20 years ago this week, a dying Warren Zevon made his last appearance on The Late Show to say goodbye to his fans

Dalek · Nov 2, 2022

I still think about this a lot. For those that don't know, Warren Zevon was a musician that was famous in the 70s and 80s-most notably for his hit "Werewolves of London". In 2002, he learned that he had terminal cancer. Knowing he didn't have much time to live, he wanted to record one last album and he rushed into the studio to record his finale - The Wind.

Warren-Zevon-David-Letterman-Pic-Barbara-Nitke-CBS-1.jpg

In interviews, Zevon described a lifelong phobia of doctors and said he seldom consulted one. He had started working out, and he looked physically fit. Shortly before playing at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in 2002, he started feeling dizzy and developed a chronic cough. After a period of suffering with pain and shortness of breath, Zevon was encouraged by his dentist to see a physician; he was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, a cancer (usually caused by exposure to asbestos) that affects the pleura, a thin membrane around the lungs and chest lining. Zevon was deeply shaken by the news and began drinking again after 17 years of sobriety.[24]

Although Zevon never revealed where he may have been exposed to asbestos, his son, Jordan, suggests that it came from Zevon's childhood, playing in the attic of his father's carpet store in Arizona. Refusing treatments he believed might incapacitate him, Zevon instead began recording his final album, The Wind, which includes performances by close friends including Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh, David Lindley, Billy Bob Thornton, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty, and Dwight Yoakam. At the request of the music television channel VH1, documentarian Nick Read was given access to the sessions and made the television film Inside Out: Warren Zevon.[25]

On 10/30/02, after it had been announced that he was dying, he made his final appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman to say goodbye to his fans, give Dave some of his unique perspective on the end of the road and performed 3 songs. This appearance is burned in my brain. I looked it up today and I realized that it happened 20 years ago this week.

On October 30, 2002, Zevon was featured on the Late Show with David Letterman as the only guest for the entire hour. The band played "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" as his introduction. Zevon performed several songs and spoke at length about his illness. Zevon had been a frequent guest and occasional substitute bandleader on Letterman's television shows since Late Night was first broadcast in 1982. He noted, "I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." It was during this broadcast that, when asked by Letterman if he knew something more about life and death now, he first offered his oft-quoted insight that people need to "enjoy every sandwich."[22] He also thanked Letterman for his years of support, calling him "the best friend my music's ever had". For his final song of the evening, and his final public performance, Zevon performed "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" at Letterman's request. In the green room after the show, Zevon presented Letterman with the guitar that he always used on the show, with a single request: "Here, I want you to have this, take good care of it."[26] The day after Zevon's death, Letterman paid tribute to him by replaying his performance of "Mutineer" from his last appearance. The Late Show band played Zevon's songs throughout the night.

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Zevon stated previously that his illness was expected to be terminal within months after diagnosis in late 2002. However, he lived to see the birth of twin grandsons in June 2003 and the release of The Wind on August 26, 2003. Owing in part to the first VH1 broadcasts of Nick Read's documentary Warren Zevon: Keep Me in Your Heart, the album reached number 12 on the U.S. charts, Zevon's highest placement since Excitable Boy. When his diagnosis became public, Zevon told the media that he just hoped to live long enough to see the next James Bond movie (Die Another Day), a goal he accomplished.

He died 10 months after this appearance on September 2003 at the age of 56.

The final song on this final album, "Keep Me In Your Heart For a While" is chilling and at the same time comforting.

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Dalek · Nov 2, 2022

I just saw that The Ringer also wrote about this this week:

The Night Warren Zevon Left the ‘Late Show’ Building

On October 30, 2002, a cancer-stricken Warren Zevon returned to the ‘Late Show With David Letterman’ stage for one last performance. Twenty years later, Letterman and more remember the gravitas and emotion of that stunning night.

www.theringer.com

On October 30, 2002, a cancer-stricken Warren Zevon returned to the 'Late Show With David Letterman' stage for one last performance. Twenty years later, Letterman and more remember the gravitas and emotion of that stunning night.

Letterman, 20 years later, still thinks about the interview. "It was the only time in my talk show history that I did anything like that," he says. "I've never sat down and talked to anybody on television where we both understood they were about to die."

Warren Zevon appeared on Late Show With David Letterman on October 30, 2002. That summer, he had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Doctors gave him a few months to live. To say goodbye to the musician who had graced his stage dozens of times over the previous two decades, Letterman devoted a full episode to him. There were no Hollywood stars promoting a movie, no musical guests debuting a new single. It was just Zevon. He and Letterman chatted, and then he played three songs.

"There are two things at work here, and only one of them I know for a fact: that when people get to be on television, they raise their game because they get to be on television," Letterman says. "The other thing is, we guessed maybe that there was some pharmaceutical help. But it was stunning. And again, from my standpoint, do you expect a guy to be good-natured about it? I mean, God. It was weird."

The singer-songwriter's final hour with Letterman unfolded into one of the most memorable moments of their careers. Like a classic Zevon track, their conversation was shockingly funny and casually profound. "David didn't make it like a whole long greeting card," says comedian Richard Lewis, a buddy of Zevon's and a frequent Letterman guest. "It was just like two guys bullshitting on a park bench.

When Letterman asked his friend how his work had changed after learning that he was sick, he replied, "You're reminded to enjoy every sandwich." As soon as he heard it, Letterman's longtime band leader Paul Shaffer knew the line would become famous. "Man, if I had only said that in my life," he says, "I think my life would've been worth something."

Looking back on it now, Letterman can't believe the send-off happened at all. "If I was dying, I'm not going to go and talk to anybody on TV about me and my impending death," he says. "Selfishly, and of course under the circumstances, why would I think about anything other than myself? That's all you need to know about what I am." Zevon, however, seemed to savor the chance to give himself over to Letterman and his audience one last time. "He was kind of on a mission," says Late Show producer and booker Sheila Rogers. "He knew what he was doing. He was almost revitalized a little bit. It was so important, this appearance."

gforguava · Nov 2, 2022

My mother was a big fan of his so I was more acutely ware of his death than with a lot of other musicians.

His final album is truly wonderful but it can't be said enough just how sad "Keep Me In Your Heart For A While" is, to be able to write and perform that knowing you are dying is something else and it gives the song an immense power. It is still the saddest song I've ever heard.

greenhadoken · Nov 2, 2022

Thanks for sharing. I knew a little of Zevon's music, but none of this. This was a pretty beautiful video

Dalek · Nov 2, 2022

gforguava said:
My mother was a big fan of his so I was more acutely ware of his death than with a lot of other musicians.

His final album is truly wonderful but it can't be said enough just how sad "Keep Me In Your Heart For A While" is, to be able to write and perform that knowing you are dying is something else and it gives the song an immense power. It is still the saddest song I've ever heard.

I cry literally everytime I hear it.

AlexBasch · Nov 2, 2022

To be honest, I heard about him thanks to Rock Bands 3 since it features Werewolves of London in the game setlist and ventured a bit into his music. Didn't know this piece of info and it was a wild ride to learn it just now. Wow.

Ishmael · Nov 2, 2022

Thank you for posting about this anniversary. The directness and grace with which Zevon approached his final album and final appearance on Letterman was remarkable.

Divine Moleman · Nov 2, 2022

Meseotheolioma? I was always under the impression that his shit was fucked up. Pretty sure thats what the doctor told him.

In-jokes aside. Zevon rocks. Pretty sure no one else has a song thats about your cattle dying, PTSD and your grandpa pissing his pants (again) and make it an actual rockin' jam that has a kick ass guitar solo.