Musical Interlude: Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare (1979)

 Michael McKean has been one busy dude.

During a break from recording Laverne & Shirley, McKean, along with Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer, appeared in a 1-shot special, The TV Show, which marked the debut of their band, Spinal Tap.

The special was largely a parody of The Midnight Special, with Rob Reiner (ex-All in The Family) posing as Wolfman Jack, albeit with a slightly smaller beard. The skit/video, with the band performing "Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare", started the ball rolling for Spinal Tap, although Guest, as Nigel Tufnel, was also playing with McKean and David L. Lander as Lenny & The Squigtones, and, as we've already documented, the Squigtones appeared on American Bandstand that same year.

As you'll see, Spinal Tap didn't develop their iconic looks just yet. McKean has a long hair wig more befitting a Southern rock band, like, say for example, the Marshall Tucker Band or Lynyrd Skynyrd. Here's "Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare":

Singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III was on keyboards for this track.