Best Known As: The guy who did "Werewolves of London"
Warren Zevon is most famous for his 1978 album, Excitable Boy, and for hard-rocking, darkly funny tunes like "Werewolves of London," "Lawyers, Guns and Money" and "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner." Zevon was a songwriter for The Everly Brothers and Linda Ronstadt in the 1960s (he wrote Ronstadt's hit "Poor Poor Pitiful Me") before releasing his first album, Wanted: Dead or Alive in 1969. Zevon was well-regarded by critics and other musicians in the early 1970s but didn't sell many records. Then "Werewolves of London" shot up the charts and by the end of the decade he was a star, known especially for his grim humor and literary lyrics. He also had a reputation as a heavy drinker, but in the early '80s he publicly battled alcoholism and went sober. His subsequent albums never had the success of Excitable Boy, but his fan base remained loyal and he was widely considered a songwriter's songwriter. His other albums included Warren Zevon (1976), Sentimental Hygiene (1987), Mr. Bad Example (1991) and Life'll Kill Ya (2000). In 2002 he announced that he had terminal lung cancer. He managed to record a final album, The Wind, which was released two weeks before his death in September 2003. In 2004 the album earned him his first Grammys, including one for the song "Disorder in the House," a duet with Bruce Springsteen.
In 1990 an album was released featuring Zevon and members of R.E.M. as The Hindu Love Gods... Like Harry Nilsson, Zevon had a song in the Dustin Hoffman movie Midnight Cowboy (1969)... Zevon often filled in as a guest bandleader for David Letterman when regular leader Paul Shafer was absent... After his cancer diagnosis, Zevon famously quipped, "I'm OK with it, but it'll be a drag if I don't make it 'til the next James Bond movie comes out." He did; Die Another Day was released in November 2002.
One of the most acute and savagely satiric songwriters of his era, Warren Zevon was born in Chicago on January 24, 1947. His formative years were as colorful as the scenarios played out in his music: his father was a professional gambler, a lifestyle which forced the family to move frequently, and Zevon spent most of his early years in California and Arizona. He learned to play piano, focusing primarily on classical material before a disintegrating home life led him into pop music, as well as a few run-ins with the law; after his parents divorced when he was 16 years old, Zevon hopped into the Corvette his father won in a card game and headed for New York to become a folksinger. His music found little response, however, and he returned to California, eventually releasing his first recordings as part of the duo Lyme and Cybelle. Session work followed before Zevon issued his solo debut, Wanted Dead or Alive, in 1969; the LP received a poor reception, so he returned to session work composing advertising jingles, and also served as the Everly Brothers' pianist before the duo's breakup. Following a 1974 sabbatical to Spain, Zevon returned to Los Angeles, where his longtime friend Jackson Browne had secured him a recording deal; with Browne in the producer's seat, Zevon cut a self-titled offering which was met with lavish critical praise upon its 1976 release. His 1978 follow-up, Excitable Boy, established him as a wholly unique talent and earned a sizable hit with its wry single "Werewolves of London." However, Zevon had fallen prey to alcoholism, and his personal demons sidelined him for the next two years; 1980's Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School and 1981's live set Stand in the Fire marked his gradual return to form, and the promise of his early work was restored on 1982's brilliant release The Envoy. The album fared miserably on the charts, however, and Zevon again fell off the wagon.
A long period of therapy and counseling followed before, and later, the newly sober and revitalized Zevon issued Sentimental Hygiene in 1987, recorded with backing assistance from members of R.E.M. (In 1990, another collection of material from the sessions featuring Zevon and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry was released under the name Hindu Love Gods.) Zevon continued his comeback in 1989 with Transverse City, a concept record inspired by science fiction's cyberpunk movement, and 1991's Mr. Bad Example. In 1993, Zevon issued his second live album, Learning to Flinch, followed in 1995 by Mutineer. His next studio effort, Life'll Kill Ya, did not appear until early 2000. It was a moderate success, enough to inspire him to step back into the studio after touring the U.S. My Ride's Here, featuring a guest appearance from David Letterman (of all people), was released in the spring of 2002. Several months later, Zevon was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an inoperable form of lung cancer, and doctors expected him to live no more than a few months. Zevon decided to work on a final album with the help of a handful of celebrity friends and collaborators; The Wind was released in August of 2003, nearly a year to the day after Zevon learned of his condition, and he lived long enough to see its release, as well as the birth of his first grandchild. ~ Rovi
Born on January 24, 1947, in Chicago, IL. Married Tule Dillow, c. 1970s (divorced), married Crystal Bedford, c. 1970s;. children: Jordan, Ariel; Died, September 7, 2003, Los Angeles, California.
