Book Review: We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives by Paul Shaffer

Scott prepares to attend a friend's surprise 50th birthday party that has a Beatles theme

With time on my hands during my sabbatical, I was able to read Paul Shaffer's book, We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives, in practically one sitting. As someone who grew up watching Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman, I could personally remember much of the content contained in this book. I am also the right age to read this book as I have an appreciation for celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Buddy Hackett. Some interesting tidbits from the book include:

• When Paul met Bob Dylan, IMHO he said all of the wrong things. When I meet famous people, I separate the person from their work by saying "I enjoy your work" instead of "I love you man." After Paul gushed all over the place, Dylan's retort was "Paul, do you think you could introduce me to Larry 'Bud' Melman?" Larry "Bud" Melman was a minor character on the Letterman show played by Calvert Deforest.

• When Ray Charles hosted SNL, he had to memorize all of his lines. Unlike all of the other hosts, he could not read them off of the cue cards.

• Jerry Lewis is fascinated by the show Law & Order: SVU.

• James Brown got the idea for his famous cape routine by watching the wrestler Gorgeous George.

• Paul cowrote "It's Raining Men" with Ron Dante.

Though I enjoyed the book, I wish it would have contained more anecdotes about musical guests who appeared on SNL or Letterman. Surely, interesting things happened during rehearsal or on-air.

Relaxing with a good book is alive in the lab.