History Music / WarrenZevon

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Warren was hired to write several of these for a ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode called "King of the Road." One of them, "Roll with the Punches", appears on the album ''I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.''

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: In "Werewolves of London":
-->''You'd better stay away from him''
-->''He'll rip your lungs out, Jim''
-->''Huh, I'd like to meet his tailor''

** The "So I pawned my Smith-Corona[[hottip:note:[[Typewriter]]]]" in "Carmelita" is a reference to ''Film/TheLostWeekend.''

** The "So I pawned my Smith-Corona[[hottip:note:[[Typewriter]]" in "Carmelita" is a reference to ''Film/TheLostWeekend.''

* CelebrityCameo: Creator/DavidLetterman says "Hit somebody" in the chorus of "Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)".

* CensoredTitle: The song "My Shit's Fucked Up" wasn't listed on the back of the CD case for "Life'll Kill Ya".

* CrapsackWorld: "The Indifference of Heaven," ''Transverse City,'' etc., etc.
* CreatorBreakdown: Zevon was a very personal songwriter. Many of his songs reflect his romantic feelings ('Reconsider Me', 'Searching For A Heart'), his issues with drugs and alcohol ('Desperados Under The Eaves', 'Trouble Waiting To Happen'), his experiences with Los Angeles and California in general ('Carmelita', most of ''Transverse City'' possibly). Of course, the man had a sense of humour, so this is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] frequently (see 'Poor Poor Pitiful Me', 'Bad Karma', 'Mr. Bad Example', etc.).

* PersonaNonGrata: In 'Lord Byrons Luggage'
-->''They pronounced me persona non grata''
-->''Goes to show that you can't come and go as you please''

-->''Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money''
-->''The shit has hit the fan''

** The ''Stand in the Fire'' live version of 'Werewolves of London' has a couple, if only in passing. Some of these are quotable in Zevon fan communities.
--> ''You'd better stay from him, he'll rip your lungs out Jim, [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome AND HE'S LOOKING FOR JAMES TAYLOR]].''

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Warren was hired to write several of these for a ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode called ''King of the Road''. One of them, "Roll with the Punches", appears on the album "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead."

* HeavyMeta: "Mohammed's Radio", "Johnny Strikes Up the Band"

* SomethingBlues: "Tule's Blues"

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Warren was hired to write several of these for a ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode called ''King of the Road''. One of them, "Roll with the Punches", appears on the album "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead."

Networking, I install with ease\\
Data processed, truly Basic\\
I will upload you, you can download me"

* TechnologyMarchesOn: From "Networking" on 1989's ''Transverse City''
* VillainSong: "Mr. Bad Example".

He's often described as a OneHitWonder, though this isn't actually true. Two of his songs ("Werewolves of London" and a cover of "A Certain Girl") made the Billboard Hot 100 (and "Leave My Monkey Alone" got up to #12 on the Dance/Club list), two of his albums (''A Quiet Normal Life'' and ''The Wind'') went gold, and another (''Excitable Boy'') went platinum. He also won two GrammyAwards [[DeadArtistsAreBetter posthumously]]. These days, though, "Werewolves" [[NeverLiveItDown is all anybody remembers]].

He's often described as a OneHitWonder, though this isn't actually true. Two of his songs ("Werewolves of London" and a cover of "A Certain Girl") made the Billboard Hot 100 (and "Leave My Monkey Alone" got up to #12 on the Dance/Club list), two of his albums (''A Quiet Normal Life'' and ''The Wind'') went gold, and another (''Excitable Boy'') went platinum. He also won two Grammys [[DeadArtistsAreBetter posthumously]]. These days, though, "Werewolves" [[NeverLiveItDown is all anybody remembers]].

!!Warren Zevon provides examples of these tropes:

--> ''You'd better stay from him, he'll rip your lungs out Jim, [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome AND HE'S LOOKING FOR JAMES TAYLOR]].''

** "Play It All Night Long" is one to the DeepSouth (though it [[CrossesTheLineTwice may be a]] StealthParody).

Warren Zevon (1947-2003) was a Southern California singer-songwriter who had one big hit in the late 1970s with "Werewolves of London" and a cult following. Friend to HunterSThompson, he was the only known student of Stravinski ever to break the top forty.

The list of songs he wrote for other artists is long, and may contain surprises. He wrote songs for artists ranging from The Turtles to {{Prince}} to Linda Ronstadt to BruceSpringsteen, in styles from rock to country to punk. In interviews he often described himself as a "heavy metal folk singer."

!!WarrenZevon provides examples of these tropes:

* ProductionPosse: They didn't all show up on every album, but you can reasonably expect the following names to show up in the credits: JacksonBrowne, Waddy Wachtel, Jorge Calderón, David Lindley, J.D. Souther, at least one [[{{Eagles}} Eagle]] (usually Glenn Frey, but sometimes almost the entire band), at least one member of FleetwoodMac, and, in the later ones, his son Jordan Zevon.
* ShoutOut: "Johnny Strikes Up the Band" is reportedly a tribute to EltonJohn.

** The entirety of "Porcelain Monkey" is one against [[Main/ElvisPresley Elvis]] .
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Warren was hired to write several of these for a ''TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode called ''King of the Road''. One of them, "Roll with the Punches", appears on the album "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead."

* SignatureSong: "Werewolves of London"

* BlackComedy

* DeadBabyComedy: Which could sum up a lot of Zevon's career in general. See such classics as "Excitable Boy," "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner," "Mr. Bad Example," and others.
** Discussing his inoperable, fatal cancer: "I may have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years."
** "Excitable Boy", perhaps, but "Roland" is hardly comedic, despite the ironic nature of how he settles his score. [[spoiler: Roland's supernaturally reanimated corpse stalks all of Africa for the man who blew his head off. When he finds him, he blows the man's entire BODY away.]]

* TheJimmyHartVersion: Warren was hired to write several of these for a ''TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode called ''King of the Road''. One of them, "Roll with the Punches", appears on the album "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead."

[[FunnyAneurysmMoment http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Warren_Zevon_2590.jpg]]