The only bit of MAD comic verse I remember is this one:

Ringo, Paul, George and John
Played a trick and put us on:
They said Paul was dead as nails
And rocketed the record sales!

I subscribed to MAD for a few years during puberty and finally cancelled when I'd gotten sick of it. I saw William Gaines on a Saturday morning children's TV show and I vaguely remember the interview. There was a question about doing something different and he responded by saying something about having a recipe (or something) and sticking to it. I felt rather let down and disappointed, however, it was obviously true. Very shortly afterwards I cancelled my subscription. Mostly, MAD's style of humor irritates me now, whereby I mean my memories of it, since I don't think I've looked inside one since the mid-1970s. However, I can appreciate the talent and skill that went into it.

I have mixed feelings about William Gaines. According to what I've read, his very gruesome horror comics were a major factor in the introduction of the Comic Book Code (or whatever it was called) and he avoided the consequences by publishing MAD as a magazine rather than a comic book (except for the very first issue or so). I don't think it's a black and white issue. The Comic Book Code resulted in rather bland comics but I wouldn't give some of what had been being published to children to read.