Paul Shaffer

Keyboardist Paul Shaffer projects an endearing awkward public image yet achieved widespread recognition as David Letterman's longtime on-air companion and musical director for the late-night franchise. The ensemble he led performed on NBC from 1982 to 1993 under the name World's Most Dangerous Band before switching to the CBS Orchestra designation; its lineup included guitarists Sid McGinnis and Felicia Collins, former Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell, bassist Will Lee, and drummer Anton Fig. In addition to supporting the program's rotating roster of musical guests, Shaffer has issued occasional recordings under his own name while lending his abilities to numerous other ventures.

Paul Allan Shaffer entered the world on November 28, 1949 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He trained in classical piano during childhood and later formed a rock group after absorbing the Beatles and Neil Young. Although he initially intended to obtain a law degree and enter his father's practice, Shaffer majored in psychology at the University of Toronto and ultimately proved unwilling to abandon music. Upon completing his studies he served as musical director for a 1972 Toronto staging of Godspell, where he formed friendships with Martin Short and Gilda Radner. When he journeyed to New York to track the film's soundtrack album, he secured piano duties for the Broadway run of The Magic Show. He soon expanded into radio, contributing to National Lampoon's Radio Hour, while also participating in other artists' sessions, advertising jingles, and demo recordings.

Shaffer had already developed close ties with many performers on the fledgling Saturday Night Live and with producer Lorne Michaels, leading him to join the cast in 1975 to create specialized musical segments. While affiliated with the program he backed Gilda Radner for her Broadway presentation Gilda Live and worked with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi on the Blues Brothers, performing on their 1978 album Briefcase Full of Blues. In 1979 he departed SNL temporarily to headline the Norman Lear/Don Kirshner sitcom A Year at the Top, which lasted only six weeks. Upon his return he continued occasional acting appearances, including an impersonation of Kirshner and a portrayal of the obsequious record promoter Artie Fufkin in Rob Reiner's This Is Spinal Tap.

Shaffer's major opportunity arrived in 1982 when he was selected as musical director for Late Night with David Letterman and leader of the World's Most Dangerous Band. The NBC series continued until the close of 1993, establishing Shaffer as a familiar public figure. That same year he issued his debut album, Coast to Coast, a collaborative effort featuring guests such as Dion, Ben E. King, Bobby Womack, and Wilson Pickett that honored the rock and soul recordings that had shaped his early tastes. In 1993 Letterman and Shaffer relocated to CBS, where legal constraints required renaming the group the CBS Orchestra; the band then released the album The World's Most Dangerous Party under the billing Party Boys of Rock 'n' Roll.

After completing The World's Most Dangerous Party, Shaffer largely set aside solo recording to focus on directing the band for The Late Show with David Letterman, though he maintained an active schedule of ancillary projects that encompassed video and television appearances plus charitable efforts. Following Letterman's 2015 retirement, Shaffer gradually reentered independent work. He first reunited with longtime associate Bill Murray to serve as music director for the 2015 Netflix special A Very Murray Christmas. In 2016 he reassembled the World's Most Dangerous Band under its original name and recorded a self-titled album issued in spring 2017.