Comment by samvaran

Another anecdote to illustrate that - he doesn't truly legally have to ask permission to do these parodies, but out of courtesy and respect, he always does. And he'll usually refrain from making a parody if a song if the artist has a genuine reason why (e.g. Paul McCartney didn't have an issue with him parodying "Live and Let Die", but Weird Al was trying to turn it into "Chicken Pot Pie" and McCartney, a staunch vegetarian, didn't love that idea).