View source for Eat It

{{short description|1984 single by "Weird Al" Yankovic}}
{{About|the song|the Humble Pie album|Eat It (album){{!}}''Eat It'' (album)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Eat It
| cover      = Eat It Weird Al.jpg
| alt        =
| border     = yes
| type       = single
| artist     = [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]
| album      = [["Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D]]
| B-side     = That Boy Could Dance
| released   = February 28, 1984
| recorded   = December 13, 1983
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      =
* [[Comedy rock]]
* [[hard rock]]
* [[parody music|parody]]
| length     = 3:19
| label      = [[Scotti Brothers Records|Scotti Brothers]]
| writer     =
* [[Michael Jackson]]
* "Weird Al" Yankovic
| producer   = [[Rick Derringer]]
| prev_title = [[I Love Rocky Road]]
| prev_year  = 1983
| next_title = King of Suede
| next_year  = 1984
| misc       = {{Extra album cover
 | header  = Alternative covers
 | type    = singles
 | cover   = Eat It British Single.jpg
 | border  =
 | alt     =
 | caption = British single cover
}}
{{Extra album cover
 | header  = no
 | cover   = Eat It Japan.jpg
 | border  =
 | alt     =
 | caption = Japanese single cover
}}{{External music video|{{YouTube|ZcJjMnHoIBI|"Eat It" (original version)}}
 | type   = single
 | header = Music videos
}}{{External music video|{{YouTube|WBuszEbobq0|"Eat It" (coverage take)}}
 | type   = single
 | header = no
}}
}}
"'''Eat It'''" is a 1984 song by American [[comedy music]] artist [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]. It is a [[parody]] of [[Michael Jackson]]'s 1983 single "[[Beat It]]", with the contents changed to be about an exasperated parent attempting to get their picky child to eat anything at all, much less to eat properly. The track was both a commercial and critical success, earning Yankovic a [[Grammy Award]]. It peaked at number twelve in the United States, making it his first top 40 hit in that country, and reached number one in Australia.

==Production==
The famous guitar solo, performed by [[Eddie Van Halen]] on "[[Beat It]]",<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Rosen |first=Steve |date=September 1983 |title=Eddie Van Halen |url=https://muzines.co.uk/articles/eddie-van-halen/12012 |access-date=November 11, 2025 |magazine=Music U.K. |via=muzines}}</ref> was reproduced by [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]'s producer, [[Rick Derringer]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Friedlander |first=Matt |date=2025-05-28 |title=4 Memorable Songs Featuring Late Guitar Great Rick Derringer, Including Tunes by Alice Cooper, Steely Dan, & Weird Al |url=https://americansongwriter.com/4-memorable-songs-featuring-late-guitar-great-rick-derringer-including-tunes-by-alice-cooper-steely-dan-weird-al/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=American Songwriter |language=en-US}}</ref>

According to Yankovic, [[Michael Jackson]] "not only returned our phone calls, but he approved it. He thought it was a funny idea."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/michael-jackson-remembered-weird-al-yankovic-on-imitation-as-flattery-96288/ |title= MICHAEL JACKSON REMEMBERED: ‘WEIRD AL’ YANKOVIC ON IMITATION AS FLATTERY |work=Rolling Stone |date=July 9, 2009|access-date=July 28, 2025}}</ref> On October 19, 1989, the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]] certified "Eat It" as a [[Music recording sales certification|gold]] single.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Weird+Al+Yankovic&ti=Eat+It&format=Single&type=#search_section|title=Weird Al "Eat It"|website=RIAA|access-date=July 28, 2025}}</ref>

==Reception==
The single reached number 1 in Australia, and it was his highest-charting US single on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] at number 12 until "[[White & Nerdy]]" peaked at number 9 in October 2006.<ref>[https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1984-04-14/ Eat It's Highest Ranking on the Billboard 100]</ref> "Eat It" earned Yankovic a 1984 [[Grammy Award]] in the Best Comedy Recording category.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/02/08/nerds-rejoice-weird-al-talks-grammy-noms/ |title=Nerds Rejoice: 'Weird Al' Talks Grammy Noms|magazine=Rolling Stone |date=February 8, 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211183905/https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/02/08/nerds-rejoice-weird-al-talks-grammy-noms/|archive-date=February 11, 2007}}</ref> "Eat It" also outranked "Beat It" in overall highest position on the Australian singles chart, with its highest rank being number 1, while "Beat&nbsp;It"'s highest was third.

