Question: How many Al fans does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer: 27
Throughout "Weird Al" Yankovic's illustrious career, one number magically seems to pop up throughout his songs, videos, and in other, well, weird places. That number is of course... 666. Okay, I'm only kidding about that. It would be kind of stupid to have a list about 666 called "The 27 List" now wouldn't it? So, by process of elimination, the number must be 27.
Why 27? Years have been devoted to trying the answer to this age-old question, but perhaps the best answer can be found in these mysterious words that Al once uttered, "Twenty-seven is a funny number." For more information, see The Full 27 Story.
So, why a list? Back in 1994, subscribers to a fan-produced newsletter about "Weird Al" called "The Midnight Star" (Note: The Midnight Star is no longer in print.) started to notice that the number showed up in Al's life more favorably than random chance would allow. The fanzine would report 27 sightings and the phenomenon picked up speed rather quickly. In 1995, talk among online Al fans dictated that some sort of list or running collection of 27s should be made. I rose to the challenge and have been editing an online version of the list ever since. The list has gone through a few major overhauls as data grew and patterns emerged, thanks to alert fans that support the list and always keep their eyes open for more 27s. Thanks to everyone who sent in a 27.
So, what counts? Due to the volume of submissions that I get between updates, I can't accept them all for the list. I try to stick to a few "rules" but my "rules" are flexible. In other words, it's very subjective. In general, I will only list a 27 if it is a legitimate 27. If it takes a lot of steps to get to the 27, I probably won't list it. If it's not clear how it's Al-related without a lot of explanation, I probably won't list it. If it's blatantly not true, I won't list it. Sorry, 72 or 207, or some other number that is NOT 27, won't be listed. And, sorry, no matter how you slice it, 26 1/2 is not 27. If the number has a 27 in it, i.e. 46,569,627, that is okay. Unconfirmed 27s won't be listed. Intentional 27s probably won't be listed. The exceptions of course are intentional 27s by Al or the band. Yeah, okay, the math stuff sometimes breaks my "rules," but I'm a math junkie, so that's why those are there. And, sure, you'll think there's stuff on The List that probably shouldn't be on there, and yeah, there's stuff not on The List that probably should be on there. Live with it.
For more info on Al and 27 see the alt.music.weird-al FAQ. Feel free to link to The 27 List directly.
Please NO reproduction without permission. I mean no copying of The 27 List. Your private lives are your own matters.
Please email me to submit a 27. If you are already listed on the List Of Contributors please provide your 2 letter designation or email address somewhere in your email, as it helps me tremendously when updating the list.
Subscribe to The 27 List mailing list and receive monthly reminders about The 27 List and be the first (okay, second, since I'm the first) to know when The 27 List has been updated!
The number in parenthesis following a name is the number of entries credited on the list. If there is no number, that person has been credited with one entry. Special thanks to: (E-mail masked to prevent spammers. Replace # with @.)
{aa} Angela Anuszewski, aanusze1#rpchester.rr.com
{ab} Austin Bussey, tbuzzy#flash.net
{ac} Anthony Cusumano, anthony#www.big-ant.net (5)
