Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band

Last updated
Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band
Also known asPaul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra (1993–2015)
Origin New York City
Genres
Years active1982 (1982)–2015, 2017 (2017)–present
Members
Past members

Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band is an American musical ensemble led by Paul Shaffer. It was David Letterman's house band for 33 years.

Contents

The band formed in 1982 to serve as house band for NBC's Late Night with David Letterman . When Letterman moved to CBS and began hosting the Late Show with David Letterman in 1993, the band added a horn section and second guitarist, renaming itself (due to an intellectual property dispute with NBC) the CBS Orchestra, a name that lasted until Letterman left the Late Show in 2015. After a two-year hiatus, in 2017, the band was revived by Shaffer using its original name and released an album titled Paul Shaffer & The World's Most Dangerous Band, followed by a tour. [1] [2]

Band name

The band was initially unnamed, although in early 1982 it was occasionally jokingly referred to as "The World’s Most Dangerous Band" when closing the show, sometimes alternating it with "Paul Shaffer and the Orchestra," "Paul and the Organization," "Paul Shaffer and the Folks," "Paul Shaffer and the Melody Makers," or a combination: "Paul Shaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Orchestra." These were all unofficial names, and were dropped by mid-1982; from 1982 to 1987, the group was simply referred to as "Paul Shaffer and the Band" (except for a very brief period in spring 1983 when the band was referred to for several episodes, again unofficially, as "Paul Shaffer and the Party Boys of Rock and Roll").

The 1985 video "You Kill Me" (aired on the David Letterman Holiday Film Festival special) is credited on-screen to "Paul Shaffer and the Band".

In the summer of 1987, the band began to be announced as "Paul Shaffer and the NBC Orchestra," both in on-air conversation and in the show's opening announcements. In on-air conversations between Letterman and Shaffer, Shaffer, when asked which band name he preferred, made it clear that his preference was for "The World’s Most Dangerous Band", feeling that the "NBC Orchestra" name rightly belonged to The Tonight Show band of Doc Severinson. Accordingly, with the broadcast of September 25, 1987, the band was officially announced as "Paul Shaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Band," and was always announced with that billing for the rest of Late Night's run (through mid-1993).

The group was forced to rename itself when Letterman left NBC, and NBC claimed that the name "The World's Most Dangerous Band" was its intellectual property. Around this time, the group released an album credited to "Paul Shaffer and the Party Boys of Rock 'n' Roll". The name "Paul Shaffer and The CBS Orchestra" dated from the start of the show on CBS in 1993. The band was not featured on CBS programming outside of the Late Show. According to the Late Show with David Letterman credits, the name "CBS Orchestra" is the property of CBS; CBS had not had an orchestra since The Ed Sullivan Show (whose house band absorbed most of the Alfredo Antonini-led CBS Orchestra that had served as the CBS Radio Network's primary band during its existence) ended its run in 1971.

When the band reassembled after the end of Late Show in 2016, it was able to reclaim its former name, "The World's Most Dangerous Band", as NBC had not used the name for several years and thus had abandoned any trademark claim over it.

Beyond Late Show

Besides being the house band for the Late Show, the group has also been the house band for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies since 1986 and continued in this role for the 2015 award ceremony, which was held April 18, 2015 but aired on HBO several days after the finale of the Late Show with David Letterman. [3] In 1999, the group was the back-up band for the Concert of the Century at the White House. In 2001, they also served as the backup band for The Concert for New York City , where they performed with David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy, Macy Gray and James Taylor.

After Letterman

The orchestra disbanded after the Late Show ended on May 20, 2015. [4] Jazz musician Jon Batiste was announced by new host Stephen Colbert as the new Late Show's bandleader on June 4, 2015, [5] with his band, Stay Human, becoming the show's new house band. [6]

The World's Most Dangerous Band reassembled in 2016 in order to record a self-titled album, released on March 17, 2017, followed by a tour. [1]

The group performed as the house band for the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony in 2018. [7]

The group performed as the guest house band for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on February 3, 2023, subbing in for The Roots who traveled to Los Angeles for that weekend's Grammys. [8] This occurred two days after the 41st anniversary of Late Night with David Letterman and marked the band's first full appearance on NBC since Late Night ended in 1993.

