By the age of 13, Zevon was an occasional visitor to the home of Igor Stravinsky where he, alongside Robert Craft, briefly studied modern classical music. Warren's mother was from a Mormon family and was of English descent. William worked for years in Cohen's Combination, where he was known as Stumpy Zevon, and was best man at Cohen's first marriage. William was a bookie who handled volume bets and dice games for notorious Los Angeles mobster Mickey Cohen. His father was a Jewish immigrant from Russia, and his original surname was Zivotovsky. Zevon was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Beverly Cope (née Simmons) and William Zevon. 7 Posthumous releases and biographical works.8 Posthumous releases and biographical works.Letterman later performed guest vocals on 'Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)' with Paul Shaffer and members of the CBS Orchestra on Warren Zevon's My Ride's Here album. He was a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show with David Letterman. Other well-known songs written by Zevon have been recorded by other artists, including ' Poor Poor Pitiful Me' (a huge hit for Linda Ronstadt), 'Accidentally Like a Martyr', 'Mohammed's Radio', ' Carmelita', and 'Hasten Down the Wind'.Īlong with his own compositions, Zevon recorded or performed occasional covers, including Allen Toussaint's 'A Certain Girl', Bob Dylan's ' Knockin' on Heaven's Door' and Leonard Cohen's ' First We Take Manhattan'. His best-known compositions include ' Werewolves of London', ' Lawyers, Guns and Money', ' Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner' and 'Johnny Strikes Up the Band', all of which are featured on his third album, Excitable Boy (1978). Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known musicians, including Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young. He was known for the dark and somewhat outlandish sense of humor in his lyrics. Warren William Zevon ( / ˈ z iː v ɒ n / Janu– September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.

Warren zevon album covers