(CNN) -- "I mean, I hate to gloat," Weird Al Yankovic said, "but I'm extremely satisfied with my position in life and the way things have worked out for me." For over a quarter of a century, Weird Al has made a career out of his two passions: music and comedy. His parodies and satirical songs and videos have amassed an army of devoted fans -- 2 million of them follow him on Twitter. He's won three Grammy Awards and has sold more comedy albums than any other artist in history. Not bad for a nerd out of Lynwood, California.Weird Al Yankovic's first children's book hits shelves February 1"When I Grow Up" centers on 8-year-old Billy and his career possibilitiesYankovic's career was built on passion for music and comedy plus an inherent nerdiness
"I suppose I had my rock star fantasies while I was singing into my hairbrush in the bathroom mirror, but I never really consciously said, 'OK, this is what I'm going to do for a living and I'm going to be _.' If I can extrapolate it, maybe that's something I share with _."