Released Wanted Dead or Alive, Imperial, 1970; musical director for the Everly Brothers, 1971-73; played lounge piano in Spain, 1974; released self-titled album on Asylum, 1976; Excitable Boy released, including first Top Ten single, "Werewolves of London," 1978; released Mutineer and is dropped by label, 1995; signed with Artemis Records and releases, Life'll Kill Ya, 2000; released My Ride's Here, spring 2002; diagnosed with lung cancer, 2002; The Wind released, August 2003; Final public appearance, October 30, 2002; Died, September 7, 2003.
Awards: Grammy, Best Contemporary Folk Album, for The Wind, 2004; Grammy, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (with Bruce Springsteen) for "Disorder in the House," 2004.
Warren Zevon's career took almost as many strange twists and turns as the stories of the bizarre characters in his songs. His lyrics were consistently called ironic and darkly humorous. In one last mordant, even macabre, twist, Zevon's greatest critical and commercial success would be The Wind, the album he recorded as he knew he was dying from cancer. He would not live long enough to celebrate his first-ever Grammy nominations and awards. The range of his lyrics, combined with his talents as a musician and composer, made Zevon a long-standing favorite of critics, fellow musicians, and devoted fans.
Zevon grew up in California and Arizona, but moved frequently thanks to his father's profession: professional gambler. Zevon spent his youth studying classical piano, but at 16 he ran away. His parents were divorced and he was getting into scraps with the law. He reportedly took off for New York in a Corvette his father had won, taking his guitar with him. He tried to make his way as a folksinger with little luck.
Zevon moved to San Francisco, then to Los Angeles. There, he became part of a duo called Lyme and Cybelle, which resulted in his being offered session work. He began meeting other young singers and singer-songwriters who would come to be known as artists who formed the bedrock of the unmistakable sounding 1970s California rock scene. These included Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, and members of the Eagles such as Timothy B. Schmidt. Zevon was busy writing his own songs, and one of his compositions, "She Got Me Man," appeared in the movie Midnight Cowboy. Finally in 1969 he got the opportunity to record his first album, Wanted Dead or Alive, which flopped.
He resumed session work. Zevon worked as a musical director and band member for the Everly Brothers shortly before the duo dissolved. In 1974, he went to Spain, where he played piano in a club for tourists. Meanwhile, Zevon's friends in California were working on his behalf. Linda Ronstadt recorded several Zevon songs including "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" and made his "Hasten Down the Wind" the title track of a 1976 album. The most significant help came from Jackson Browne, who persuaded Asylum to release a solo album by Zevon, which Browne produced. The result, Warren Zevon, while not a big commercial success, did well enough with the public and with critics to give Zevon the opportunity to record again.
Browne and Ronstadt both aided with the new album as did Waddy Wachtel, Ronstadt's guitarist, who became a regular collaborator with Zevon. The result was 1978's Excitable Boy, which went gold and contained such hits as "Excitable Boy," "Lawyers, Guns, and Money," and "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner," as well as the hit "Werewolves of London." The popularity of "Werewolves of London" surprised Zevon, who told Stephen Fried of GQ that it was "a song that
was really just a joke between friends." But that joke gave Zevon the clout to become a concert headliner.
Unfortunately Zevon would never match the commercial success of Excitable Boy in his lifetime. His next album, Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, made it into the Top 20 in 1980; that same year he released a live album, Stand in the Fire, which, according to Irwin Stambler in The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul, "caught much of the fervor and excellent musicianship that made Zevon shows among rock's best in the early 1980s." The Envoy, recorded in 1982, flopped commercially and was to be Zevon's last until 1987.
The move from obscurity to sudden stardom and then back off the charts mirrored the turmoil of Zevon's life in the late 1970s. Leaning on the same friends who had supported him musically, Zevon sought treatment for alcoholism. He took two years off. The Envoy was his first sober studio effort, but its lack of success cost him his recording deal with Asylum. Instead of writing new songs and seeking a new deal, Zevon took to the road, playing solo acoustic sets in small clubs. Reflecting on that time to Fried in GQ, Zevon said that the notion that he was down and out during this time made a good story but not a true one: "I wasn't starving or anything. I was making a living as a musician. In fact, on a purely economic level, you can make more money touring that way than with a band." But the failure of this album cost him more than his deal. Zevon relapsed, but soon sought an even longer treatment regime plus therapy. He also married and divorced twice.
Newly sober, Zevon continued to persevere. He told Fried, "I thought that when I had ten or twelve songs I'd get a deal." He did—with Virgin Records—and in 1987 Zevon released Sentimental Hygiene. As in the past, Zevon received musical help from his friends, who now included Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry of R.E.M. The trio performed on most of the album's tracks while Bob Dylan and Neil Young played on one song each. Speaking of how it felt to return to the studio and tour with a band again, Zevon told Anthony De-Curtis of Rolling Stone, "I sort of like starting my career over every seven years or so, or I sort of have to, whether I like to or not."
