![]() It is the favourite song of The Wasp Factory author, Iain Banks, who said he was struck by the brilliance of Zevon’s dark lines “You know, the Sheriff’s got his problems too/He will surely take them out on you”. Zevon’s lyrics for Mohammed’s Radio seem hauntingly relevant in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, as he warns, “Everybody’s restless and they’ve got no place to go.” His complex song about angst and despair, which was produced by Jackson Browne for Zevon’s self-titled album from 1976, was about being preyed on by law enforcement, at a time when people were struggling to survive in a depressed economy. I started it, and he finished it.” The song appeared on 1978’s Excitable Boy album. “I passed out, because I don’t drink like that, but he kept going. Browne later said that he could not keep up with Zevon’s fearsome drinking. It is somehow typically Zevon that the song was composed after a wild, drunken night in which he pulled the banister off the stairwell in his house. which was co-written with Jackson Browne. Though Zevon was renowned for his black humour and savage wit, some of Warren Zevon’s best songs proved he was also capable of writing delicate songs about love, including Tenderness On The Block, a moving coming-of-age song about a young girl’s first love. Listen to Warren Zevon’s greatest tracks here, and check out our best Warren Zevon songs, below. Here, then, are our 20 best Warren Zevon songs. Though Zevon said he found life “hard and baffling”, his insights and observations have inspired music fans and musicians alike. His friend and collaborator Bruce Springsteen said Zevon wrote beautifully about “the good, the bad and the ugly”, and described him as “a moralist in cynic’s clothing”.ĭeath and dying were among Zevon’s favourite topics, and the musician was only 56 when his life ended as a result of lung cancer, on 7 September 2003. Though Zevon was noted for his unsettling humour and satirical songs, there is also a vulnerability and longing in his finest ballads which is genuinely touching. His lasting legacy is not his wild life, though as the best Warren Zevon songs prove, it is as one of the most gifted songwriters in modern music. Born on 24 January 1947, he came to embody the dark side of the music industry’s drinking and drug excesses in the 70s. The title was taken from an offhand comment the singer made during his final Letterman appearance.Warren Zevon was a restless, sardonic genius. His cover of “Mutineer” appeared on Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon, a tribute album that came out in 2004. He’d been playing Zevon songs the entire month, sometimes playing three of them a night. On this exact same night, Bob Dylan covered the song during a gig in St. Here’s a video of “Mutineer” from the Letterman show. I felt like, ‘I can’t be in this movie, I didn’t get my lines.’ That was very tough.”Ĭontrary to the predictions of many doctors, Zevon lived another 11 months after his Letterman appearance, long enough to witness the birth of his grandchild and see The Wind get released to rapturous reviews. He was giving me the guitar that he always used on the show. And as we’re talking, he’s taking his guitar strap and hooking it, wrapping it around, then he puts the guitar into the case and he flips the snaps on the case and says, ‘Here, I want you to have this, take good care of it.’ And I just started sobbing. Here’s a guy who had months to live and we’re making small talk. “After the show, it was heartbreaking - he was in his dressing room,” Letterman told Rolling Stone in 2008. “It’s not like bed rest and a lot of water will straighten you out.”įlashback: Warren Zevon and Neil Young Duet on 'Splendid Isolation' in 1993 “They certainly don’t discourage you from doing whatever you want,” he said. It means you better get your dry cleaning done on special.” He also talked about his in-progress album The Wind, which came out the following August. “I have a form of lung cancer that spread. “I might have made a tactical error by not going to a physician for 20 years,” he said. The October 30th, 2002 show one of the most emotional Letterman broadcasts ever, but Zevon did his best to keep things light. The Crackup and Resurrection of Warren Zevon “You’ve been the best friend my music has ever had.” Letterman was a huge Zevon fan and he’d featured the singer on his show dozens of times, often subbing him in for Paul Shaffer when the bandleader was busy with other projects. #When did warren zevon die fullNot long after finding out he had an inoperable form of lung cancer, Warren Zevon was booked on the Late Show With David Letterman as the only guest for the full hour. ![]()
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