History Music / WarrenZevon

Warren Zevon (January 24, 1947 – September 7, 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 Creator/HunterSThompson, he was the only known student of Music/IgorStravinsky ever to break the top forty.

!!!"Dirty Life and Tropes":

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 Creator/HunterSThompson, he was the only known student of Music/IgorStravinsky ever to break the top forty.

* AnitRoleModel: "Mr Bad Example", who doesn't have time for Sloth because he's too busy committing the other six deadly sins.

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

* TheCoverChangesTheMeaning / SofterAndSlowerCover: His cover of Steve Winwood's "Back in the High Life Again" is slower and more melancholy than the original.

* CreatorBreakdown[=/=]RealLifeWritesThePlot: 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.).

** Also, "Leave My Monkey Alone" and "Monkey Wash Donkey Rinse." [[InNameOnly Sorta.]]

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: "She's Too Good For Me."

*** Also, [[spoiler:Lee Ho Fook's]] doesn't sell beef chow mein[[spoiler:, so some think it is people after all]]

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

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 UsefulNotes/{{Grammy Award}}s [[DeadArtistsAreBetter posthumously]], and several of his songs were CoveredUp by other artists. 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 UsefulNotes/{{Grammy Award}}s [[DeadArtistsAreBetter posthumously]]. These days, though, "Werewolves" [[NeverLiveItDown is all anybody remembers]].

** "Roland the headless Thompson Gunner:"

* PrecisionFStrike:
-->"Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money\\
The shit has hit the fan"

** "Werewolves of London":

** "Roland the headless Thompson Gunner":

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 {{Grammy Award}}s [[DeadArtistsAreBetter posthumously]]. These days, though, "Werewolves" [[NeverLiveItDown is all anybody remembers]].

* AntiLoveSong: "Looking for the Next Best Thing", "Nobody's In Love This Year"

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 Music/{{Prince}} to Music/LindaRonstadt to Music/BruceSpringsteen, in styles from rock to country to punk. In interviews he often described himself as a "heavy metal folk singer."

* ObligatoryBondageSong: "Hostage-O"

* MexicanRevolution: "Veracruz"

** "Leave My Monkey Alone." [[InNameOnly Sorta.]]

**

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 Music/{{Prince}} to Linda Ronstadt to Music/BruceSpringsteen, in styles from rock to country to punk. In interviews he often described himself as a "heavy metal folk singer."