Zevon returned to his pace of releasing a new album every two years or so. 1989's Transverse City so turned away from his characteristic humor that even his mother noticed. In an interview with Gary Graff of the Detroit Free Press, Zevon confessed that his mother told him, "You know, dear, this album isn't funny."
The tone of Zevon's 1990 release was not humorous either. Hindu Love Gods, officially issued by a band of the same name, resulted from one day of recording with members of R.E.M. during the Sentimental Hygiene sessions. It consisted entirely of covers from a diverse group of performers, including Muddy Waters, Woody Guthrie, the Georgia Satellites, and Prince. Paul Evans reviewed the album in Rolling Stone, saying, "It's real roots rocking–done by smart, delighted fans."
In 1991 Zevon returned to more characteristic territory with Mr. Bad Example, which featured "Model Citizen" and "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead"—shining examples of his trademark sense of ironic humor. Craig Tomashoff's review of the album in People also summed up Zevon's career to date: "Few people in rock have Zevon's knack for spinning strange tales over memorable melodies. This will surely be the album that breaks him into the big time. If not, guaranteed the next one will."
Zevon continued in search of seemingly elusive commercial success. By the mid '90s, he had begun to attribute poor sales to a lack of support from the labels. "And, also, for some reasons that are fair enough and
some reasons that are a little appalling," he told the Indianapolis Star in an article carried by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, "the time and the place that I came from, however much it did or didn't have to do with my work, is held in contempt by contemporary cultural standards. Los Angeles in the '70s is probably the worst place you can possibly be from."
For Mutineer, he recorded in his home studio with new digital tools, a process he found freeing. Regrettably, it was neither the critical nor commercial success he sought. However, Tomashoff checked in with more praise in People calling it "another solid piece of work from one of rock's most dependable and underrated songwriters." Zevon later said the title was "a gesture of appreciation and affection to my fans, none of whom bought the record." Giant dropped Zevon after its release.
In a 1996 wire service interview, Zevon said his next plan was to concentrate on getting a classical music piece performed. "I think the prospects of getting such a thing played are probably fairly good. I'm optimistic about it. I may be deluding myself, but we know there's an orchestra in every town, much less, city, in America," he quipped.
Actually, he could be frequently found subbing for band leader Paul Schaeffer on David Letterman's talk shows in the post-Mutineer period. Letterman proved a consistent, committed fan as well as friend. Letterman invited Zevon to be the first musical guest both on Late Night With David Letterman (NBC) and The Late Show With David Letterman (CBS).
Zevon continued the process of attempting to reinvent himself. It was not until 2000 that he would return to the studio. It had also taken five years for him to find another record label. He was signed by Artemis Records. The result was Life'll Kill Ya, released in early 2000. Buoyed by the modest success, he returned to recording relatively immediately. My Ride's Here was released in Spring 2002.
Zevon was diagnosed with an inoperable and aggressive form of lung cancer in late 2002. Doctors did not expect him to live more than a handful of months. With his mortality truly staring him down, and responding publicly with trademark darker-than-ever gallows humor, Zevon elected to work on one last album. "It'll be a drag if I don't make it until the next James Bond movie comes out," he wrote in an official press release. (He survived to see Die Another Day leave theatres.) His first response was reportedly to hole up with Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner films. Both actors died of lung cancer. He soon decided to spend his time recording.
"I've never encountered anyone with his outlook and the strength, the humor, and the wisdom that goes with it," said author Carl Hiaasen, a friend and fishing buddy, as well as occasional Zevon lyricist, in a People interview. "At one point he said to me, 'I've been writing this part for myself for 35 years. Maybe this is just the way it has to go.'" He elected not to seek treatment.
The Wind was released in August of 2003, nearly a year to date from when he was diagnosed with cancer. Record company officials were reportedly unsettled by the prospect of promoting a "last" recording. Rather than spend money on advertising, they chose to put more funding into production. The recording process was documented by the cable television channel VH-1. Zevon said he wanted his cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"–in which he is heard saying "open up, open up,"–to be his first single. The album debuted on the Billboard charts at number 16. That publication's critic Adrian Zupp said it "hangs like a Picasso in a world of finger painting." Other critics concurred.
"Who knew it'd take terminal illness to make Zevon lay off the gallows humor?" opined Chris Willman, writing in Entertainment Weekly. "If The Wind is unsentimental, it's also happily unhygienic, sounding as ramshackle and energized as you'd hope a nothing-left-to-lose last blast would."
Zevon made his final public appearance on Letterman's show October 30, 2002. The entire hour-long program was devoted to Zevon. He said Letterman was "the best friend my music has ever had." During the broadcast, Zevon admitted that he "might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years. It was one of those phobias that really didn't pay off." Zevon performed "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Mutineer"–the last time he would perform in front of an audience.
