Warren Zevon, the fabulously cynical singer, songwriter, and all-around nice guy, died in his sleep yesterday at home in Los Angeles. After being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer (mesothelioma) in September 2002, Zevon accepted the news with his typical bent of black humor. For his final album, The Wind (Artemis), Zevon recorded a version of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
When longtime fan and pal David Letterman booked him as the only guest on the “Late Show,” Zevon talked frankly about his life and fate with an easygoing sarcasm that was as pointed as it was poignant. He liked to say that he lived the first half of his life like Jim Morrison, and the second as a loving husband and father. The dynamic between those two lives – the rough-and-tumble vs. conventional contentment – defined also his music, which often skewered American values while wishing for personal love and happiness.