Billy Joel led the charge for Warren Zevon Hall of Fame nomination
For decades, Warren Zevon was known either as a “musician’s musician” or a “songwriter’s songwriter”. It was a fancy way of saying that Zevon was more than just the guy who sang ‘Werewolves of London’. Zevon had a rich back catalogue of fascinating, often very funny, and occasionally heartbreaking material that secured him a cult following, even after the hits dried up. Zevon was so beloved by those in the know that even a titanic figure like Bob Dylan mourned his loss when Zevon passed away in 2003.
This year, Zevon has finally gotten some rare recognition from the music industry by receiving a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2023. Most oddsmakers probably have him as an outside contender for getting enshrined in the Hall, but as is always the case, Zevon has some famous names backing him up.
This time it’s the legendary classic rocker Billy Joel. Joel, who himself was inducted into the Hall of Fame back in 1999, apparently made a major push for Zevon to be included among the nominees this year. That push included personal letters to the nomination committee advocating on Zevon’s behalf. Piano men have to stick together, you know.
“I just wanted to put in my two cents of supporting Warren Zevon to be included,” Joel explained in an interview with The Los Angeles Times. “If anyone deserves to be, he does. He was a real original, and I don’t know if that’s appreciated enough. The first minute I saw him, I was knocked out. He was like the crazy brother I never had. He was fearless, and it stuck with me. I never thought he got the attention he deserved.”
“He was a piano player, and we all tend to get lumped into this thing of ‘they’re not real rock guys’ — which I don’t think is fair, but I understand why it happens,” Joel continued. “Piano is perceived to be this middle-of-the-road instrument only played by dorks. But when I saw Warren, he was kind of breaking the piano to pieces, little by little, which I thought was an interesting style.”
Joel also revealed that he had previously sent letters to the voting committee on behalf of Joe Cocker and Cyndi Lauper. Cocker had yet to make the nomination list, but Lauper was among the nominees for the class of 2023. It’s just wonderful to think of Billy Joel sitting down next to his record player and cranking out a three-course meal of Excitable Boy, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, and She’s So Unusual.
Watch Joel cover ‘Werewolves of London’ down below.
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