When Zevon passed September 7, 2003, he had seen The Wind released to critical praise and, more importantly, had been able to see his first grandchildren, twins born in August.
After his death, his son and Rhino Records were working together to secure the re-release of Zevon's entire Elektra catalog. The hopes were to include unreleased material as well as material never released on compact disc.
When the Grammy nominees were announced, neither fans nor cynics were surprised to see him finally among the nominees. He had five nominations. There was a certain Zevon-esque irony to the entire accolades. The awards show broadcast in Feburary 2004 would also feature a Zevon tribute with appearances by Browne, Schmidt, Dwight Yoakam, Zevon's adult children, and others. That night, Zevon won his first-ever Grammy awards. The Wind won Best Contemporary Folk Album
and "Disorder in the House," a duet with Bruce Springsteen won for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
"His hard-boiled side would say, 'I don't care about this. These people never got me,'" said Jorge Calderon, a producer and longtime friend in an post-Grammy article distributed by the Associated Press. "His other side, which was very Sammy Davis Jr., that part of him would be loving it. He'd be dressed in an all-cashmere suit. He'd be here digging it."
Selected discography Wanted Dead or Alive, Imperial, 1970. Warren Zevon, Asylum, 1976; reissued, Elektra, 1992. Excitable Boy, Asylum, 1978. Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, Asylum, 1980; reissued, Elektra, 1992. Stand in the Fire, Asylum, 1980. The Envoy, Asylum, 1982. Sentimental Hygiene, Virgin, 1987; Re-release with Bonus Tracks, Virgin, 2003. Transverse City, Virgin, 1989; rereleased with bonus track, Virgin 2003. (With Hindu Love Gods) Hindu Love Gods, Giant, 1990. Mr. Bad Example, Giant, 1991. Learning to Flinch, Giant, 1993; rereleased limited edition, Warner, 1993. Mutineer, Giant, 1995. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (An Anthology), Rhino 1996. Life'll Kill Ya, Artemis, 2000. Genius: The Best of Warren Zevon, Rhino, 2002. My Ride's Here, Artemis 2002. The First Sessions, Varese, 2003. Wanted Dead or Alive/A Leaf in the Wind, Capitol, 2003. The Wind, Artemis, 2003.
Sources Books Pareles, Jon and Patricia Romanowski, editors, The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Rolling Stone Press/Summit, 1983. Stambler, Irwin, The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul, St. Martin's, 1989.
Periodicals Billboard, April 22, 1995; September 6, 2003; September 20, 2003. Business Week, September 1, 2003. Detroit Free Press, January 3, 1992. Entertainment Weekly, September 5, 2003; September 19, 2003. GQ, January 1988. Interview, April 1998. Keyboard, November 1, 2003. Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, July 13, 1995; March 11, 1996. People, January 20, 1992; June 5, 1995; October 28, 2002. Rolling Stone, June 18, 1987; November 15, 1990; November 29, 1990; November 28, 1991.
One of the most acute and savagely satiric songwriters of his era, Warren Zevon was born in Chicago on January 24, 1947. His formative years were as colorful as the scenarios played out in his music: his father was a professional gambler, a lifestyle which forced the family to move frequently, and Zevon spent most of his formative years in California and Arizona. He learned to play piano, focusing primarily on classical material before a disintegrating home life led him into pop music, as well as a few run-ins with the law; after his parents divorced when he was 16 years old, Zevon hopped into the Corvette his father won in a card game and headed for New York to become a folk singer. His music found little response, however, and he returned to California, eventually releasing his first recordings as part of the duo Lyme & Cybelle. Session work followed before Zevon issued his solo debut Wanted Dead or Alive in 1969; the LP received a poor reception, and so he returned to session work and composed advertising jingles, and also served as the Everly Brothers' pianist before the duo's breakup. Following a 1974 sabbatical to Spain, Zevon returned to Los Angeles, where his longtime friend Jackson Browne had secured him a recording deal; with Browne in the producer's seat, Zevon cut a self-titled offering which was met with lavish critical praise upon its 1976 release. His 1978 follow-up Excitable Boy established him as a wholly unique talent, and earned a sizable hit with its wry single "Werewolves of London."
