"Ricky" is a 1983 song by

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

, duetting with voice actress

Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire MacNeille (née Payne; born June 20, 1951) is an American voice actress, whose credits include voicing Dot Warner on the animated television series ''Animaniacs'', Babs Bunny on ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Chip and Gadget Hackwrench ...

. It is a parody of the 1982 song "

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael (given name), Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men ...

" by

Toni Basil Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her song "Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit th ...

, which itself, is a cover of

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian-American record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi ...

and

Nicky Chinn Nicholas Barry Chinn (born 16 May 1945) is an English-American songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the UK and US in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several international number- ...

's "Kitty" recorded by

Racey Racey are a British pop group, formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, by Clive Wilson and Phil Fursdon. They achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with hits such as "Lay Your Love on Me" and "Some Girls". Thei ...

. The song focuses on the sitcom ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

'', and ends with a segment of the theme from the sitcom. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was created for the song; it was Yankovic's first. According to the liner notes in the compilation DVD '' "Weird Al" Yankovic: The Ultimate Video Collection'', "it was arguably the first comedy video ever shown on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Track listing

#"Ricky" – 2:35 #"Buckingham Blues" – 3:11

Music video

The music video was directed by

Janet Greek Janet Greek (born 1949 in Timmins, Ohio) is an American director and writer of film and television. She is best known for her directorial work on the science fiction series ''Babylon 5''. Career As a television director, Greek's credits include ...

. It was filmed mostly in black and white and parodies the television sitcom ''

''. Yankovic plays the role of

Ricky Ricardo Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, also known simply as Lucy and Ricky or the Ricardos, are fictional characters from the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', portrayed respectively by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The Ricardos also appear in '' The ...

, complete with affected Cuban accent. Yankovic appears, minus his mustache, glasses, and curly hair, to more closely resemble

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Lov ...

. He is also seen briefly in several scenes as himself with his band, playing the accordion and sporting his normal mustache and curly hair. Tress MacNeille plays the role of Lucy, giving an impression of

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

's somewhat raspy voice and her usual shticks such as her unique way of crying. Near the end of the video, a cheerleader can be seen dancing in the crowd. This is a direct reference to the music video for "

". The video (and song) ends with a segment of the ''I Love Lucy'' theme played on guitar rounding out with Ricky on accordion, followed by Ricky doing his trademark "Huah! Huah! Huah!" laugh.

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

makes a cameo appearance at the very end.

Chart positions

References

External links

*, official upload of the music video 1983 singles 1983 songs I Love Lucy Male–female vocal duets Scotti Brothers Records singles Songs about fictional male characters Songs about television Songs with lyrics by "Weird Al" Yankovic Songs written by Mike Chapman Songs written by Nicky Chinn "Weird Al" Yankovic songs {{1980s-rock-song-stub

Track listing

Music video

Chart positions

See also

References

External links