TORONTO -- You’ve likely heard the disco smash-hit “It’s Raining Men” by The Weather girls, but you may not have known that it was co-written by a Canadian.

Paul Shaffer, the Thunder Bay-born musician known to millions as David Letterman’s musical director and sidekick, co-wrote the song with Paul Jabara in 1979 and it became a hit in 1982.

It was announced Monday that the song will be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

“It is such a thrill and an honour to be recognized in Canada,” Shaffer told CTV News Channel on Tuesday. “I started my career in Toronto.”

Shaffer says he was discovered by Broadway composer Steven Schwartz in the early 70s at a time when he was playing in different bars and clubs around the city. He was later hired by Schwartz to be the musical director of the Toronto production of “Godspell,” which opened at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in 1972.

“Then he took me to New York and the next thing I knew I was on Broadway,” Shaffer said.

Two years later, he went on to join the house band at NBC’s Saturday Night Live, before jumping in the recording studio to compose songs like “It’s Raining Men.”

The single was an instant hit reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart in 1982 and became a classic in the queer community.

“It’s an audacious song that only the likes of Paul Shaffer and Paul Jabara could devise with their unmatched talent, exuberance, and distinctive humour,” Vanessa Thomas, CSHF Executive Director said in a statement.

Despite topping the charts in the U.S., the 1982 release never made the charts nationally in Canada.

The disco hit was originally meant for Donna Summers, who turned it down before it was eventually performed by The Weather Girls. They have since released updated recordings including a 2012 house music version.

Shaffer is best known alongside David Letterman, playing the keyboard and acting as music director for a 33-year-run on Late Show and Late Night With David Letterman.

"It’s Raining Men" joins Queen’s "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Leonard Cohen’s "Hallelujah" in the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

With files from CTVNews.ca’s Denio Lourenco.