However, Zevon had fallen prey to alcoholism, and his personal demons sidelined him for the next two years; 1980s Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School and 1981's live set Stand in the Fire marked his gradual return to form, and the promise of his early work was restored on 1982's brilliant release The Envoy. The album fared miserably on the charts, however, and Zevon again fell off the wagon. A long period of therapy and counseling followed before, newly sober and revitalized, he issued Sentimental Hygiene in 1987, recorded with backing assistance from members of R.E.M. (In 1990, another collection of material from the sessions featuring Zevon and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry was released under the name Hindu Love Gods.) He continued his comeback in 1989 with Transverse City, a concept record inspired by science fiction's cyberpunk movement, and 1991's Mr. Bad Example. In 1993, Zevon issued his second live album, Learning to Flinch, followed in 1995 by Mutineer. His next studio effort, Life'll Kill Ya, did not appear until early 2000. It was a moderate success, enough to inspire him to step back into the studio after touring the U.S.. My Ride's Here, which featured a guest appearance from David Letterman of all people, was released in the spring of 2002. Several months later, Zevon was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an inoperable form of lung cancer, and doctors expected him to live no more than a few months. Zevon decided to work on a final album, with the help of a handful of celebrity friends and collaborators; The Wind was released in August of 2003, nearly a year to the day after Zevon learned of his condition, and he lived long enough to see its release, as well as the birth of his first grandchildren. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
Warren William Zevon/ˈziːvɒn/ (January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rocksinger-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.
Zevon was born in Chicago, Illinois to William Zevon and Beverly Cope Simmons. His father was born in Russia, and their original surname was "Zivotovsky".[2] They soon moved to Fresno, California. By the age of 13, Zevon was an occasional visitor to the home of Igor Stravinsky where he, alongside Robert Craft, briefly studied modern classical music. Zevon's parents divorced when he was 16 years old and he soon quit high school and moved from Los Angeles to New York to become a folk singer.[citation needed]
Zevon turned to a musical career early, including a stretch with high school friend Violet Santangelo as a musical duo called lyme & cybelle (exercising artistic license, the band name eschewed capitalization). He spent time as a session musician and jingle composer. He wrote several songs for his White Whale label-mates the Turtles ("Like the Seasons" and "Outside Chance"), though his participation in their recording is unknown. Another early composition ("She Quit Me") was included in the soundtrack for the film Midnight Cowboy (1969). To suit its place in the film, the song was re-recorded as the female-centric "He Quit Me." Zevon's first attempt at a solo album, Wanted Dead or Alive (1969), was produced by 1960s cult figure Kim Fowley but did not sell well. Flashes of Zevon's later writing preoccupations of romantic loss and noir-ish violence are present in songs like "Tule's Blues" and "A Bullet for Ramona". Zevon's second effort, Leaf in the Wind, was called by his son, Jordan, "A bullshit money grab by the label". During the early 1970s, Zevon toured regularly with the Everly Brothers as keyboard player and band leader/musical coordinator.[citation needed]
Later during the same decade he toured and recorded with Don Everly and Phil Everly, separately, as they tried to launch solo careers after their break-up. His dissatisfaction with his career (and a lack of funds) led him to move to Spain in the summer of 1975, where he lived and played in a small tavern in Sitges near Barcelona owned by David Lindell, a former mercenary. Together they composed Zevon's classic "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner".
Return to L.A. and major-label debut
By September 1975, Zevon had returned to Los Angeles, where he roomed with then-unknown Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. There, he collaborated with Jackson Browne, who in 1976 produced and promote Zevon's self-titled major-label debut. Contributors to this album included Nicks, Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, members of the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and Bonnie Raitt. Ronstadt elected to record many of his songs, including "Hasten Down the Wind," "Carmelita", "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", and "Mohammed's Radio." Zevon's first tour in 1977 included guest appearances in the middle of Jackson Browne concerts, one of which is documented on a widely circulated bootleg recording of a Dutch radio program under the title The Offender meets the Pretender.
Though a much darker and more ironic songwriter than Browne and other leading figures of the era's L.A.-based singer-songwriter movement, Zevon shared with his 1970s L.A. peers a grounding in earlier folk and country influences and a commitment to a writerly style of songcraft with roots in the work of artists like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. Though only a modest commercial success, the Browne-produced Warren Zevon (1976) would later be termed a masterpiece in the first edition of the Rolling Stone Record Guide and is cited in the book's most recently revised (November 2004) edition as Zevon's most realized work. Representative tracks include the junkie's lament "Carmelita," the Copland-esque outlaw ballad "Frank and Jesse James," "The French Inhaler," a scathing insider's look at life and lust in the L.A. music business( which was, in fact about his first wife and mother to his son Jordan) and "Desperados Under the Eaves", a chronicle of Zevon's increasing alcoholism.
Success
Zevon touring solo in Heidelberg as the opener for Jackson Browne, 1976
In 1978, Zevon released Excitable Boy (produced by Jackson Browne and guitarist Waddy Wachtel) to critical acclaim and popular success. The title tune (about a juvenile sociopath's murderous prom night) name-checked "Little Susie", the heroine of former employers the Everly Brothers' tune "Wake Up Little Susie", while songs such as "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Lawyers, Guns and Money" used deadpan humor to wed geopolitical subtexts to hard-boiled narratives. Tracks from this album received heavy FM airplay and the single release "Werewolves of London", which featured Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, was a relatively lighthearted version of Zevon's signature macabre outlook and a Top 30 success.