{ad} Andrew Bishop, asb1#bryant.edu
{af} afn3426#afn.org (2)
{ah} a27_weirdal_27a#hotmail.com
{aj} Adam Jaspering, jaspering#stlnet.com (5)
{ak} Jason Mitchum, AKNeutron#aol.com (10)
{an} Andrea Lauren, spam_27#yahoo.com (2)
{ao} Andrew O'Reilly, newhaights#aol.com (2)
{as} Andrew Sholin, adsbean#aol.com (12)
{au} Audrey Wood
{av} Adrian Vazquez, avaz123#aol.com
{aw} Autumn Wright, jade27_al#yahoo.com (29 HALL OF FAME*)
{bc} Bob Cowmen, erenw94107#aol.com (3)
{be} John Berry, berry#sugar-river.net
{bf} Ben Cook-Feltz, bushytail#cfu.net
{bg} Brady Kahn, bkguy_15m#yahoo.com (2)
{bh} Brandon W. "Bob" Horton, ParodyKnaveBob#webtv.net
{bi} Joe Kaiser, Bigjoekaiz#hotmail.com
{bk} Brandon L. Kemmer, kemmer#webtv.net
{br} Briancolo#delphi.com (2)
{bs} Bermuda Schwartz (6)
{bt} Beth Gothro, raumzeit#flash.net (2)
{cb} Christohper Brower, ChrMac15#aol.com (2)
{cc} Charles Crane, reddogmg#home.com
{cd} Christine Kossol, ckossol#dp.net
{ce} Cheeseinpantz#aol.com
{cg} Cynthia Gill, MrsWeirdAl#hotmail.com
{ch} Cheran Shunmugavel, danatoon#juno.com
{ci} Tonya Monroe, cinnamon272727#yahoo.com (2)
{ck} Charles Karpati, amy#ezaccess.net
{cl} Cheryl, Ernie, or Christina Lee, clee#muse.sfusd.k12.ca.us
{cm} Chris P. Mezzolesta, mezzolesta#mindspring.com
{cr} Christopher P. Sedtal, muscps#ih2000.net (2)
{cs} Culen Sedaris, raistlin#magellan.cloudnet.com
{cy} Crystal Ribeiro, ilovealyankovic27#yahoo.com (4)
{da} Dan and Linda Trotter, dtrotter#concentric.net (2)
{db} Darryl Ballantyne, darryl#lyricfind.com
{dc} Dennis Crossland, dcross#hhs.net
{de} David Egyud, egyud145#duq.edu (7)
{dj} Daniel C. Johnson, daniel.c.johnson#usa.net
{dk} Daelin Keller, Daelin1#juno.com (2)
{dn} Dana J. Tweedy, tweedyd#cvn.net
{dp} Dpsandys#aol.com
{ds} Denise Saunders, saunde56#potsdam.edu
{dt} David Tanny, davidtan#cts.com (25)
{dv} David Work, Monkeyslinger123#aol.com (2)
{dw} Drew Chapman, drew_chapman#hotmail.com
{ea} Elysse Applebaum, astrogrl273#yahoo.com
{eh} Eliot Hamilton, meethos#ptd.net (2)
{eo} Erro; O'Neill, erroloneill#yahoo.com
{ek} Eric Kohen, Cheezric#aol.com
{ew} Elizabeth Wilcox, ejfan1973#aol.com (5)
{ga} Gammill, gamm#flash.net
{gd} Grant Darigol, ndarigol#on-ramp.ior.com
{ge} Gerald McMillen, tkeon193#hotmail.com (4)
{gm} Chuck Miller, Boardwalk7#aol.com (2)
{hg} Henry Gehringer, henrycg#engin.umich.edu
{hk} Helen Ketcham, HMKetch#cs.com
{hs} Haakon Sundry, starfox#connectnet.com
{hw} Heather Williams, heather#dp.net
{ib} Insane Ian Bonds, ALfan17#aol.com (33 HALL OF FAME*)
{im} Ian Morgan, ianrmorgan#hotmail.com
{ja} Billy Riechers, jazzwriter#geocities.com
{jb} Jerry R. Blevins, jrblevin#edcen.ehhs.cmich.edu (2)
{jc} Joshua Cheser, jigglypuff80#hotmail.com (2)
{jd} Jonathan Myers, jonboy49#yahoo.com
{je} JenBear, JenBear#aol.com
{jf} Jesse Warner, hunt14me#greenapple.com (2)
{jg} Jon Greenblum, Such_a_groovy_guy_27#yahoo.com
{jh} Jon! Katz, TMBJon#tmbg.org (4)
{ji} Jim Maciorowski, jimmymac#citicom.com
{jj} Jenni Bush, hippie1974#msn.com
{jk} Joseph Krause, GJNN52B#prodigy.com
{jl} Joltman, joltman#geocities.com
{jm} Jeff McGinnis, jdmcginn#mailbox.syr.edu
{jn} Jeff Nutini, Dunkinbean#angelfire.com
{jo} John Brewer, jbdbkb#iamerica.net (3)
{jp} John Huddleston, john#strange-but-untrue.fsnet.co.uk
{jq} Jerry Depew, Qjer73#aol.com (3)
{jr} Jessica, Chinamaie#aol.com (3)
{js} Jeremy Sofferin, bbotim#aol.com
{jt} Jawa Hutt, jawahutt#aol.com (10)
{ju} Jessica Davis, emophiliac#hvc.rr.com
{jv} John Lange, jlange#vt.edu
{jw} Jeremy Wilcox, weirdalyank#geocities.com (5)
{jx} Jill Renk, xenacatz#hotmail.com
