Another One Rides the Bus (EP)

The EP features the titular parody, as well as three original comedy songs, with music written by Yankovic. In April 1980, Yankovic recorded the first song for the album, "Gotta Boogie". The song, co-written by Joe Earley, is a play on words discussing a man with a "boogie" on his finger and his quandary therein. The second song to be recorded for the EP was "Another One Rides the Bus", on September 14, 1980. "Another One Rides the Bus" became so popular that it landed Yankovic a short-lived record deal with TK Records and also led to his first appearance on a TV show, The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder. In January 1981, the song "Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung" was recorded. "Happy Birthday" was recorded in the garage of Richard Bennett, the brother of Schwartz who would go on to be a noted guitarist and record producer. The EP's version of "Happy Birthday" is included on the Permanent Record: Al in the Box box set, and was remixed into stereo for the Hurricane Katrina charity album Laughter Is a Powerful Weapon Volume II. "Gotta Boogie", "Happy Birthday", and "Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung" were re-recorded for Yankovic's eponymous debut studio album, while "Another One Rides the Bus" was not. ==Release==

Yankovic desired to release the song on a record label, although no label wanted to sign him at the time. Yankovic therefore borrowed some money from Dr. Demento and pressed up one thousand copies of the four-track EP by himself. Yankovic then distributed the EP to various record stores, selling them through consignment deals. Yankovic released the record under Placebo Records, a one-off label founded by Yankovic for the sole purpose of distributing the EPs. Only one thousand copies of the Another One Rides the Bus EP were made, making it a rare record for modern collectors. ==Track listing==

Credits adapted from EP liner notes, except where noted. Musicians • "Weird Al" Yankovic – accordion, lead vocals; thumps (track 3) • Damaskas (Dan Hollombe) – background vocals (tracks 1, 2, 3) • Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz – accordion case (track 1), drums (track 2), background vocals (track 2) • Musical Mike (Mike Kieffer) – hand music (track 1), background vocals (track 2) • Sulu (Sue Lubin) – hand music (tracks 1, 3) • Beefalo Bill (Bill Burk) – "miscellaneous insanities" (track 1) • Tohm – "miscellaneous insanities" (tracks 1, 3) • Jeri – "miscellaneous insanities" (tracks 1, 3) • Bobcat Bennett – guitar (track 2) • Frank (From the Bank) Sanchez – bass guitar (track 2) • Kamikaze Coco – background vocals (track 2) • BEH (Barry Hansen) – background vocals (track 2) • Jammin' Joel Miller – bongos • Leroy Finklestein – "choreography" • Madman Mike Solton – background vocals (track 3) • Tegan – background vocals (track 3) • Rick Turner – "gaffer and key grip" Technical • Beefalo Bill – sleeve design ==References==