Zevon followed Excitable Boy with 1980's Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School. This album was dedicated to Ken Millar, better known under his nom-de-plume as detective novelist Ross Macdonald. Millar was a literary hero of Zevon's who met the singer for the first time while participating in an intervention organized by Rolling Stone journalist Paul Nelson that helped Zevon temporarily curtail his addictions. Featuring a modest novelty hit with the single "A Certain Girl" (Zevon's cover of an old R&B novelty record by Ernie K-Doe scored #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart), the album sold briskly but was uneven, and represented a decline rather than commercial and critical consistency. It contained a collaboration with Bruce Springsteen called "Jeannie Needs a Shooter", and the ballad "Empty-Handed Heart" featuring a descant sung by Linda Ronstadt, which dealt with Zevon's divorce from wife Crystal. (Crystal is the only woman he married legally although she is often listed erroneously as his "second wife".[4] Marilyn "Tule" Livingston, the mother of his son Jordan, and Zevon were in a long-term relationship but never married.) Later during 1980, he released the live album Stand in the Fire (dedicated to Martin Scorsese), recorded over five nights at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles.
Personal crisis and first comeback
Zevon's 1982 release The Envoy returned to the high standard of Excitable Boy but was not a commercial success.[5] It was an eclectic but characteristic set that included such compositions as "Ain't That Pretty at All," "Charlie's Medicine" and "Jesus Mentioned," the first of Zevon's two musical reactions to the death of Elvis Presley (the other is the song "Porcelain Monkey" on Life'll Kill Ya in 2000). The title track was dedicated to Philip Habib, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East during the early 1980s. In the liner notes for the 1996 I'll Sleep When I'm Dead anthology, Zevon stated that after the song came out, Habib sent him "a very nice letter of appreciation on State Department stationery". The lyrics from another track, "The Hula Hula Boys," were excerpted in Hunter S. Thompson's 1983 book, The Curse of Lono.
In 1983, the recently divorced Zevon became engaged to Philadelphia DJ Anita Gevinson and moved to the East Coast.[6] After the disappointing reception for The Envoy, Zevon's distributor Asylum Records ended their business relationship, which Zevon discovered only when he read about it in the Random Notes gossip column of Rolling Stone. The trauma allegedly caused him to relapse into serious alcoholism and he voluntarily checked himself into an unnamed rehab clinic somewhere in Minnesota in 1984. His relationship with Gevinson ended shortly thereafter.[6] Zevon retreated from the music business for several years, during which he finally overcame severe alcohol and drug addictions.
During this interim period, Zevon collaborated with Bill Berry, Peter Buck and Mike Mills (of R.E.M.), along with backup vocalist Bryan Cook to form a minor project called Hindu Love Gods. The group released the non-charting single "Narrator" on the IRS label in 1984, then went into abeyance for several years.
Berry, Buck and Mills served as the core of Zevon's next studio band when he re-emerged in 1987 by signing with Virgin Records and recording the album Sentimental Hygiene. The release, hailed as his best since Excitable Boy, featured a thicker rock sound and taut, often humorous songs like "Detox Mansion," "Bad Karma" (which featured R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe on backup vocals), and "Reconsider Me." Included were contributions from Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Flea, Brian Setzer, George Clinton, as well as Berry, Buck, and Mills. Also on hand were longtime collaborators Jorge Calderón and Waddy Wachtel.
During the Sentimental Hygiene sessions, Zevon also participated in an all-night jam session with Berry, Buck and Mills, as they worked their way through rock and blues numbers by the likes of Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and Prince. Though the sessions were not initially intended for release, they eventually saw the light of day as a Hindu Love Gods album.
Transverse City was a commercial disappointment, and Virgin Records ended its relationship with Zevon soon after the album's release. Zevon, however, contracted almost immediately with Giant Records, and the first issue under Zevon's contract with his new distributor was the self-titled Hindu Love Gods album recorded during the Sentimental Hygiene sessions. The album included a cover of Prince's "Raspberry Beret", which became a #23 Modern Rock hit in the U.S.
In 1991, Zevon, once again a solo artist, released Mr. Bad Example. This album featured the modest pop hit "Searching for a Heart" and the rocker "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead", later utilized for the title of the neo-noirfilm of the same name directed by Gary Fleder; after some skirmishing over the unauthorized use of Zevon's song title, the Zevon track was licensed to play over the film's end credits. Zevon also sang lead vocals on the song "Casey Jones" from the Grateful Dead tribute album, Deadicated (although the cut is credited to Jackson Browne slide guitarist David Lindley).
Owing to his reduced circumstances, his performances were often true solo efforts (with minimal accompaniment on piano and guitar); 1993's live Learning to Flinch documents such a tour. The disc received some airplay on college radio and was considered Zevon's version of Unplugged. Zevon often played in Colorado to allow for an opportunity to visit with his long-time friend Hunter S. Thompson.
