Paul Schaffer’s Day in Rock
For 33 years Paul Shaffer served as David Letterman’s musical director and sidekick.
Paul began his career in 1972 as musical director of the Toronto production of “Godspell.” He
played piano in “The Magic Show” on Broadway in 1974, then spent the next five years with the
original “Saturday Night Live,” where he played keyboards, composed special musical material
and, in 1980, became a featured performer.
In 1977, he took a brief break from the show to star in the CBS comedy series “A Year at the Top,”
produced by Norman Lear and Don Kirshner. After his return to “Saturday Night Live,” he
collaborated with Gilda Radner on the songs for her Broadway show, in which he also appeared.
He served as musical director for the Blues Brothers – John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd – for their triple
platinum album and national tour. His guest starring television appearances include “Ed”, “The
Sopranos”, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, “Schitt’s Creek” and “How I Met Your Mother”. Paul
recently starred with Bill Murray in and was musical director for the Netflix special “A Very Murray
Christmas”, directed by Sofia Coppola, for which he received his fourth EMMY nomination. He will
be in mini-residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, performing for three weeks starting
December 21 of this year at the iconic Cleopatra’s Barge.
In addition to recording his own albums, Coast to Coast (1989) and The World’s Most Dangerous
Party (1993), Shaffer recorded with such diverse artists as Diana Ross, Yoko Ono and Robert Plant’s
Honeydrippers. He composed the LATE SHOW theme song and, with Paul Jabara, wrote the
Number One ’80s dance hit “It’s Raining Men,” performed by the Weather Girls and re-recorded by
Geri Halliwell for the “Bridget Jones’s Diary” soundtrack, topping the British pop charts in 2001. In
2002, he received his first GRAMMY, Best Country Instrumental, for the Earl Scruggs and
Friends album, and co-produced an avant-garde jazz album for his mentor, Tsziji Munoz. His latest
album, Paul Shaffer & The World’s Most Dangerous Band, was released on March 17, 2017 and
features such diverse guest vocalists as Bill Murray, Darius Rucker, Jenny Lewis, Dion, Shaggy, and
Valerie Simpson.
His feature film roles include Artie Fufkin in Rob Reiner’s “This Is Spinal Tap.” He also appeared in the
Mike Nichols-directed “Gilda Live,” the Bill Murray movie “Scrooged,” and with John Travolta in
“Look Who’s Talking Too.” He is heard as the voice of Hermes in Disney’s animated feature
“Hercules” and the television series based on the film. He produced the gold-selling soundtrack for
and appeared in “Blues Brothers 2000”, and composed original songs for the movie “Strangers with
Candy.”
Shaffer has served as musical director and producer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction
ceremony since its inception in 1986. He led the band for the “We Are the World” finale of Live Aid.