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Werewolves of London
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Werewolves of London
| cover = Werewolves of London Single.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Warren Zevon
| album = Excitable Boy
| B-side = Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
| released = January 18, 1978
| recorded = 1977
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 3:27
| label = Asylum
| writer = LeRoy Marinell, Waddy Wachtel, Warren Zevon
| producer = Jackson Browne, Waddy Wachtel
| prev_title = Hasten Down the Wind
| prev_year = 1977
| next_title = Lawyers, Guns and Money
| next_year = 1978
| misc =
}}
"'Werewolves of London'" is a rock song performed by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. It was composed by Zevon, LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel and was included on 'Excitable Boy' (1978), Zevon's third solo album. The track featured Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood and John McVie on drums and bass respectively. The single was released by Asylum Records and was a top 40 US hit, the only one of Zevon's career, reaching No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 that May.
Background and recording
The song began as a joke by Phil Everly (of The Everly Brothers) to Zevon in 1975, over two years before the recording sessions for 'Excitable Boy'.George Plasketes (June 15, 2016). [https://medium.com/cuepoint/the-secret-inspiration-behind-warren-zevons-werewolves-of-london-4a5fa337a7f1 The Secret Inspiration Behind Warren Zevons Werewolves of London], Medium.com, accessed 30 July 2018 Everly had watched a television broadcast of the 1935 film 'Werewolf of London' and "suggested to Zevon that he adapt the title for a song and dance craze." Zevon, Marinell and Wachtel played with the idea and wrote the song in about 15 minutes, all contributing lyrics that were transcribed by Zevon's then-wife Crystal. However, none of them took the song seriously.
Soon after, Zevon's friend Jackson Browne saw the lyrics and thought "Werewolves of London" had potential and began performing the song during his own live concerts. T Bone Burnett also performed the song, on the first leg of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour in the autumn of 1975. Burnett's version of the song included alternate or partially improvized lyrics mentioning stars from classical Hollywood cinema, along with mentions of vanished labor leader Jimmy Hoffa, and adult film stars Marilyn Chambers and Linda Lovelace. "Excitable Boy" and "Werewolves of London" were considered for but not included on Zevon's self-titled second album in 1976.Zevon, Crystal. 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon', p. 112.
According to Wachtel, "Werewolves of London" was "the hardest song to get down in the studio I've ever worked on."Zevon, Crystal. 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon', p. 138. However, Wachtel "laid down his solo in one take." They tried at least seven different configurations of musicians in the recording studio before being satisfied with McVie and Fleetwood's contributions. The protracted studio time and musicians' fees led to the song eating up most of the album's budget.
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The song's lyrics "He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fooks / Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein" refer to Lee Ho Fook, a Chinese restaurant on 15 Gerrard Street in London's Chinatown, which is in the West End of London. Egon Ronay's Dunlop Guide for 1974 discussed the restaurant and said it served Cantonese cuisine.
Over Zevon's objections, Elektra Records chose "Werewolves of London" as the album's first single (he preferred "Johnny Strikes Up the Band" or "Tenderness on the Block"). The song was a quick hit, staying in the Billboard Top 40 chart for over a month.
Personnel
*Warren Zevon piano, vocals
*Mick Fleetwood drums
*John McVie electric bass
*Waddy Wachtel guitar
Reception and legacy
BBC Radio 2 listeners rated it as having the best opening line in a song.
Zevon later said of the song, "I don't know why that became such a hit. We didn't think it was suitable to be played on the radio. It didn't become an albatross. It's better that I bring something to mind than nothing. There are times when I prefer that it was "Bridge Over Troubled Water", but I don't think bad about the song. I still think it's funny." He also described "Werewolves of London" as a novelty song, "[but] not a novelty the way, say, Steve Martin's "King Tut" is a novelty."
The song had a resurgence in popularity in 1986 due to its use in a scene in 'The Color of Money', where Tom Cruise dances and lip-syncs to the song in a scene in which Cruise "displayed the depths of his talents at the billiards game of 9-ball."Brad Steiger, 'The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings', 2011, p. 315.
After Zevon's death in 2003, Browne stated that he interpreted the song as describing an upper-class English womanizer: "It's about a really well-dressed, ladies' man, a werewolf preying on little old ladies. In a way it's the Victorian nightmare, the gigolo thing."
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Samples and other versions
* The Grateful Dead covered the song in a number of live concerts in 1978, one of which was released on 'Red Rocks: 7/8/78'. The group resurrected the song for Halloween night concerts in 1985, 1990, and 1991.
* The Flamin' Groovies included a cover of this song in their 1979 album 'Jumpin' in the Night'.
* David Lindley and El Rayo-X released the song on the 1988 album 'Very Greasy'.
* Adam Sandler provided a version for the tribute album, 'Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon' (October 2004). Sandler also performed it on the 'Late Show' on 15 December 2004.
* American pop-rocker Masha covered the song for a Three Olives Vodka ad campaign in 2014.
* Kid Rock sampled this song in 2008 (and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama", which has a similar riff) on "All Summer Long" and credits Zevon as a songwriter.
References
Category:1978 singles
Category:1978 songs
Category:Asylum Records singles
Category:Black comedy music
Category:Halloween songs
Category:Songs about London
Category:Songs about werewolves
Category:Songs written by Warren Zevon
Category:Warren Zevon songs
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