<Tr> <Th> Members </Th> <Td> Paul Shaffer Anton Fig Felicia Collins Sid McGinnis Will Lee Tom "Bones" Malone Aaron Heick Frank Greene </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Past members </Th> <Td> Steve Jordan Hiram Bullock Bernie Worrell Bruce Kapler Al Chez David Sanborn </Td> </Tr> <P> Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band is an American big band led by Paul Shaffer . It is best known for being David Letterman's house band for 33 years . 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 . </P> <P> 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 . </P>

Rock and roll hall of fame house band