{jy} Jenny Heimbach, Qui_gon_jenn#hotmail.com
{jz} Jesse Williams, jessew#ktc.com (2)
{kg} Kevin Gregory, kgregory#rocketmail.com
{km} Kim McBride, k_mcbride#hotmail.com (2)
{kp} Kelly Phillips, in3dscissors#yahoo.com
{lc} Linda Cheng, lc12#u.cc.utah.edu
{ld} Lee Durham, mdurham#nmaa.org (7)
{lf} Lex Friedman, lexfri#brandeis.edu
{lr} Laura Richard, weirdal_lover#hotmail.com
{ls} Lee, Lschu17#aol.com (4)
{lu} Michael Santopietro, lucere#midwest.net (2)
{lv} luvyankovc#aol.com
{ma} Matt Marks, subman#vbe.com (2)
{mb} Megan Lynne Bender, periwinklespirit#powerpuff.com
{mc} MC1958#aol.com (7)
{me} Melanie Morin, Luckabu#aol.com
{mf} Michael J. Falk, mjf27#iastate.edu with the help of Courtney Gritzmacher and Jeremy Heindl
{mg} Matt Garvey, mxg77#cwru.edu (15)
{mk} Mandy Kuhns, weirdo0027#yahoo.com (2)
{mm} Mike W. McCarthy, prangdoy#dbeach.com (2)
{mo} MonkeyIce#aol.com (2)
{mq} Meg Quinn, mkquinntx#yahoo.com
{mr} Marc Riewer, riewmc17#gbvaxa.uwgb.edu
{ms} The Midnight Star (14)
{mw} Michael Alan West, Jr., mawa074#livenet.net (2)
{my} Mary Jayne K, maryjk#colosys.net
{ng} Nico Gothlin, nicgo#hotmail.com
{ni} Nimrod2000, Nimrod2000#aol.com
{nr} Nina Rodriguez, JiMCaRReYisMINE#excite.com
{ow} oboewankenobi#attbi.com (2)
{pa} Patty Wheaton, PattyWheaton#MSN.com
{pb} Patrick Brunetti, prb216#gmail.com>
{pc} Pete Correy, ST9.....#echidna.stu.cowan.edu.au
{pp} Peter Perpetua III, news#usaor.net
{pw} Paul Woodward
{py} Paul Y., Saxmann361#aol.com
{rd} Ross Dickinson, rdickinson#monmouth.com (2)
{re} Ricky Eade, pooka#hub.ofthe.net (4)
{rg} Richard E Green, rgreen#wpi.edu (9)
{rm} Rich M, old_school_nes@yahoo.com
{ro} Robotdoll, robotdoll#my-deja.com (3)
{rs} Reed Smith, reeddog#atlantic.net
{rv} Rebo Valence, Rebo1234#aol.com
(5)
{sa} saramac#teleport.com
{sc} Scott Starkweather, s1stark#aol.com (4)
{sf} Stephen Ryan Fitts, fitts1#netdot.com
{sh} Sam Harwood, st_harwood#yahoo.com
{sj} Wayne Elgin, SeinJunkie#aol.com (3)
{sk} Fletcher, skate#inline-retrofit.com
{sm} Jerry Bald, smosh#revealed.net (2)
{sn} Shawn Admire, moppygtf#yahoo.ca (2)
{sp} Sean Peterson, hotsmp#hotmail.com
{sr} Scott Robinson, mstiescott#hotmail.com (2)
{ss} Steven Shilling, stevenshilling#home.com (5)
{st} Steve Sumner, stevesumner#pobox.com
{su} Susan Carter, suecarter6#hotmail.com (5)
{sw} Steph Wild, sawild#facstaff.wisc.edu
{tb} The Turkeyboy formerly Known as Prince, turkeyboy1#juno.com
{te} Tim Gold, teargold#aol.com (6)
{tf} Tyler Foster, droidguy1119#hotmail.com
{tk} Tyrone Kahn, kahntyrone#hotmail.com
{tg} Dan Stuckey, TGen6#aol.com (2)
{to} Tony Goldmark, tony.goldmark#gte.net (6)
{tp} Toby Paradis, Toby_Paradis#umit.maine.edu
{tw} Todd Wilkinson, paperdragon#discover-net.net
{wc} Whitney Cohen, whitneybelle#cybergal.com (5)
{we} Wren Elhai, earth2025_va#yahoo.com
{wj} Weird Joe, weirdjoe27#aol.com
{wl} W.S. Lau, pu-sama#link1.psychology.mcmaster.ca
{ws} Willie Stevens, WilStev#home.com (5)
{wt} Mary "Kathy" Griswold, WeirdTigger27#yahoo.com (3)
{yk} Yokel, yokel6#hotmail.com
{zm} Matt S., zeromatto#aol.com
Thanks to Chuck Miller and "Goldmine Magazine" for the unexpected plug of the website in the April 7, 2000 issue. The article mentions the whole 27 phenomenon, "The 27 List," and uses a few entries from the list! The issue, which contains a great article about "Weird Al" is no longer in print, but some record stores, or record shows, may carry back issues. Check it out!
And, of course, thanks to "Weird Al" Yankovic for making 27 the number it is today, which is still 27.
* Hall of Fame = 27 listings or above. CONGRATULATIONS!