Warren Zevon began life the son of “Stumpy” Zevon, a Jewish immigrant born William Zivotofsky in the Ukraine before changing it to Zevon. To feed his family Zevon worked as a bookie handling volume bets and dice games for notorious Los Angeles mobster Mickey Cohen. Zevon ended up working for years in Cohen’s gang and was best man at Cohen’s wedding.
Stumpy’s son Warren, once student to the legendary, world renowned classical composer Igor Stravinsky, turned professional musician, singer, songwriter while still in high school, forming a duo whose first single, produced by Bones Howe, reached number 65 on Billboards Pop Chart in April 1966. No bad for a first timer!
Soon afterwards, Zevon’s parents divorced. He quit high school and, driving a sports car his gangster father won in a card game, moved from Los Angeles to New York to become a folk singer.
And so begins the 55 year odyssey from the release of his ironically titled 1970 debut album Wanted Dead Or Alive to his posthumous induction into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame on November 8, 2025.
Join us, along with David Letterman and the man himself, as we retrace the steps of his journey from Stumpy Zevon’s kid to Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Inductee.
Listener Discretion Is Advised as there is some objectional language used and subject matter not suitable for all audiences.
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