Membership

The original membership of "The World's Most Dangerous Band" was assembled in early 1982 and consisted of Paul Shaffer (keyboards); Will Lee (bass); Hiram Bullock (guitar) and Steve Jordan (drums). Lee, Bullock and Jordan were all previously members of The 24th Street Band, a jazz/rock fusion ensemble that released three albums in the late 1970s. The fourth member of the 24th Street Band was keyboard player Clifford Carter. Shaffer was a regular attendee at their shows and had worked with Lee as a session musician. When it came time to create a band for Late Night, Shaffer simply recruited the three non-keyboard playing members of the 24th Street Band, in essence hiring a ready-made supporting band for himself.

Bullock dropped out of the band around the end of 1983. Shaffer had met guitarist Sid McGinnis in 1978; McGinnis became a permanent member of the group, replacing Bullock, in 1984. Jordan was the second to exit, in 1986, and was replaced by Anton Fig, who had been the backup drummer for Kiss in the late-1970s. Shaffer and Fig had first played together at a Joan Armatrading recording session in March 1980. From the mid-1980s through 1993, saxophone player David Sanborn was a frequent guest player, usually sitting in with the band on Thursday or Friday nights. Sanborn was originally intended to be a permanent band member.

During the interregnum between the end of Late Night on NBC and the beginning of Late Show on CBS, being unable to use the name "The World's Most Dangerous Band" due to an intellectual property claim by NBC, the band released an album The World's Most Dangerous Party , under the name "Paul Shaffer and the Party Boys of Rock 'n Roll".

When Letterman moved to CBS to host the Late Show in 1993, the band came along, renaming itself, with CBS's blessing, "Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra", and was greatly expanded. Felicia Collins was added as a second guitarist and eventually a vocalist (over the course of the show, she occasionally shared top billing with Shaffer, as "Paul Shaffer, Felicia Collins and the CBS Orchestra"); she had first performed with Lee in 1985 when they backed the Thompson Twins at Live Aid in Philadelphia. Two years later, she and Shaffer had first performed together at a benefit concert for homeless children, hosted by Paul Simon. [9] A contract stipulation with previous producer Johnny Carson prohibited the World's Most Dangerous Band from having a horn section, so as not to emulate the NBC Orchestra seen on The Tonight Show. With Carson's retirement and the change of network, the stipulation was no longer in effect, and Shaffer was now free to add horns. Initially he did not do so, instead using a lead synthesizer operated by Bernie Worrell; Worrell departed after two months, and a horn section was added. The band added trombonist Tom Malone and saxophonist Bruce Kapler. Trumpeter Alan Chez was added in February 1997. Shaffer and trombonist Malone had first worked together in 1975, as original members of the Saturday Night Live Band; they had also helped organize the original Blues Brothers in 1978. [9] Kapler and Chez occasionally sat in with the World's Most Dangerous Band starting in 1988.

Following Bruce Kapler's departure from the CBS Orchestra, saxophonist Aaron Heick eventually became Kapler's permanent replacement. Heick was the most frequent substitute during the roughly seven month transition-period between permanent saxophonists. He can be heard alongside Will Lee on the 2008 Terry Silverlight album Diamond in the Riff . In addition, frequent substitute for Anton Fig, Shawn Pelton (of Saturday Night Live fame) had been the drummer on Heick's own 2009 debut album, Daylight and Darkness. Al Chez would leave the band in 2012 and be replaced by trumpeter Frank Greene, who like Tom Malone, is an alumnus of the famed One O'Clock Lab Band at the North Texas State University.

The World's Most Dangerous Band

Final CBS Orchestra members

Former

Paul Shaffer & the World's Most Dangerous Band (2017 revival)

Band member timeline

Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band

Guest members

When Paul Shaffer was unavailable, Warren Zevon was usually the substitute bandleader prior to his death in 2003. On October 13, 2005, Booker T. Jones filled in for Shaffer, and Anton Fig was bandleader. Jeff Kazee also filled in for Paul on occasion after Zevon's death. Michael Bearden infrequently substituted for Shaffer as a keyboardist, with drummer Fig taking on the role of bandleader. However, this was before Bearden was named the bandleader on George Lopez's ill-fated TBS talk show, Lopez Tonight . For the April 6, 2001, show, the band expanded to 50 players to become the CBS Giant Orchestra with 16 violins, 8 violas, 4 cellos, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, 1 bass trombone, 4 saxophones, 2 harps, 1 keyboard and 1 percussionist. [10]

Phil Collins played drums with Steve Jordan in the band when he was a guest on the Letterman show on March 26, 1985. Eddie Van Halen also performed guitar for the band on a 1985 episode taped in Los Angeles. [11] Drummer Shawn Pelton of the Saturday Night Live Band sits in on the drums when Anton Fig is absent.

