Excitable Boy is the third studio album by American musician Warren Zevon. The album was released on January 18, 1978, by Asylum Records. It includes the single "Werewolves of London", which reached No. 21 and remained in the American Top 40 for six weeks. The album brought Zevon to commercial attention and remains the best-selling album of his career, having been certified platinum by the RIAA and reaching the top ten on the US Billboard 200. A remastered and expanded edition was released in 2007.
Excitable Boy
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. His most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner". All three songs are featured on his third album, Excitable Boy (1978), the title track of which is also well-known. He also wrote major hits that were recorded by other artists, including "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", "Accidentally Like a Martyr", "Mohammed's Radio", "Carmelita", and "Hasten Down the Wind".
Zevon in a press photo, 1978
Zevon in Heidelberg as the opener for Jackson Browne in 1976. He toured solo.
Country rock musician Linda Ronstadt helped popularize Zevon's songs in the 1970s.
Comedian and TV host David Letterman was credited by Zevon as "being the best friend my music ever had".