Spinal Tap may be a fake band, but its music is very real, and it is being used to raise money for Teen Cancer America, a non-profit founded by The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend that runs cancer programs for teens and young adults ages 15-39.
Members of such legendary groups as Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s and Tool, among others, appear on The Majesty of Rock, a 32-song collection from the Spinal Tap catalog, including such Tap classics as” Sex Farm,” “(Listen to the) Flower People,” “Hell Hole” and “Big Bottom.” The collection also features a contribution from the Play it Back Players, a band comprised of cancer patients and professional musicians, who donate their time.
In the spirit of Spinal Tap, many of the musicians created fake bands for the project. For example, Vixen’s Britt Lightning formed The Lightning Rods for her contribution. Guns N’ Roses’ Dizzy Reed plays with a group dubbed Jason Achilles, while System of a Down’s John Dolmayan plays with Antenna the End. “Big Bottom” is attributed to the band S.S.R.J.C.T., which is comprised of Mastadon’s Troy Sanders, Failure’s Kellii Scott, Kyuss’s Scott Reeder, Foo Fighters’ Rami Jaffee, Tool’s Justin Chancellor and The Go-Go’s Abby Travis. (The band takes its name from the first initial of each musician’s last name)
Only 5,000 digital copies of the compilation will be available and can be purchased here for a minimum donation of $19.84, a reference to the year This is Spinal Tap was released in 1984.
Journalist and podcaster Marc Shea produced the set, which came about following a conversation on his Performance Anxiety. “Three and a half years later, we have a double album to honor the musical and comedic legacy of Spinal Tap, the band that gave us ‘going to 11’ as well as raising awareness for spontaneous combustion,” he said in a statement. “I can’t thank the contributors or TCA enough for their support.”
“This tribute album is a fun, powerful way to raise crucial funds and awareness for the unique challenges facing this age group,” Shannon Sullivan, executive director of Teen Cancer America, said in a statement. We are incredibly grateful to the brilliant artists who have lent their talents to this project and to the creators of Spinal Tap for allowing us to celebrate their genius for a cause that is so important.”