On the June 15, 2010, episode, bassist Larry Graham of Sly and The Family Stone and Graham Central Station was a guest of the band, playing bass and providing vocals. Graham also sat in on October 8, 2012. New York area bassist Neil Jason often fills in for Will Lee, most recently on August 21, 2012.

Saxophonist Lou Marini made several guest appearances on the show during the 80's and 90's. [12]

David Sanborn on saxophone was an occasional guest member of the band during its NBC days. In February 2012, after longtime saxophonist Bruce Kapler departed the orchestra, a string of guest saxophonists (including Tom Timko of Will Lee's Beatles tribute band The Fab Faux) substituted for him until one of the substitutes (Aaron Heick) was named the permanent replacement. During the week of August 13, 2012, trumpeter Greg Adams from Tower of Power sat in with the band.

Discography

Albums

The band has released three albums: [9]

Singles

Among the most famous songs of the band are also the covers of the classic songs "Louie Louie" and "Wang Dang Doodle" and the original theme song for Late Night with David Letterman .

Related Research Articles

<i>Late Night with David Letterman</i> American late-night talk show (1982–1993)

Late Night with David Letterman is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the Late Night. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February 1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

<i>Late Show with David Letterman</i> American late-night talk show (1993-2015)

Late Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the Late Show franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, and CBS Television Studios. The show's music director and leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, was Paul Shaffer. The head writer was Matt Roberts and the announcer was originally Bill Wendell, then Alan Kalter. In most U.S. markets the show aired from 11:35 p.m. to 12:37 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, and recorded Monday to Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The second Thursday episode usually aired on Friday of that week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Shaffer</span> Canadian musician (born 1949)

Paul Allen Wood Shaffer is a Canadian singer, keyboardist, composer, actor, author, comedian, and musician who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1993) and Late Show with David Letterman (1993–2015).

A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which are the regular performers at a nightclub, especially jazz and R&B clubs. The term can also refer to a group that plays sessions for a specific recording studio. House bands on television shows usually play only cover songs instead of originals, and they play during times that commercials would be seen by the home viewing audience. Therefore, only those present in the studio during the show's taping see their full performances.

<i>Ace Frehley</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Ace Frehley

Ace Frehley is the first solo album by American guitarist and former Kiss member Ace Frehley, released on September 18, 1978, by Casablanca Records. It was one of four albums released by each separate Kiss member as a solo act, but yet still under the Kiss label, coming out alongside Peter Criss, Paul Stanley, and Gene Simmons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Malone (musician)</span> American jazz musician, arranger, and producer

Thomas "Bones" Malone is an American jazz musician, arranger, and producer. As his nickname implies, he specializes on the trombone but he also plays saxophone, trumpet, tuba, flute, and bass guitar. He has been a member of the Blues Brothers, Saturday Night Live Band, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and the CBS Orchestra, the house band for the Late Show with David Letterman.

The Saturday Night Live Band is the house band of the NBC television program Saturday Night Live (SNL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anton Fig</span> South African drummer

Anton Fig is a South African session drummer, perhaps best known as the drummer and second-in-command for Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band. David Letterman, for whom the band served as house band on his late-night talk shows, often referred to Fig as "Anton Zip" or "Buddy Rich Jr." Fig is also well known for his work with Kiss, Ace Frehley and Joe Bonamassa.

Will Lee is an American bassist known for his work on the Late Show with David Letterman as part of the CBS Orchestra, and The World's Most Dangerous Band during Letterman’s tenure as host of NBC’s Late Night.

Sidney Foster "Sid" McGinnis is an American musician and guitarist, best known for his work on the CBS television show Late Show with David Letterman, as part of the CBS Orchestra.

Felicia Michele Collins is an American vocalist, guitarist and occasional percussionist. She is best known for her work on the CBS television program Late Show with David Letterman, as part of the CBS Orchestra.

Bruce Kapler is an American musician. He was a member of the CBS Orchestra on Late Show with David Letterman from 1993 to 2012. He sings and plays several instruments including soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass saxophone, flute, clarinet, recorder, keyboards, guitar, and percussion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fab Faux</span> New York-based Beatles tribute band

The Fab Faux is a musical tribute band performing the works of the Beatles. The group was founded by Will Lee, bassist for Late Show with David Letterman, and features Jimmy Vivino, bandleader for Conan. Other members include Rich Pagano, Frank Agnello, and Jack Petruzzelli. The band is committed to performing live what they feel would be an accurate reproduction of The Beatles' repertoire, often performing material The Beatles never played live. The band members do not try to impersonate the members of The Beatles, instead simply playing cover songs. The band is often accompanied by a horn section and a string section to achieve the proper sound.

