Warren Zevon's Ex To Mine Grave For Tell-All Memoir, While I Cherish My Chance Meeting With A Music Legend
UPDATE:
Editors Note: I made a grave error and rushed to judgment about this book. I will not defend my actions, but suffice it to say it was written with a noble intentions. I received this thoughtful email that says it better than I could. I am humbled and embarrassed, but I hope my general statements about Warren Zevon have merit and are appreciated. I am a genuine fan of his music.
 Hi.I'm a huge Warren Zevon fan, and caught your blog post from today in a Google alert. I agree with everything you said about his music and his struggles. My only concern is that you come down hard on his ex-wife. I'm sure that in most circumstances that would be fair, but here it isn't.
This is as close to an authorized biography as you can get when the subject is not alive. Zevon's relationship with his ex was close. In fact, it got even closer as he was dying. She was a supporter and confidante during that time, along with his then-girlfriend and his grown children. And he specifically asked her to write this book. It was part of a three-pronged project to try to give himself more of a legacy than he otherwise would have had.
The thing that ate at Warren during his life was that he never got the fame he deserved. One hit single, based on a passing comment by one of the Everly Brothers, and that was it. So when he was dying he let a documentary filmmaker trail him (the DVD of this, by the way, is awesome - funny, sad, and musical genius). He made what I consider the second best album of his long career (the first, "Warren Zevon," is still my favorite). And he told his ex-wife to talk with everyone and to write a history of his life. And to make sure she put in all the crazy stuff. So she did.
I haven't finished the book.  What I have read is wonderful. It is an oral history in the words of the people who knew him, worked with him, were his friends and his lovers. And it is warm, loving, and touching. It is the farthest thing from a hatchet job I could imagine.  If you are a fan, please read it.
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