How The Everly Brothers inspired Warren Zevon on ‘Werewolves of London’
Before he made a name for himself as one of the smartest and slyest singer-songwriters of the late 1970s, Warren Zevon was making ends meet playing keyboards in studio sessions. It was a common path for musicians of the time, with everyone from Glen Campbell to Marvin Gaye to Steely Dan getting their start as backing players for other artists. Zevon was no different, and he managed to play with a few legends before becoming one himself.
If you poke around, you can find Zevon’s name on credits for everyone from The Turtles to Jackson Browne. But Zevon’s most substantial early gig was with The Everly Brothers. Phil and Don Everly were certifiable legends by the mid-1970s, but they were far removed from their contemporary heyday 20 years earlier. Zevon got the job as the duo’s keyboard player, eventually rising to the ranks of bandleader and main songwriter for the pair.
At one point, you could even find Zevon and Lindsey Buckingham playing together with the Everlys in 1972. However, by 1973, the ever-fraught relationship between the brothers hit a breaking point. After a particularly nasty fight, the brothers officially parted ways, and Zevon opted to join Phil’s newly formed backing band.
A year before Zevon’s self-titled second album came out in 1976, Phil Everly suggested a new song idea to Zevon. Everly had watched the 1935 horror film Werewolves of London on television one night, and when he encountered Zevon the next day, he joked that Zevon should write a song about it. In Everly’s head, the song would have been a dance craze not unlike ‘The Monster Mash’.
Zevon wasn’t quite as taken with the idea, but when he was joined by musicians LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel in the studio, the thought returned to his head. With his wife Crystal jotting down ideas, Zevon began throwing out random lines with Marinell and Wachtel. In about 15 minutes, the trio had crafted a rough narrative and devised a three-chord progression that looped throughout the song. It wasn’t much, and Zevon put it to the side.
Not long after, Browne heard Zevon’s initial recording and decided that he was going to perform the song himself. T Bone Burnett also took to playing the song while he appeared on Bob Dylan’s ‘Rolling Thunder Revue’ tour in 1975. Zevon passed over putting ‘Werewolves of London’ on his 1976 album Warren Zevon, but the song was given an official studio release on 1978’s Excitable Boy. It would be Zevon’s only top 40 hit of his career, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May of 1978.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Classic Rock Newsletter
All the latest Classic Rock content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.