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Letterman remembers Warren Zevon's last appearance

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Smasher_Sloan, Sep 3, 2008.

  1. Smasher_Sloan

    Smasher_Sloan Active Member

    From an AP story about an upcoming Rolling Stone story on Letterman:


    In the Rolling Stone article, Letterman discusses guests including
    Madonna, Oprah Winfrey and Howard Stern, with the most moving remarks
    about musician Warren Zevon, who appeared on "Late Show" shortly before
    his 2003 death from cancer.

    Letterman recalled his "heartbreaking" meeting with Zevon in a dressing
    room after the show.

    "Here's a guy who had months to live and we're making small talk. And as
    we're talking, he's taking his guitar strap and hooking it, wrapping it
    around, then he puts the guitar into the case and he flips the snaps on
    the case and says, `Here, I want you to have this, take good care of
    it.' And I just started sobbing.

    "He was giving me the guitar that he always used on the show. I felt
    like, 'I can't be in this movie, I didn't get my lines.' That was very
    tough," Letterman said.
     
  2. Football_Bat

    Football_Bat Well-Known Member

    I still miss Warren Zevon, myself. I never realized how young he was when he died.

    "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" was brilliant. I think he got unfairly branded as a novelty artist thanks to "Werewolves of London," but that whole album was amazing. "Roland" (which BTW was the B side to the "Werewolves" single) was much more the norm.
     
  3. Smasher_Sloan

    Smasher_Sloan Active Member

    Much in the same way, people know Randy Newman for "Short People," and didn't even get the joke on that one.
     
  4. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]

    There has never been a better alblum. Some are on par, but nothing can honestly say it was better.
     
  5. Dyno

    Dyno Well-Known Member

    I taped that Zevon appearance on Letterman on VHS. Letterman just gave him the whole hour. Makes me cry every time I watch it.
     
  6. EStreetJoe

    EStreetJoe Well-Known Member

    The VH1 documentary on the making of his last album, The Wind, includes part of that Letterman appearance and the whole documentary can make you tear up.
    http://www.amazon.com/VH1-Inside-Out-Warren-Zevon/dp/B0000V46RM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220448835&sr=1-1
     
  7. Not Letterman, but Larry Sanders.

     
  8. friend of the friendless

    friend of the friendless Active Member

    Sirs, Madames,

    I bought the VH 1 doc secondhand the other day. A lot of the Letterman interview. Heartbreaking stuff, Letterman barely make it through. I paraphrase: Letterman starts by asking him about "a recent change in your life." Z replies, "You heard about the flu?"

    DL's finest moment (next to his return from the cardiac deal). The whole show was on the Internets somewhere but I never bookmarked it and I suspect WWP ordered it taken down. Too bad.

    Saw him live back in the day. Still remember Dave Marsh in RS placing Excitable Boy up with Born to Run and The Pretender. I think the eponymous blue debut is far better: The French Inhaler ("So I drank up all the money, yes I drank up all the money, with these phoneys in this Hollywood bar, these friends of mine in this Hollywood bar"), Mohammed's Radio, Desperadoes Under the Eaves ("waking up with shaking hands and I'm trying to find a girl who understands me"), Carmelita (pawning a Smith-Corona).

    I hope heaven has a Pioneer Chicken Stand.

    Enjoy Every Sandwich, etc
     
  9. Dyno

    Dyno Well-Known Member

    I saw Zevon right before his diagnosis. He was coughing a lot. He said something about having bronchitis.
     
  10. Claws for Concern

    Claws for Concern Active Member

    The Wind album is a nice collection of stuff, even if it is guest star heavy. His song with Emmylou Harris -- "Please Stay" -- is priceless.

    I also like Keep Me in Your Heart, the final song.
     
  11. Frank_Ridgeway

    Frank_Ridgeway Well-Known Member

    Hula Hula Boys:

     
  12. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    Paul Nelson's classic RS story about Zevon's bout with the bottle. One of the best things I've ever read in the mag. The first time I read it online it was full of typos (I think some of it is missing too) but that may have been corrected. Still, a worthwhile - if long - read.

    http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/warrenzevon/articles/story/5935191/warren_zevons_resurrection
     
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