Top 10 Star Wars Musical Parodies!
Image Source: StarWars.com
Music has always been an integrated part of Star Wars. Orchestras around the world integrate the works of John Williams into their concerts, and hobby musicians never seem to get tired of performing one of his compositions on the piano, ukulele, bag-pipe, or even tuba. Some would take a more funny approach to Star Wars music. A search for "Star Wars music parody" on YouTube reveals several hundred results. Quite a few of them include people dressed as Darth Vader or a bunch of stormtroopers dancing to some disco tune. Others adapted the lyrics of famous pop songs to relate them to Star Wars, performing them to a cut-together montage of scenes from the movies.
Then there are some who put a lot of effort into creating something funny and special, be it a cleverly written text, a virtuous performance, a professionally produced music video, or a combination of all of those. The following songs fall into this latter category.
10. “All About That Base”
This cover version of Meghan Trainor's “All About That Bass” was released in 2014 by Nerdist, telling the story of Darth Vader, who is quite proud of the Death Star. The song includes clever Star Wars references, pretty girls singing and dancing, and impressive choreography by the Royal Guards. But as there is a dancing X-Wing pilot on the Death Star, the line "All about that base - no Rebels" is simply wrong.
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9. “Ewok Gospel”
This song from 2008 is the only entry in this list that is an original piece. Due to all the backlash against the Ewoks after the release of Return of the Jedi, the singer Andrew tries to spread some love for the little fur balls. He is assisted by a gospel choir and none other than Billy Dee Williams, who takes the role of a preacher.
8. “Star Wars Medley”
Shortly before the release of The Force Awakens, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots released an a capella medley of several Star Wars pieces. What makes this song remarkable is that it includes the vocal performances of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Gwendoline Christie, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford (ok, just a few notes at the end, but anyhow).
7. “Moves Like Jabba”
There are several cover versions of the Maroon 5 hit “Moves Like Jagger,” but the funniest is probably the one by MAD TV. In the cutely animated video, Lando asks a Gamorrean guard how he got the job at Jabba's palace, as he has no talent, to which the green piggy answers that he convinced the crime lord by, well, moving like Jabba.
6. “Yoda”
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic has written quite a few original songs, but he is best known for his parodies. His 1985 album Dare To Be Stupid includes a cover version of The Kinks' hit “Lola.” “Yoda” retells Luke's encounter with the Jedi Master. The song was written in 1980, but it took some time to get permission from both Lucasfilm and The Kinks to get it finally released. The song is one of Yankovic's biggest hits to this day.
Unfortunately, there are only fanmade videos of the song on YouTube.
5. “The Star Wars That I Used to Know”
This version of Gotye's “Somebody That I Used to Know” was released back in 2012 when it was still hip to bash the prequel trilogy and the Special Editions. The style of the video mimics that of the original, but here a "Darth Vader" complains about what George Lucas has done to him since 1997 and the "Maker" basically answers that he doesn't care what the fans want. The song's message seems a bit dated today, but this doesn't diminish its quality.
4. “Cello Wars”
This song performed by Stephen Sharp Nelson from The Piano Guys is another medley of several Star Wars songs. Nelson performs it on a very futuristic-looking cello, both as a Jedi and a Sith character, who constantly try to defeat each other. Only when Darth Vader, playing an accordion version of the “Cantina Song” shows up do they briefly work together to Force-push him away.
The song's video is funny and professionally made, and Nelson really knows how to play that cello. Although the video ends with a "To be continued..." card, there is no sequel to this 2011 song as of yet.
3. “Kylo”
Back in February of 2019, when there was still hope that Episode IX would not be complete crap, Nerdist released their version of “Shallow” with Kylo Ren trying to persuade Rey to join him while the heroine urges Ren to become Ben Solo again. The song includes some funny moments, but what puts it in third place is the great vocal performance by both singers.
2. “Bandolier”
I'd rather kiss a Wookiee! This version of Sia's “Chandelier” comes from the same team that created “The Star Wars That I Used to Know.” In the song, Leia talks about more than just kissing Chewbacca while Han Solo is frozen in Carbonite. Again, the video is quite similar to that of the original, and the guy who plays Leia is really funny.
1. “The Saga Begins”
Weird Al Yankovic's second entry on this list is a cover version of Don McLean's “American Pie” and tells the story of The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan's point of view. Recorded before the movie was even released and written based on internet rumors, the song got the blessing of both George Lucas and Don McLean.
"And the Jedi I admire most met up with Darth Maul, and now he's toast…"
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