A lifelong fan of "hard-boiled" fiction, Zevon was friendly with several well known writers who also collaborated on his songwriting during this period, including Thompson, Carl Hiaasen and Mitch Albom. Zevon also served as musical coordinator and occasional guitarist for an ad-hoc rock music group called the Rock Bottom Remainders, a collection of writers performing rock and roll standards at book fairs and other events. This group included Stephen King, Dave Barry, Matt Groening and Amy Tan, among other popular writers, and it has continued to perform one benefit concert per year since Zevon's death.
An affiliated project for which Zevon both played and wrote liner notes is the offbeat 1998 album Stranger Than Fiction, a two CD set attributed to the Wrockers containing rock covers and originals by many of the Remainders authors plus such notables as Norman Mailer and Maya Angelou. Zevon oversaw music for the short-lived revival of the NBC series Route 66 (1993), contributing that series' main title theme, "If You Won't Leave Me I'll Find Somebody Who Will".
In 1995, Zevon released the self-produced Mutineer. The title track was frequently covered by Bob Dylan on his U.S. Fall Tour in 2002.[7] Zevon's cover of cult artist Judee Sill's "Jesus Was a Crossmaker" predated the wider rediscovery of her work a decade later. The album, however, suffered the worst sales of Zevon's career, in part because his label, superagent Irving Azoff's short-lived Giant Records, was in the process of going out of business. Rhino Records released a Zevon "best-of" compilation in 1996, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (An Anthology). Zevon also appeared on the Larry Sanders Show on HBO, playing himself as a guest on the show.
After another five-year layoff, Zevon signed with industry veteran Danny Goldberg's Artemis Records and again rebounded with the mortality-themed 2000 release Life'll Kill Ya, containing the hymn-like "Don't Let Us Get Sick" and an austere version of Steve Winwood's 1980s hit "Back in the High Life Again". With record sales reasonably brisk and music critics giving Zevon his best notices since Excitable Boy, Life'll Kill Ya is seen as his second comeback. He followed with 2002's My Ride's Here (with morbid prescience of things to come), which included "Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)" (which was co-written by Tuesdays with Morrie author Mitch Albom, and featured Paul Shaffer, the "Late Night" band and a spoken guest vocal from TV host David Letterman) and the ballad "Genius", later taken as the title for a 2002 Zevon anthology, and a song whose string section illustrates the lasting influence of Stravinsky on Zevon's work.
At about this time, he and his neighbor actor Billy Bob Thornton formed a close friendship catalyzed by their common experiences with obsessive-compulsive disorder and the fact they lived in the same apartment building.[4]
Cancer, death and The Wind
In interviews, Zevon described a lifelong phobia of doctors and said he seldom received medical assessment. Shortly before playing at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in 2002, he started feeling dizzy and developed a chronic cough. After a period of suffering with pain and shortness of breath, Zevon was encouraged by his dentist to see a physician; he was diagnosed with inoperable peritoneal mesothelioma (a form of cancer associated with exposure to asbestos). Refusing treatments he believed might incapacitate him, Zevon instead began recording his final album, The Wind which includes guest appearances by close friends including Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh, David Lindley, Billy Bob Thornton, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty, Dwight Yoakam, and others. It has been said that the decision to include "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" was his, much to the dismay of the others in the project. At the request of the music television channel VH1, documentarian Nick Read was given access to the sessions; his cameras documented a man who retained his mordant sense of humor, even as his health was deteriorating over time.
On October 30, 2002, Zevon was featured on the Late Show with David Letterman as the only guest for the entire hour. The band played "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" as his introduction. Zevon performed several songs and spoke at length about his illness. Zevon was a frequent guest and occasional substitute bandleader on Letterman's television shows since Late Night was first broadcast in 1982. He noted, "I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." It was during this broadcast that, when asked by Letterman if he knew something more about life and death now, he first offered his oft-quoted insight on dying: "Enjoy every sandwich." He also took time to thank Letterman for his years of support, calling him "the best friend my music's ever had". For his final song of the evening, and his final public performance, Zevon performed "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" at Letterman's request. In the green room after the show, Zevon presented Letterman with the guitar that he always used on the show, with a single request: "Here, I want you to have this, take good care of it."[8] The day after Zevon's death, Letterman paid tribute to Zevon by replaying his performance of Mutineer from his last appearance. The Late Show band played Zevon's songs throughout the night.
Zevon stated previously that his illness was expected to be terminal within months after the diagnosis in the fall of 2002; however, he lived to see the birth of twin grandsons in June 2003 and the release of The Wind on August 26, 2003. Owing in part to the first VH1 broadcasts of Nick Read's documentary Warren Zevon: Keep Me In Your Heart, the album reached number 16 on the US charts, Zevon's highest placement since Excitable Boy. When his diagnosis became public, Zevon told the media that he just hoped to live long enough to see the next James Bond movie, a goal he accomplished. Coincidentally, the film was titled Die Another Day.
