| "I Lost on Jeopardy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by"Weird Al" Yankovic | ||||
| from the album"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | June 4, 1984 | |||
| Recorded | December 12, 1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:26 | |||
| Label | Scotti Brothers | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Original song byGreg Kihn, Steve Wright; parody lyrics by "Weird Al" Yankovic | |||
| Producer(s) | Rick Derringer | |||
| "Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "I Lost on Jeopardy" onYouTube | ||||
"I Lost on Jeopardy" is a song by American musician"Weird Al" Yankovic from his second album,"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D, released in 1984. The song is a parody of "Jeopardy" byThe Greg Kihn Band, released in 1983, and its refrain "Our love's in jeopardy". The parody's lyrics center on thegame showJeopardy!, and features a guest vocal fromDon Pardo, who announced forJeopardy! from 1964 to 1975. The music video uses a set inspired by the 1964-75 version of the game show, and in addition to Pardo, features cameos from the show's hostArt Fleming as well asDr. Demento andGreg Kihn. The song was released just prior to the revival ofJeopardy! in 1984, though contrary to popular theory,[1] the revival was already in the works and was not inspired by Yankovic's song.
The song has appeared on several compilation albums, including"Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits (1988),Wacky Favorites (1993), andPermanent Record: Al in the Box (1994).[2]The song charted at 83 on the Hot 100.[3]
The video was directed by Jay Levey, and produced byRobert K. Weiss,[4]: 205 and filmed on May 24 and 25, 1984.[citation needed] The video loosely parodies the music video for "Jeopardy". The video takes place on a set loosely based on the 1964–75 version of the quiz showJeopardy! and depicts a "behind-the-scenes" look at the show; in addition to Pardo appearing on-camera, the video features cameo appearances by originalJeopardy! hostArt Fleming, Yankovic's mentor,Dr. Demento, members of Yankovic's band, his real-life parents and a brief cameo byGreg Kihn at the end.[1][4]: 56–62
As the video begins, a nervous Yankovic finds himself pitted against a plumber and an architect, both of whom havePh.D. diplomas that they show to him on stage. After hostArt Fleming enters, he reveals the game board and its six categories: "T.V. Themes", "Nuclear Physics", "World Geography", "Food", "Potpourri", and "Famous Accordion Players", all of which contain a series of befuddling and nearly impossible answers. Although the other two contestants effortlessly give many correct responses during the game, Yankovic cannot and gives up instead.
AnnouncerDon Pardo proceeds to tell Yankovic what he didnot win: a set of encyclopedias, a case ofTurtle Wax, and a year's supply ofRice-A-Roni. Pardo then throws some papers and tells Yankovic that he has disgraced himself to the audience and his family. Yankovic's podium begins to break down as his score continues to plummet in the negative column, while Pardo announces that he will not come back the next day, nor receive "a lousy copy of ourhome game", and that he is a "complete loser" as the camera zooms in on the game board, with the money cards replaced with cards reading "complete loser".
Fleming raspberries and gives two thumbs down to Yankovic, who rips off a piece of wood from his podium as two stagehands forcibly grab him and literally throw him out from the studio. Yankovic comments in his song's lyrics that he hopes he will do better "next weekend onThe Price Is Right". At the end of the video, Yankovic lands in the back seat of anAlfa Romeo Spider convertible driven byGreg Kihn himself, with the license plate reading "LOSER".
According to the liner notes ofThe Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic:[6]
| Chart (1984) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| U.S.Billboard Hot 100 | 83 |
At theNational Association of Television Program Executives convention in February 1984,Jeopardy! creatorMerv Griffin announced that a revival version of that game show would be available, to be paired with the second syndicated season ofWheel of Fortune. The album where this song was featured was released shortly afterwards. It led to a gag on the June 29, 1984 episode ofThe Merv Griffin Show Griffin joked the success of the song meant his quiz show was returning.[1][7] The gag on his talk show was made while theJeopardy! revival, hosted byAlex Trebek from its September 1984 launch to January 8, 2021, andKen Jennings occasionally since January 11, 2021, and all episodes since July 3, 2023[a], was being sold to television stations during NATPE, before Yankovic's song was released to the public on an album or single or as a music video.[8]: 87
The song has been referenced several times on the newJeopardy! itself, including once as a category (on June 26, 2009[9]), and later when Yankovic appeared onRock & Roll Jeopardy!. It was the subject of an Audio Daily Double on October 23, 1984, when the contestant who got the clue was asked to identify the artist of the song from an audio sample of the song but failed to do so;[10] the subject of a Daily Double on the April 27, 2012 episode of the show, with the contestant receiving the clue, which consisted of the release year and some lyrics, but failing to identify the song;[11] and the subject of a Daily Double on the March 15, 2018 episode of the show, in which the contestant receiving the clue—which consisted of a part of the lyrics—succeeded in identifying the singer.[12]
On the August 13, 2021 episode, hostJoe Buck[b] read the answer in "Lost" for $1,200: "Art Fleming and Don Pardo were in the video for this Weird Al parody song." Seventeen-day championMatt Amodio correctly asked, "What's 'I Lost on Jeopardy!'?" Buck responded, "Yes, and don't sing it; it will not leave your head, it's been in mine for three weeks."[13][14] During the Season 40 Second Chance Tournament that was part of the show's extended tournament break because of the2023 Writers Guild of America strike, the September 29, 2023 episode featured "Weird Al Parodies" as a category Jennings read the answer, "Encyclopedias and a case ofTurtle Wax were among the prizes Al didn't win in this song & video that's near and dear to our hearts." Jilana Cotter asked the question, "What is 'I Lost on Jeopardy'?", leading to Jennings responding, "Yeah, that's the official Second Chance anthem."[15]
Al, what you've done for me, I can't tell you. [...] With the great success of that record,Jeopardy! is coming back September of this year.
