A Very High Compliment: Dave Davies Told ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic He’s ‘Always Loved’ Al’s Kinks Parody ‘Yoda’

Social media has its issues, but its core ability to connect everybody together at any point has really transformed our collective way of life — and, in some cases, opened up lines of communication between celebrities and musicians. Among the latest examples of that is a delightful exchange between Dave Davies of the Kinks and “Weird Al” Yankovic.

(Click here to shop ‘Weird Al’ in our Rock Cellar Store and click here to shop The Kinks).

Back in 1985, Yankovic released the album Dare to Be Stupid. Among its parodies was “Yoda,” a riff on the Kinks classic “Lola” that Yankovic had actually written in 1980 during the release of The Empire Strikes Back — only to be delayed five years due to the logistical licensing and permissions process that went into every Yankovic parody.

The song, one of Yankovic’s first of a few notable entries dealing with the Star Wars universe, stands up decades later as one of his most famous and fan-favorite songs, a staple of the live show in which everybody wears costumes:

Well, as it turns out, Dave Davies is a fan of “Yoda,” and said as much on Twitter this week:

Hi @alyankovic great to see you again Love Dave – always loved Yoda https://t.co/1zRmCQ6Mvo

— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) September 1, 2020

… to which Yankovic replied in kind, as a message to his younger self:

Memo to my 12-year-old self: https://t.co/0iaKgsRyu9

— Al Yankovic (@alyankovic) September 2, 2020

That’s validation of the highest degree, right there.

For more on ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, watch his amusing impression of Ted Nugent from the new Reno 911 series on Quibi:

And for more on Dave Davies, click here to read our 2019 interview.