15 Greatest Fictional Bands Of All Time

3. Spinal Tap (from This Is Spinal Tap)

Rock Star Mark Wahlberg
Embassy Pictures

Originally created for a sketch comedy pilot aptly-titled The T.V. Show, which never got picked up, Spinal Tap became perhaps the most legendary fake band of all time when the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap was released in 1984.

Tap's musical output is almost as extensive as their list of former drummers, as the band endured through many different genres and lineup changes. They parodied artists as diverse as AC/DC, David Bowie, and The Byrds, with maximum silliness.

They especially indulged in the sleaziness of their era, crafting hard rockin' romps like "Sex Farm" and "Big Bottom", the latter an appropriately bass-heavy ode to ladies' voluptuous backsides.

Most impressively, the real-life trio of actors forming the heart of the band -- Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer -- all legitimately play their instruments and lend their voices to the songs in the movie, and have reunited several times to play various concerts over the years.

Best Song: "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight"

Picking a favorite Spinal Tap song is like choosing just one pair of leather pants to wear for the rest of your life. It's an impossible task. But "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" takes all the things Spinal Tap does well and distills them into a tight couple of minutes.

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Jacob is a part-time contributor for WhatCulture, specializing in music, movies, and really, really dumb humor.