![]() Leaning on the same friends who had supported him musically, Zevon sought treatment for alcoholism. The move from obscurity to sudden stardom and then back off the charts mirrored the turmoil of Zevon ’s life in the late 1970s. ” The Envoy, recorded in 1982, flopped commercially and was to be Zevon ’s last until 1987. 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. Unfortunately Zevon has never matched the commercial success of Excitable Boy. ” But that joke gave Zevon the clout to become a concert headliner ![]() ” The popularity of “Werewolves of London ” surprised Zevon, who told Stephen Fried of GOthat it was “a song that was really just a joke between friends. Gunner, ” as well as the hit “Werewolves of London. Released Wanted Dead or Alive, Imperial, 1970 musical director for the Everly Brothers, 1971-73 played lounge piano in Spain, 1974 scored first Top Ten single, “Werewolves of London, ” 1978.Īwards: Gold record for Excitable Boy, 1978.Īddresses: Office - 1880 Century Park E., #900, Los Angeles, CA 90067. Education: Studied music with Robert Craft. 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 For the Record …īorn January 24, 1947, in Chicago, IL. The resulting album, Warren Zevon, while not a big commercial success, did well enough with the public and with critics to give Zevon the opportunity to record another one.īrowne and Ronstadt both clocked in on the new album as did Waddy Wachtel, Ronstadt ’s guitarist, who became a regular collaborator with Zevon. Linda Ronstadt recorded some of Zevon ’s songs, making his “Hasten Down the Wind ” the title track of a 1976 album, but the most help came from Jackson Browne, who persuaded Asylum to release a solo album by Zevon. Meanwhile, Zevon ’s friends in California were working on his behalf. He worked as a musical director and band member for the Everly Brothers, and then in 1974, went to Spain, where he played piano in a club for tourists. Lack of success put Zevon ’s solo career on hold for a while. Finally in 1970 he got the opportunity to record his first album, Wanted Dead or Alive, which flopped. Even then Zevon was busy writing his own songs, and one of his compositions, “She Got Me Man, ” appeared in the movie Midnight Cowboy. From there he moved to San Francisco, then to Los Angeles, where he met and worked with Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, members of the Eagles, and other performers immersed in the popular southern California rock sound of the 1970s. Zevon spent his youth studying classical piano, but at 16, he left his family ’s California home, guitar in tow, for the New York folk scene of the early 1960s. ” The range of his lyrics, combined with his talents as a musician and composer, have made Zevon a long-standing favorite of critics, fellow musicians, and his devoted fans. Ironic and darkly humorous lyrics remain his trademark, but he also has a serious side that Rolling Stone critic Elysa Gardner called “an almost folk-like earnestness. Since then, though, he has returned to the studio for three solo albums and a collaboration with members of the pop group R.E.M. Zevon ’s next few recordings did not attain the same popularity, however, and Zevon did not release any new material for five years. His first commercial success as a solo artist came in 1978 with the Top Ten single “Werewolves of London, ” from the gold album Excitable Boy. Before beginning his solo career, Zevon worked extensively as a backing musician on stage and in the studio he even wrote jingles. ![]() Warren Zevon ’s career has taken almost as many strange twists and turns as the stories of the bizarre characters in his songs. “You Know, Dear, This Album Isn ’t Funny ”
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