Lew Irwin founded the Credibility Gap in 1968 with fellow journalists John Gilliland, Thom Beck,
Richard Beebe, and folk singer
Len Chandler. They satirized the news daily on KRLA-AM radio in Los Angeles County, California. Eventually the classic lineup was
Richard Beebe,
David L. Lander,
Michael McKean, and
Harry Shearer and they performed on KPPC-FM radio until 1971, and recorded until 1979. Lander and McKean went on to be regulars in
Laverne & Shirley (1976), and McKean and Shearer starred in
This Is Spinal Tap (1984).