''[[Cash Box]]'' reviewed the single, saying "Rick Derringer's production has remained true to the energy and appeal of Michael Jackson's original version, and the lyrics&nbsp;... are actually very funny."<ref name="cb">{{cite magazine |date=March 3, 1984 |title=Reviews |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-03-03.pdf |access-date=2025-11-11 |magazine=Cash Box |page=13}}</ref>

==Track listing==

===1984 release===
# "Eat It" &ndash; 3:19
# "That Boy Could Dance" &ndash; 3:32

===1985/1993 re-release===
# "Eat It" &ndash; 3:19
# "[[I Lost on Jeopardy]]" &ndash; 3:26

==Music video==
The video for "Eat It" is styled as a shot-for-shot remake of Jackson's video for "[[Beat It]]", but with elements being parodied in various silly ways and Yankovic dressed as Jackson. The video also features a few of the same dancers from Jackson's video and Yankovic clumsily mimicking the dance moves from the original video.<ref>{{cite web|first=Lisa |last=Russell |url=http://people.com/archive/a-playful-poke-at-beat-it-has-made-weird-al-yankovic-the-pooh-bah-of-put-ons-vol-21-no-15/ |title=A Playful Poke at Beat It Has Made Weird Al Yankovic the Pooh-Bah of Put-Ons |work=People |date=April 16, 1984 |access-date=April 7, 2018}}</ref> The video ends with Yankovic looking into the camera with yellow slitted cat like pupil eyes, referencing the end of Jackson's video for "[[Thriller (song)|Thriller]]".  Jackson received [[royalties]] from Yankovic for rights to cover the video so closely.{{sfn|Campbell|1995|p=154}}

On June 20, 2022, Yankovic uploaded an alternative version of the music video on his [[YouTube]] channel, which consists of a single "coverage take".  The alternate take of Yankovic singing, dancing, and writhing on the bed in the bedroom was intended to be used as a backup if other shots were unusable or unable to be procured in time, although Yankovic said he believed none of the footage was used in the original 1984 cut.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sinclair |first1=Carla |title="Weird Al" Yankovic shares unearthed footage from "Eat It" video |url=https://boingboing.net/2022/06/20/weird-al-yankovic-shares-unearthed-footage-from-eat-it-video.html |access-date=June 25, 2022 |work=Boing Boing |date=June 20, 2022}}</ref>

The original [[16mm]] footage of the video was digitized into [[4K resolution]] and re-edited by Yankovic (during the 2022 [[The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour]]) to recreate the original video frame-for-frame.<ref>{{cite video | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcJjMnHoIBI  | title = Eat It (Official 4K Video) | first = "Weird Al" | last=  Yankovic | accessdate = November 9, 2022 | website = [[YouTube]] }}</ref> This remaster was done for a scene in ''[[Weird: The Al Yankovic Story]]'', which included a brief glimpse of the "Eat It" video with star [[Daniel Radcliffe]]'s face [[deepfake|digitally superimposed]] on Yankovic's.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Kaufman |first1=Gil |title='Weird Al' Yankovic Digs Up Original 16mm Footage of 'Eat It' Video for Tasty 4K Update: 'It's Literally Never Looked Better' |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/weird-al-yankovic-eat-it-video-4k-edit-16mm-footage-1235168384/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=16 November 2022 |date=9 November 2022}}</ref>

==Legacy==
In 2019, Yankovic had pulled "Eat It" and his other Jackson song parody, "[[Fat (song)|Fat]]", from the setlist of his [[Strings Attached Tour]] in the wake of the [[HBO]] documentary ''[[Leaving Neverland]]'', in which two men claimed Jackson had sexually abused them when they were children. "I don't know if that's going to be permanent or not", Yankovic said of the decision. "But we just felt that with what's happened recently with the HBO documentaries, we didn't want anybody to feel uncomfortable."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Graff|first=Gary|date=2019-06-27|title='Weird Al' Yankovic Explains His Decision to Drop Michael Jackson Parodies From Set List|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/weird-al-yankovic-michael-jackson-parodies-8517896/|magazine=Billboard|access-date=2019-06-29}}</ref>

