Paul Shaffer was David Letterman's musical director and sidekick for over 25 years. He began his career in 1972 as musical director of a 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 for which 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 also served as musical director for John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, performing as the Blues Brothers, for two albums and their national tour. In addition to recording his own albums, Coast to Coast (1989), and The World's Most Dangerous Party (1993), Shaffer has 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' Diary soundtrack, topping the British pop charts in 2001. In 2002, he received his first Grammy award, Best Country Instrumental, for the Earl Scruggs And Friends album. He co-produced an avant-garde jazz album for his mentor, Tisziji Munoz, released on Dreyfus Records. 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 soundtrack for and appears in Blues Brothers 2000, for which he received an RIAA-certified gold record. Shaffer has served as musical director and producer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria since its inception in 1986. He led the band for the "We Are the World" finale of Live-Aid. Shaffer hosted CBS's 1994 New Year's Eve special from New York's Times Square and was musical director of the closing concert at the 1996 Olympic Games. He appeared with the Blues Brothers at the 1996 Super Bowl halftime show and was musical director of the 1999 Concert of the Century at the White House, featuring Eric Clapton, B. B. King, Gloria Estefan, 'N Sync and others, to aid music programs in public schools. He was musical director of Paul McCartney's Concert For New York, which honored and raised money for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He also appeared with Faith Hill on the "America: A Tribute To Heroes" telethon. Paul Shaffer continues to tour and perform.