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Chicken Pot Pie

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For the food dish, see Pot pie.
"Chicken Pot Pie"
Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic
ReleasedUnreleased
GenreParody

"Chicken Pot Pie" is an unreleased parody song written by "Weird Al" Yankovic.[1] It was written as a parody of "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney and Wings; however, Yankovic voluntarily decided not to release it after McCartney declined to support the parody, as he felt it conflicted with his vegetarianism and condoned the consumption of meat.[2]

History

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"Weird Al" Yankovic is an American musician, specializing in performing parodies of popular songs. At an airport, the British singer Paul McCartney approached him and said to him: "anytime you want to do one of my songs, it's yours".[3][4] Two years passed before Yankovic decided to parody McCartney's James Bond song "Live and Let Die" and wrote "Chicken Pot Pie".[3][4]

Under American law (specifically the 1994 case Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.), Yankovic is not legally required to seek the permission of an artist whose song he wishes to parody, but he chooses to do so as a matter of courtesy.[5][6] Consequently, Yankovic contacted McCartney to seek his blessing. Despite showing initial enthusiasm for being parodied,[7] McCartney declined to approve the song. Yankovic stated: "Paul didn't want me to do it because he's a strict vegetarian and he didn't want a parody that condoned the consumption of animal flesh."[5] McCartney did say that he would grant consent if it were retitled "Tofu Pot Pie", but Yankovic refused, citing that the chorus would contain the mimicking of a chicken clucking.[5]

Yankovic has performed segments of the song during live concerts,[7] debuting it in 1992 as part of his "Fast Food Medley" (a compilation of segments of some of Yankovic's food related songs).[3] Yankovic and McCartney never held any ill will over the declination, with McCartney agreeing to a comedy interview between the two in 1996.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Weird Al" Yankovic, Chicken Pot Pie unreleased song, retrieved July 10, 2022
  2. ^ "The Original Pot Pie Was Crustless; Listen To "Chicken Pot Pie" (Video)". South Florida Reporter. September 23, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "McCartney Vetoed Weird Al's Chicken Pot Pie". L.A. Weekly. November 25, 2006. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Paul McCartney refused to let artist cover his song 'because of ex-wife' | Music | Entertainment". September 22, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Greene, Andy (May 26, 2016). "Flashback: Weird Al's Rejected Wings Parody, 'Chicken Pot Pie'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  6. ^ "How 'Weird Al' eclipsed (almost) every star he ever parodied". The Washington Post. February 16, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "When Paul McCartney turned down Weird Al". AXS. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  8. ^ Cole, Stacey (September 29, 2015). "Weird Al: 4 Artists Who Have Said No To A Parody. And 1 Artist Who Won't Even Allow Him To Make Eye Contact". Inquisitr. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
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