As part of a charity effort during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], [[David Cross]] and [[Bob Odenkirk]] held a ''[[Mr. Show with Bob and David|Mr. Show]]'' online reunion show in May 2020 with many of their former cast members as well as other friends. The show concluded by having Cross, Odenkirk and their cast, as well as Yankovic, sing "Eat It", in a purposely tone-deaf manner that parodied a [[Imagine (Gal Gadot video)|prior cover performance of "Imagine"]] that [[Gal Gadot]] and other celebrities had done for COVID-19 awareness but which had been taken as ineffectual.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.spin.com/2020/05/weird-al-yankovic-david-cross-bryan-cranston-jack-black/ | title = David Cross, Bryan Cranston, Jack Black and Many More Team Up to Sing Weird Al's 'Eat It' | first = Daniel | last =Kohn | date = May 13, 2020 |access-date = May 14, 2020 | work = [[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] }}</ref>

== Personnel ==
According to the liner notes of [[The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic]]:<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |last=Yankovic |first="Weird Al" |title=The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic |date=2009-10-29 |others= |language=English |type=booklet}}</ref>

* [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] – lead & background vocals
* [[Jim West (guitarist)|Jim West]] – guitar
* [[Rick Derringer]] – guitar solo, producer
* [[Jon Schwartz (drummer)|Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz]] – drums
* Pat Regan – synthesizers
* "Musical Mike" Kieffer – hand music

==Chart history==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
!Chart (1984–1985)
!Peak<br/>position
|-  
!scope="row"|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=Illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|page=344|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-  
!scope="row"|Canada [[RPM (magazine)|''RPM'']] Top Singles<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.6319.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - April 14, 1984}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
!scope="row"|[[Irish Singles Chart]]<ref>[http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement "Search"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602061251/http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement |date=June 2, 2009 }}. Irish Charts. In the "Search by Artist" field, put in ''Weird Al Yankocic''. Retrieved July 18, 2014.</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|18
|-
!scope="row"|[[Official New Zealand Music Chart|New Zealand Singles Chart]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Weird+Al+Yankovic&titel=Eat+It&cat=s|title=Weird Al Yankovic - Eat It|publisher=New Zealand Charts Portal. Hung Medien|access-date=July 18, 2014|archive-date=May 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520144329/http://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Weird+Al+Yankovic&titel=Eat+It&cat=s|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|6
|- 
!scope="row"|[[UK Singles Chart|UK Singles]] ([[Official Charts Company|OCC]])       
| style="text-align:center;"|36
|-
!scope="row"|[[Billboard Hot 100|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100]]      
| style="text-align:center;"|12
|-
!scope="row"|[[Cashbox (magazine)|US ''Cashbox'' Top 100]]      
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
!Chart (1984)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/MyookoA.jpg|title=Kent Music Report No 548 – 31 December 1984 > National Top 100 Singles for 1984|publisher=[[Kent Music Report]]|via=Imgur.com|access-date=January 12, 2022}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|57
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Weird Al Yankovic|title=Eat It|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1984|certyear=1984|access-date=August 3, 2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Weird Al Yankovic|title=Eat It|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1984|certyear=1989|access-date=August 3, 2023|refname=gold}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

==See also==
*[[List of singles by "Weird Al" Yankovic]]
*[[List of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{cite book |last=Campbell |first=Lisa |title=Michael Jackson: The King of Pop's Darkest Hour |url=https://archive.org/details/michaeljacksonki0000camp |url-access=registration |publisher=Branden |year=1995 |isbn=0-8283-2003-9}}

{{"Weird Al" Yankovic}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album}}
{{Michael Jackson}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1984 songs]]
[[Category:1984 singles]]
[[Category:"Weird Al" Yankovic songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Michael Jackson]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Australia]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Michael Jackson]]
[[Category:Songs with lyrics by "Weird Al" Yankovic]]
[[Category:American hard rock songs]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album]]
[[Category:Scotti Brothers Records singles]]
[[Category:Self-censorship]]
[[Category:Songs about food and drink]]