Parody music is when we change or copy music that lots of people know. We might copy a song's music or words, or the way a famous musician plays. Music parody can be for different reasons. Sometimes it's to make something completely new, sometimes it's to make people laugh or to make fun of something. Long ago, in the 1500s, people made parody music but it was very serious. They used old songs in church music, and in the 1900s, they put folk songs into popular music. Today, when we say "parody," we might mean it in a serious way or just to be funny. The name "parody" comes from an old Greek word. It is used when we talk about music history to explain how people borrowed bits from other songs. This started a long time ago, even in the 1300s, but the word "parody" was not used much until a man named Peter Wagner wrote a book in 1913. After that, more people started talking about parody music in history.

A funny album is when we can listen to jokes and fun songs from funny people. These jokes are usually told live or sometimes in a room for recording. People can also watch the show on a DVD if they want to see the funny person telling jokes. A long time ago, in 1898, people started making these funny albums. A man named Cal Stewart told funny short stories. Today, there are special companies that make these albums with jokes and funny music. Some funny albums have won a big prize called the Grammy Award. Stephen Colbert and Betty White are two funny people who have won this prize. There is also a show on the internet that talks about these funny albums. In 2015, they showed a very old joke that no one had heard before. A long time ago, Cal Stewart recorded funny stories. In 1903, he made people laugh with a joke about a banana peel. There was also a record in 1922 of just two people laughing together, and many people liked it. Even songs that made people laugh were recorded by stars from the stage.

There is a group from Argentina called Les Luthiers. They are very funny and they make music. They started in 1967 and are famous in many places where people speak Spanish. The group is special because they make their own instruments. Some of these instruments are very clever. They use these to play music and tell jokes. The group started by making fun of old music styles, like the ones you would hear 300 years much earlier. Later, they started to joke about many kinds of music, like romantic songs and even rock and rap. Their shows are not just music. They also have short funny plays and tell stories about a made-up music writer. Their jokes are smart and they play music very well even when they are being silly. They even did voices for birds in a Disney movie! Les Luthiers like two funny music makers from the past: Gerard Hoffnung and Peter Schickele. Schickele made up a funny music character and made funny instruments, just like Les Luthiers. That means Les Luthiers think Schickele's work is important to their own music and jokes.