Warren Zevon

A great storyteller and eccentric lyricist, Warren Zevon crafted some of the most vivid songs of his era and became respected and acclaimed by everyone from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen. Raised in California, Zevon studied classical music before moving to New York at the age of 16, working as a folk singer, session musician and songwriter for The Turtles, and later touring as a band leader for The Everly Brothers. Yet, his solo career failed to take off and he found himself living on the outskirts of Barcelona performing in an Irish bar, before being coaxed back to Los Angeles by Jackson Browne, who produced and promoted his self-titled second album in 1976.

Zevon's reputation grew when Linda Ronstadt covered his song 'Carmelita', and success finally came his way when 'Excitable Boy' reached number eight in the US Albums Chart in 1978 and produced his signature classic 'Werewolves of London'. His dark comic tales told of his troubles with alcoholism alongside a crazed cast of characters, but his music remained an upbeat, dynamic mix of soft rock, blues and pop. 1980's 'Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School' was another high point and Zevon became a regular and popular guest on 'The Late Show With David Letterman', where he announced in 2002 that he had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. After the news, Zevon worked frantically to finish his final album 'The Wind' which was released shortly before his death in September 2003 and posthumously went on to win two Grammy Awards.