The Remainders began as the brainchild of Kathi Kamen Goldmark, a singer, musician, writer, and producer who was making extra money in the early 1990s driving authors around for their book tours. “When they heard I sang in a band, that’s all many of them wanted to talk about,” she told The New York Times. “They’d say: ‘You’re kidding. You’re so lucky!'” With every bestselling writer in the world secretly yearning to be a rock star, Goldmark thought it might be a fun idea to make it happen, so she sent out some faxes, saw who responded, and assembled the group.

The band made its debut at the American Booksellers Association convention of 1992, covering classic rock songs like “Runaway” and “Surfin’ Bird.” Although the group assumed it would be their only gig, the response was positive enough that they agreed to continue performing for charity. According to Oprah.com, the amount raised for various causes is more than $2 million, and the group attracted enough attention that actual musicians sometimes joined them onstage. According to King, “Springsteen told us we weren’t bad, but not to try to get any better otherwise we’d just be another lousy band” (via The Christian Science Monitor).

Goldmark passed away in 2012, leading the band to play their “farewell” show on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” that year. But they’ve occasionally reunited since, making appearances as recently as 2019, according to The Current.