Warren Zevon Inducted Into Rock Hall Of Fame

It is about damn time! The induction of Warren Zevon is long overdue. Unfortunately, it was not in the performer category but in the “musical influence” category. I guess I will have to be satisfied with these crumbs.

Two years ago the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame held a vote to see which potential inductees should be voted into the Hall of Fame. Warren Zevon finished in third place which should have won him a spot in the Hall of Fame. The powers that be just flat out ignored the vote and put in those they wanted instead. I believe, if memory serves me correctly, they call it only an “advisory vote”. They did induct Willie Nelson. Now I like Willie but Willie ain’t rock and roll.

This year they got their heads out of their rear ends and finally inducted Warren Zevon. Dave Letterman on whose show Warren often appeared gave the induction speech. You can see parts of it below:

As part of the ceremony, The Killers performed Zevon’s Lawyers, Guns, and Money. As anyone who has ever followed this blog knows, it was the influence for the name of the blog. Given I was a practicing financial planner at the time and not a lawyer, I decided to limit it to only guns and money.

There are so many of Zevon’s song they could have featured but I am obviously glad they went with this one!

2023 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Election (Update)

The nominees for election to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 2023 were announced today. Among the nominees was the late Warren Zevon who is a first-time nominee. That he is not already in the Hall of Fame is an absolute travesty.

If you didn’t know or didn’t figure it out, this blog’s name came from one of Zevon’s most recognizable songs Lawyers, Guns, and Money. It was from his third album Excitable Boy which went as high as number eight on the Billboard charts. Below is a live version of it from 1980.

The Hall of Fame allows you to vote once daily for up to 5 of the nominees. While there were others on the list that I might have voted for such as Willie Nelson, The Spinners, or Cyndi Lauper, I “bullet voted” for Warren Zevon. You do have to log in to vote but you can use your email, Facebook, Google, or Amazon accounts to do it.

To vote, go here: https://vote.rockhall.com/en/

I would urge you to vote early and often for Warren Zevon. As he passed away almost 20 years ago from cancer, it is up to me and other fans to push his election.

I don’t know whether he was a gun guy but he did another song that featured firearms – Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner. It was centered on the African bush wars and the mercenaries that often fought in them.

UPDATE: Thanks to all who are voting each and every day, Warren Zevon is solidly in 3rd place in the standings. Only Cyndi Lauper and George Michael are ahead of him. Time to keep it up!