Warren Zevon died on September 7, 2003, aged 56, at his home in Los Angeles, California. The Wind was certified gold by the RIAA in December 2003 and Zevon received five posthumous Grammy nominations, including Song of the Year for the ballad "Keep Me In Your Heart". The Wind won two Grammys, with the album itself receiving the award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, while "Disorder in the House", Zevon's duet with Bruce Springsteen, was awarded Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal. These posthumous awards were the first Grammys of Zevon's thirty-plus year career. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean near Los Angeles.
Posthumous releases and biographical works
A tribute album titled Enjoy Every Sandwich: Songs of Warren Zevon was released October 19, 2004. Zevon's son, Jordan Zevon, acting as executive producer on the album and performing "Studebaker", a previously unfinished Warren Zevon composition. A second tribute album, titled Hurry Home Early: the Songs of Warren Zevon (the line "hurry home early" from the song "Boom Boom Mancini", on Sentimental Hygiene) was released by Wampus Multimedia on July 8, 2005.
On February 14, 2006, VH1 Classic premiered a music video from a new compilation, Reconsider Me: The Love Songs. The video, titled "She's Too Good For Me", aired every hour on the hour throughout the day.
First and last issues of the Zevon albums Stand in the Fire and The Envoy were released on March 27, 2007 by Rhino Records alongside a Rhino re-issue of Excitable Boy, with the three Cd's having four unreleased bonus tracks each. Noteworthy rarities include the outtakes "Word of Mouth" and "The Risk" from the Envoy sessions, and "Frozen Notes (Strings Version)", a melancholy outtake from Excitable Boy performed on acoustic piano with a string quartet. Also included on the expanded Excitable Boy CD is the brief but hilarious "I Need A Truck", Zevon's first-ever a cappella studio release.
On May 1, 2007, Ammal Records, the new label started up as a partnership with New West Records by Zevon's former boss at Artemis Danny Goldberg, released Preludes - Rare and Unreleased Recordings, a two-disc anthology of Zevon demos and alternate versions culled from 126 pre-1976 recordings that were kept in a suitcase. The album contains five previously unreleased songs: "Empty Hearted Town", "Going All the Way", "Steady Rain", "Stop Rainin` Lord" and "The Rosarita Beach Cafe", along with Zevon's original demo for "Studebaker". Selections from an interview between Zevon and Austin-based radio personality Jody Denberg are blended with about 40 minutes of music on the collection's second disc.
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon, a biography/oral history compiled by ex-wife Crystal Zevon, was published in 2007 by Ecco Books. The book is made up of interwoven interviews from many of Zevon's friends and associates, and is notable for its unvarnished portrayal of Zevon (at his request).
Music by Warren Zevon is featured in several episodes of the Showtime television series Californication. The character Hank Moody also makes several references to him. In the final episode ("La Petite Mort") of season two, "Keep Me In Your Heart" is playing as Hank is finishing off the biography of his recently deceased friend, Lew Ashby. In this scene, Lew's ghost appears as the song is playing and Hank is smoking a joint and drinking a glass of whiskey. Moody tells him "Every time I finish a book - whiskey, weed and Warren Zevon.".[10]
In the 2009 movie Funny People, George Simmons, a dying comedian, reacts when he hears a recording of Keep Me In Your Heart.[11]
In "The Brotherhood of Night" (Episode 7, Season 1) of Thundarr the Barbarian, the leader of a pack of werewolves is named Zevon.
American director Kevin Smith is currently (as of 2010) writing a hockey film titled Hit Somebody! based on Zevon's song of the same name.[12]
American author Stephen King references the quote "Play that dead band's song" in his novel "Under The Dome"
In an episode of Boston Legal featuring guest star Michael J. Fox, Keep Me In Your Heart played towards the end of the episode.
In the episode "Nagging Blonde" of the show The Life and Times of Tim, "Werewolves of London" can be played during a scene involving a pool game with a hustler. This is also a reference to the movie The Color of Money in which the same song is played during a pool game.
In Carl Hiassen's 2002 novel Basket Case, Warren Zevon is given co-writing credits of the song used by the novel's fictional band.
Kid Rock's 2007 single "All Summer Long", features the distinctive piano riff of Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London". The video also shows the record on the turntable.
Dragon Boy Suede also used the "Werewolves of London" sample in his song "Nut Valet", which, echoing so many of Zevon's appearances, was performed on a late night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!
In John Ringo's SF novel "When the Devil Dances", Mike 'Papa' O'Neil calls Warren Zevon the 'Balladeer of the Mercenaries' when he plays 'Excitable Boy' to his visitors from the Sub-Urb and some 'Snake Eaters' from SpecOps.
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