Happy Birthday to actor Ryan Reynolds (1976), pitcher Al Leiter (1965), NFL quarterback Doug Flutie (1962), Spider-Man director Sam Raimi (1959), song-parodying accordian player Weird Al Yankovic (1959), "honky tonk" Country music artist Dwight Yoakam (1956), director Ang Lee (1954), Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton (1942), Brazilian soccer legend Pele(1940), pitcher Jim Bunning, and late-night talk show great Johnny Carson (1925; d. 2005).

James Blunt gave Weird Al Yankovic his permission to send-up his hit song "You're Beautiful" before record bosses stepped in and put a stop to the parody. Yankovic claims Blunt gave his blessing for his version of the song renamed "You're Pitiful" before executives from Atlantic Records refused to allow it to go forward.

Yankovic tells website Ain't It Cool News.com, "It was originally supposed to be the lead single on (his new album) Straight Outta Lynwood. James had given it his blessing and we had a release date set, and then his label found out about it and told me that I couldn't...

On September 26 Grammy Award-winning artist "Weird Al" Yankovic will release his 12th studio album Straight Outta Lynwood on Way Moby/Volcano Records. As with each of his previous releases, the album consists of the parodies he is world-famous for as well as original material. Straight Outta Lynwood will be released as a DualDisc, and features six brand new animations to accompany Al's original tracks:

- "Don't Download This Song"- Directed and animated by Academy Award nominee Bill Plympton, this video is a tongue-in-cheek plea for fans not to illegally download music. Sample lines: ...

On September 26, "Weird Al" Yankovic will release his 13th album, "Straight Outta Lynwood." In a rare twist of music industry irony, "Weird Al" and his management really do want you to download the disc's first single, "Don't Download This Song;" which you can download right here as a free unprotected MP3, helping their effort to generate as many downloads as possible!

After a 25-year career in which he has sold nearly 13 million albums worldwide, earned 25 gold and platinum certifications and three Grammy awards, and starred in his own network TV show and major motion picture, "Weir...

Happy Birthday to actor Ryan Reynolds (1976), pitcher Al Leiter (1965), NFL quarterback Doug Flutie (1962), Spider-Man director Sam Raimi (1959), song-parodying accordian player Weird Al Yankovic (1959), "honky tonk" Country music artist Dwight Yoakam (1956), director Ang Lee (1954), Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton (1942), Brazilian soccer legend Pele(1940), pitcher Jim Bunning, and late-night talk show great Johnny Carson (1925; d. 2005).