Warren William Zevon
(January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003)
was an
American rock singer
and songwriter.
His most famous
compositions include
"Werewolves of London",
"Lawyers, Guns and Money",
and
"Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner".
All three songs are
featured on
his third album,
Excitable Boy (1978),
the title track
of which is
also well-known.
He also wrote
major hits
that were recorded by
other artists,
including
"Poor Poor Pitiful Me",
"Mohammed's Radio",
"Carmelita",
and
"Hasten Down the Wind".
Per
The New York Times,
"Mr. Zevon had a
pulp-fiction imagination"
which yielded
"terse, action-packed,
gallows-humored tales
that could sketch an
entire screenplay
in four minutes
and often had death
as a punchline.
But there was also
vulnerability and
longing in
Mr. Zevon's ballads,
like
'Mutineer,'
'Accidentally Like a Martyr',
and
'Hasten Down the Wind.
