Warren Zevon

US-born rock and roll singer-songwriter Warren Zevon was noted for his sense of humour, as displayed on arguably his best known record “Werewolves of London”.

Zevon began his music career as a session musician, backing artists including The Everly Brothers and Manfred Mann. His solo career took off with his second album, Warren Zevon. The release featured collaborations with Jackson Browne (who also produced the album), The Eagles and Linda Rondstadt, and is a fan favourite.

The follow-up, Excitable Boy (1978), was described by Rolling Stone as one of the most significant records of the 70s. The singles “Werewolves of London”, “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner” and “Lawyers, Guns and Money” helped make the album a commercial hit. He continued this success with Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, which featured a collaboration with Bruce Springsteen. Sales of his next release were poor however and resulted in him being dropped by his record label, after which Zevon turned to alcohol.

During his rehabilitation from drink and drug problems, Zevon worked with REM members Bill Berry, Peter Buck and Mike Mills, in the blues band Hindu Love Gods. They released one self-titled album, which produced success with a cover of Prince’s “Raspberry Beret”. Berry, Buck and Mills also appeared on the critic-pleasing comeback Sentimental Hygiene. Neil Young, Bob Dylan and George Clinton also helped out on the album. Young would also turn up on the follow-up Transverse City, along with Jerry Garcia and Dave Gilmour, who played guitar on the Top 30 single “Run Straight Down”. But despite the all-star cast and the charting single, the album failed to sell well. After several releases and tours and a five year break, Zevon returned to form with Life’ll Kill Ya and My Ride’s Here, but he did not get much chance to build on his success, as he had been diagnosed with cancer.

Zevon began work on his final album, supported by Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Emmylou Harris and Tom Petty. The album reached No.16 in the charts, his best for many years, and went on to achieve gold sales and earn him two Grammys, the first of his career. However, these were posthumous awards as Zevon died in September 2003.