Singer Warren Zevon died on Sunday at the age of 56 of mesothelioma, asbestos-caused cancer. He revealed that he had terminal cancer in September 2002; his initial prognosis was only three months, although this pronouncement infuriated his son Jordan: “Human beings have no right to tell other human beings how long they have to live unless they have some kind of firearm in their hands. Thank God he didn’t take it and use it as an excuse to throw everything away and give up.” And by all accounts Zevon did not give up. He was able to survive for a whole year after his diagnosis, spending his remaining days with his children and working on a final album, the development of which is chronicled in a VH1 special (which I ironically Tivoed but haven’t watched yet). I really enjoy his work, especially his trademark sardonic wit, although I must admit that I only own his greatest hits CD. I had planned on buying his latest album, The Wind, although it will certainly have a different perspective to it now.
Initially I hadn’t planned on posting anything about Zevon’s passing, but I decided that this was a story worth telling, even if I’m not qualified to do so. One of the best online tributes I came across is this series of pages, so you should really visit them to read more about him. Warren Zevon’s official page has a final message that is quite fitting, considering his penchant for facing death “with the same dark sense of humor found in much of his music:” “Enjoy every sandwich.”
