareness but which had been taken as ineffectual.
Yankovic had pulled "Eat It" and his other Jackson song parody, "Fat", from the setlist of his Strings Attached Tour in the wake of the HBO documentary 'Leaving Neverland', in which two men claimed Jackson had sexually abused them when they were children. "I don't know if that's going to be permanent or not," Yankovic said of the decision. "But we just felt that with what's happened recently with the HBO documentaries, we didn't want anybody to feel uncomfortable."
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
See also
*List of singles by "Weird Al" Yankovic
*List of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic
*"Fat", another Michael Jackson parody by "Weird Al" Yankovic (released in 1988).
References
Category:"Weird Al" Yankovic songs
Category:Songs written by Michael Jackson
Category:1984 singles
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Cultural depictions of Michael Jackson
Category:Songs with lyrics by "Weird Al" Yankovic
Category:1984 songs
Category:American hard rock songs
Category:Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album
Category:Scotti Brothers Records singles
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