The Credibility Gap

Lew Irwin and The Credibility Gap with (left to right) John Gilliland, Thom Beck, Len Chandler, Richard Beebe, and Lew Irwin from An Album Of Political Pornography

The Credibility Gap was a satirical comedy team comprising Harry Shearer, Richard Beebe, David L. Lander and Michael McKean.^[1] Lew Irwin, John Gilliland, Thom Beck, and Len Chandler also performed in their early days. They emerged in the late 1960s doing comedic commentary on the news for the Los Angeles AM rock radio station KRLA 1110, and proceeded to develop more elaborate and ambitious satirical routines on the "underground" station KPPC-FM, Pasadena, California.

History

Lew Irwin and The Credibility Gap

KRLA 1110 news director Lew Irwin formed The Credibility Gap in 1968 with his radio colleagues John Gilliland, Thom Beck, Richard Beebe, and folk singer Len Chandler. They took their name from the Vietnam-era term Credibility gap, a euphemism for political dishonesty, and broadcast their comedy along with the news on KRLA. ^[2] In 1968 they released An Album Of Political Pornography for Blue Thumb.^[3] In 1969 they performed on KRLA's Pop Chronicles music documentary.^[4][5]

The Credibility Gap

The Credibility Gap with (left to right) Harry Shearer, David L. Lander and Michael McKean from A Great Gift Idea. Not pictured: Richard Beebe."

As radio professionals left the group, the group came to be dominated by comedians.^[1][6] KRLA dropped the show in 1970.^[7][8] Mark Deming writes of this transition:

[I]n late 1968, Thom Beck left the group, and Lew Irwin followed in early 1969 ... . Joining the Credibility Gap in their absence were Harry Shearer ... and David L. Lander... . By 1970, Len Chandler and John Gilliland had drifted away from the Credibility Gap, and ... Michael McKean, had joined the team, though the troupe's relationship with KRLA had soured and their show had been shrunk from 15 minutes to a mere 180 seconds. However, after Shearer landed a side gig as a disc jockey on an FM "free form" outlet, KPPC, the Credibility Gap found a new home on the station, and the group's satire gained both sharpness and depth.^[2]

They were fired by KPPC-FM in 1971.^[8] Then they started performing in various clubs and concert venues.^[9] Harry Shearer writes of this time: "the radio years were followed by two records we'll still speak about--1974's "A Great Gift Idea" (Reprise), and 1975's "The Bronze Age of Radio" (Waterhouse)".^[1]

After The Credibility Gap

The group disbanded in 1976, but the members have had occasion to work together since—notably the pairings of McKean and Lander as Lenny and Squiggy on the situation comedy Laverne & Shirley and Shearer and McKean as members of the mock-rock band Spinal Tap. The three surviving members (Shearer, McKean, and Lander) held a reunion at the Museum of Television and Radio in 1999.^[10]

Discography

Lew Irwin and The Credibility Gap

• An Album Of Political Pornography (Blue Thumb, 1968)^[3]

The Credibility Gap

• Woodshtick and More (1971)
• A Great Gift Idea (Reprise, 1974)
• The Bronze Age of Radio (Waterhouse, 1977)
• Floats & A Great Gift Idea (Double LP) (Sierra, 1979)

References

External links

• Credibility Gap History and Audio from the official Harry Shearer Website.
• Mark Deming, Allmusic on the Credibility Gap.
• Sketch Artists: The Credibility Gap's one-night stand By Robert Lloyd, Wednesday, November 10, 1999, L.A. Weekly
• IGN interview with Harry Shearer
• Biography and Discography
• Len Chandler Discography