McCartney Times

Roger Daltrey, lead singer of the legendary rock group The Who, for decades has worked to help teens stricken with cancer, first with Teenage Cancer Trust in Great Britain, and most recently with Teen Cancer America in the U.S. Forbes covered TCA’s opening of a teen cancer lounge at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York last year. Now The Who’s crooner is at it again.

Partnering with Shure Inc., Daltrey and TCA are auctioning off 300 of Shure’s venerable SM58 Cardioid Dynamic microphones, now 50 years old, on eBay. All proceeds will benefit TCA. The limited-edition mics, going for $300 each, feature original artwork from Richard Evans, who has been designing The Who’s album covers and promotional visuals since 1976.

“As we take a moment to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the SM58, it’s important to look back on all that we have accomplished as well as the important work that lies ahead—made possible by the power of music and of giving,” said Daltrey. “Shure has played a big part in my career, and we have joined forces on many charitable activities in support of teen cancer treatment thus far. It feels natural that we are working together on this auction in commemoration of an important milestone.”

Daltrey emphasized that one teen in America is diagnosed with cancer roughly every hour—and that one in 360 boys, and one in 420 girls, will die from it. “It just makes sense that if we, as a society, feel it’s right for children to go to kids’ hospitals with teddy bears and nurseries, and adults have hospital lounges where they can socially interact, teens should have somewhere, too.”

“Cancer for teens everywhere is particularly brutal,” continued Daltrey. “They are too old to be treated as children, too young to be treated as adults. They also suffer with late diagnosis because they’re so active and the cancers they get are so rare. And, at that age, the disease is particularly aggressive because of hormone changes.”

So far, 42 of the Shure mics have sold. And from April 17 – 27, 10 of the mics, signed by Daltrey and The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, will be auctioned to the highest bidders.

Mark Brunner, VP-corporate and government relations at Shure, is excited about the effort. “The Who has created some of the most influential music in our lifetimes, and given their impact on the world, we thought it only appropriate to team up with them to create a special 50th Anniversary edition of the SM58,” said Brunner. “We also knew that Roger and Pete are extremely active in charitable giving, having been major benefactors to, and creators of, charities for quite some time. As such, we’re particularly proud to support the musicians’ charity of choice by donating 100% of the proceeds.”

A similar auction effort with Shure was also executed this year with Paul McCartney. McCartney’s sentiments echoed Daltrey’s and Brunner’s. “The SM58 has carried my voice to millions around the world over many years, and it still carries millions of voices to audiences every day,” said McCartney. “I am pleased to join with Shure in offering this special edition in support of a charity [Meat Free Monday] that is close to the heart of my family. Here’s to many more years for both of us!”

James M. (Jim) Clash, a New York-based journalist and Fellow at The Explorers Club, covers extreme adventure and culture. He owns a ticket to fly in space with Virgin Galactic.

Source: Roger Daltrey, Paul McCartney Team Up With Shure For Charity