Today marks the 65th birthday of one of my favorite musical artists, Weird Al Yankovic. What better way to celebrate it than by chronicling the many times he's crossed paths with the modern Stone Age family? Hey, can you think of something better?
Naturally, Weird Al first mentioned The Flintstones when he did a parody song related to the series. "Bedrock Anthem," which appeared on the 1993 album Alpalooza, parodies the Red Hot Chili Peppers songs "Under the Bridge" and "Give it Away." Its music video parodies both songs' videos and features footage from The Flintstones series. Yankovic made the song due to the Flintstones live-action movie and wanted to have it out before the film's release. He was successful, as it predates the film by about seven months. Speaking of, "Bedrock Anthem" would later appear on The Flintstones soundtrack, and a snippet of the song would even play during its credits.
Since its release, the song has become a common part of Weird Al's concert setlists. Weird Al has also often worn an outfit resembling Fred Flintstone's during these performances. The song remains a favorite among fans, but you know who wasn't a fan? The Red Hot Chili Peppers. When Behind the Music did an episode on Weird Al Yankovic, Flea, the bassist for RHCP, wrote it off as "unimaginative" and "not that great."
In 1994, Weird Al would again promote The Flintstones, this time for its run on TBS. Following the release of the live-action film, TBS began airing the show on weeknights and called upon Weird Al to host. Here's Yankovic announcing the schedule change in a commercial from around that time.
Let's jump ahead to 1997, as Yankovic finally found himself face-to-face with the actual Flintstones. In the eighth episode of his short-lived CBS series, The Weird Al Show, we learn that he actually had a part in the show's pilot as Weird Al Yankstone, cousin to Fred Flintstone. This animated segment was done by Hanna-Barbera, and in all honesty, looks noticeably better than any of the other Flintstones specials made during the decade. It's also notable for being one of the last times Jean Vander Pyl and Henry Corden played Wilma and Fred.
That was the last time The Flintstones and Weird Al met, but in the years since, he has continued to reference the show in his music, such as namedropping both Wilma and Betty in 2003's "Couch Potato." While researching this piece, I also learned of a pretty interesting Boomerang commercial that aired during the mid-2000s, and featured "Bedrock Anthem." It's been mentioned on a couple of fansites over the years, but I couldn't find any copy of it online. Does anyone remember seeing this ad on Boomerang back in the day?
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