Rock fans remember the late Warren Zevon as the literate, eccentric composer of offbeat songs like “Werewolves of London”.
Although Zevon was idolized by other singer-songwriters, he was never commercially successful. His early years were marked by excessive behavior and alcoholism.
Zevon’s final album, “The Wind”, was recorded following his diagnosis with terminal cancer, and he died in 2003.
After his diagnosis, Zevon asked his estranged wife, Crystal, to take care of him, take notes, and complete a warts-and-all biography.
Crystal interviewed more than eighty of Zevon’s friends, including Bonnie Raitt, Billy Bob Thornton, the writer Carl Hiassen and Zevon’ mentor, Jackson Browne.
The result is the new book “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”. The book is an oral history, a document of Zevon’s life and music, told by those who knew him best.
Crystal Zevon first lived in Vermont as a Sugarbush pizza-maker in 1967. She returned when her daughter Ariel attended Marlboro College, and now lives in Barre.
Crystal Zevon is the author of “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”, published by Harper Collins Books.
She will be appearing at Bear Pond Books tonight at 7, and at Exile on Main Street in Barre, Thursday at 3.