Spider was an American rock band from New York, United States, that formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1984. They released two studio albums through Dreamland Records, a sub-label of RSO Records, in the early 1980s, and scored a few moderate hit singles in the United States. Two songs from their 1981 album Between the Lines - "Change" and "Better Be Good to Me" - were hits for John Waite and Tina Turner, respectively. In 1982 they changed the band's name to Shanghai and released their third and final album.

<i>The Worlds Most Dangerous Party</i> 1993 studio album by Paul Shaffer and the Party Boys of Rock n Roll

The World's Most Dangerous Party is Paul Shaffer's second album, released as a double CD in July 1993. Assembled as if Shaffer and his band were playing live at a house party, the album features the contributions of many celebrities and recording artists like David Letterman, Tony Bennett, George Clinton, Joan Jett, Phil Spector, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Jon Lovitz, Richard Belzer and Joe Walsh. As the 'live' music plays, these celebrities are generally heard talking amongst themselves and with Paul, as though amidst happy chattering at a crowded party.

The Tonight Show Band refers to the house band on the American television variety show The Tonight Show, which has created an important showcase for jazz on American television. The Tonight Show Band has changed in form and composition since the program first aired in 1954. The Roots have been The Tonight Show Band since 2014 for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

<i>The Late Show</i> (franchise) American media franchise

The Late Show is an American late-night talk show franchise on CBS. It first aired in August 1993 with host David Letterman, who previously hosted Late Night with David Letterman on NBC from 1982 to 1993. Letterman's iteration of the program ran until his retirement on May 20, 2015. Comedian Stephen Colbert, best known for his roles on Comedy Central programs The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, assumed hosting duties that September. The show originates from the Ed Sullivan Theater in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York, and airs live to tape in most U.S. markets at 11:35 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, 10:35 in the Central and Mountain time zones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Jason</span> American musician, producer and composer

Neil Jason, is an American musician, songwriter, producer and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he has worked with some of the biggest recording artists, including John Lennon, Billy Joel, Roxy Music, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Kiss, Gene Simmons, Michael Jackson, Brecker Brothers, Hall & Oates, Cyndi Lauper, Harry Chapin, Joe Jackson, Charlie Watts, Dire Straits, Bryan Ferry, Diana Ross, Grace Slick, John McLaughlin, Gladys Knight, Debbie Harry, Michael Franks, Bob James, David Sanborn, Brigitte Zarie, Carly Simon, Janis Ian, Nils Lofgren, Eddie Van Halen and tenor Luciano Pavarotti. He also writes for TV and film.

Aaron Heick is an American saxophonist and woodwind player, born September 13, 1961, in Seattle, currently living in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Late Show Band</span> American jazz band

The Late Show Band is a band originally founded and led by American musician Jon Batiste as Stay Human. They became the house band for Stephen Colbert's late-night talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on September 8, 2015. When Batiste departed the show on August 12, 2022, Louis Cato became the new bandleader and Stay Human was renamed The Late Show Band, a change that took effect on September 6, 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 Itzkoff, Dave (8 March 2017). "Paul Shaffer Shakes Off His Post-'Letterman' Blues". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  2. ↑ "Paul Shaffer & The World's Most Dangerous Band New Album Available March 17 - Rhino Media". media.rhino.com. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  3. ↑ "When does the '2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony' air on HBO?". New Orleans Times-Picayune. May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Paul Shaffer is ready to disband 'Late Night's' CBS Orchestra". Chattanooga Times-Free Press. Associated Press. May 19, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Stephen Colbert picks Jon Batiste as Late Show bandleader". Consequence of Sound. June 4, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Meet Stephen Colbert's New Late Show Bandleader, Jon Batiste". Vanity Fair. June 6, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ Roberts, Randall (29 January 2018). "Grammy Awards open in New York with Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  8. ↑ Greene, Andy (2023-01-30). "Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band to Sub for The Roots on 'Jimmy Fallon'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "LATE SHOW Newsletter: Exclusive Top Ten, CBS Orchestra History and More!". CBS. 14 June 2010. This Week In Dave History.
  10. ↑ "David Letterman About Tipping". CBS (original), 1999hs2000.com (archived copy with ads). Archived from the original on June 1, 2001. Alt URL
  11. ↑ "Wonderful Footage of Eddie Van Halen Jamming With the 'Late Night With David Letterman' Band in 1985". Laughing Squid. 7 October 2020.
  12. ↑ https://www.blueloumarini.com/bio.html [ bare URL ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.