David Letterman, who hosted Warren Zevon’s last television appearance before his death in 2002, paid tribute to his friend Saturday night with a lengthy induction speech at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that lasted several times longer than the Killers’ salute. The former late-night show host mixed in a werewolf joke with a memory of how he broke down in tears at the end of his last encounter with Zevon.
Letterman talked about how he had Zevon appear on his show shortly after he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and given only months to live. It was there that Zevon uttered his famous “enjoy every sandwich” advice, and Letterman talked about following the singer-songwriter backstage. So Zevon handed him the electric guitar he had used during his many appearances on the show and said, “Take good care of this.” “I knew what was going to happen,” Letterman said, “and then it happened. I started sobbing uncontrollably.”
Mr. Letterman stood next to the guitar in question and said, “For 22 years, I’ve cared for that guitar. … God, tonight it’s back to work.” He told Killers lead guitarist Dave Keuning: “It’s all yours, sir.” At that point, it was left to the Killers, who included special guest Waddy Wachtel, who played guitar on most of Zevon’s most famous records, to close out the tribute with their version of one of Winner’s signature songs, “Lawyers, Guns and Money.”
It was just a one-song tribute, and his most famous song, “Werewolves of London,” was not considered – apart from a few “Ah-oooh!”s. A phrase that Brandon Flowers tackled as a semi-subtle interpolation near the end of “The Lawyer.”
Read Letterman’s full speech below.
“I’m Dave, the Letterman from ‘They Call Me the Breeze.’ I mean, honest to God, how great is this, guys? After Salt-N-Pepa, it’s hard not to be a little disappointed. I don’t blame you. Let’s finish the show and go home. Well, for me. , one is just getting out of the house, but two can’t express how much fun it is to be here. And I want to thank everyone who invited me to participate.” On behalf of Warren Zevon, on behalf of his family, and on behalf of everyone who loves Warren’s music, I want to thank you for this.
“About a week ago, I spoke to Jordan, Warren’s son, and I said, ‘Jordan, first of all, it’s an incredible honor to be a part of this event. Thank you again. Is there anything else you’d like me to say that night?’ And Jordan said, ‘Yeah.’ There are three things I would like to mention. As a child, Warren studied with classical composer Igor Stravinsky. ” “Okay, I’ll do that,” I said. I said, “Well, I had a paper route when I was a kid,” and we continued. He said, “I want you to mention the Stampy gang.” I said, “Okay, okay.” It’s Stumpy the Gang. “He said, “Next, I want you to mention Bev, the Mormon.” “Okay, Stumpy the gangster, Bev the Mormon. Okay.” So I said, “By the way, Jordan, those are my two favorite songs.” He said, “That was his parents, you idiot.”
“Oh, by the way, Igor Stravinsky is still waiting for his nomination.
“I first learned about Warren Zevon’s music when Rolling Stone had a big front-page feature on him. It was called ‘The Fall and Resurrection of Warren Zevon.’ That was the title of the article. The subtitle was ‘How He Saved Himself from the Death of a Coward.’ So, God, this caught my attention and I read the article because I liked the guy’s music, but at some point in the article I realized that Warren had some kind of problem with addiction. He is being tortured. He has emotional issues, is addicted, and is suffering. And we all know that sometimes these stories don’t end well. It turns out that at some point he got extremely drunk, picked up a gun, and started making his own record album. At the time, I was a TV weather forecaster, so this was outside of my experience. But because of that, Warren was able to fight through, with the help of his family and friends, and even saved his own life. And I just wonder, which is more difficult: saving your own life or saving someone else’s life? Or is it equality? But God, the fact that Warren existed through all of this, suffered so much, and saved his own life, makes me realize that it’s even more precious as I listen to his music.
“Then, when I got to know Warren in person. I used to have a TV show on NBC. If you remember NBC, please help me. Warren was a guest on that show, often filling in for music director Paul Schaefer. And these two… It was a pleasure for me to be around and listen to Warren and talk to Warren and get to know Warren. And I was fascinated by the album that Warren made in the 1970s, which was called ‘Stand in the Fire.’ It was a live album recorded at the Roxy on Sunset Boulevard, and the energy of that album just jumped out at you from the record at the time, and it just jumped on you and hit you. It was wonderful. I was talking to Warren on the show about that album, and I said, “Warren, ‘Stand in the Fire’ was so great.” The music on that live album, I couldn’t get enough of it. It was very dynamic. ” Warren looked at me and said, “Well, to be honest, Dave, I don’t really remember much when it comes to the ’70s,” he said, as if to explain his struggles. But then the music that we heard, that Warren was playing with our band, and I’m sorry to say this, but when we were in that studio, it was my own version of “20 Feet from Stardom.” It was fun,
“As we know, many in the music world pretend that Warren is a poet who leaves little to the vagaries of life. Warren’s music is rich with historical fantasy, love, and sadness, and colored with unexpected whimsy. Rock ‘n’ roll delivered on third-rail voltage, or sweet and wistful, delivered in rich, symphonic melodies, both versions of this man’s music are classics.”
“Rock and roll…just ask Warren’s buddies. Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan. No, just ask Igor Stravinsky. Warren Zevon is in my Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in his own division, actually.”
“I had an idea. Bear with me on this one. I’m obsessed with Warren Zevon’s work, so I decided that when I come here tonight on Waymo, I might as well make a list of Warren Zevon songs and explain some of them to this audience. And remember, I’m not a musicologist and I’m not a rock professor. Are you ready? Let’s go. I’m not a musicologist anymore. I have categorized them into three categories.
“The first category: Warren Zevon, global and personal conflicts. ‘Roland, the Headless Thompson Gunner’ — we all know it’s the story of a Norwegian mercenary and Patty Hearst. We all know ‘Excitable Boy’ — it’s the story of a boy who gets so excited about pot roast. ‘Sleep when you’re dead’ — and if this doesn’t get you into the Hall of Fame, then don’t try.
“Category 2: Love songs. “Rebel.” Oh my god, this makes people cry. “Please reconsider me.” This also makes people cry. “Search your heart.” Whenever I hear this song, I feel like I heard it for the first time, and then I start crying.
“So here’s the third category of Warren Zevon songs. Songs about werewolves. That’s right. It’s about a werewolf in London. I don’t know if it’s a true story or not, but here you go.”
A tribute reel followed, with friends and contemporaries including Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Don Henley and Jorge Calderon speaking about Zevon’s influences, interspersed with performance clips of Linda Ronstadt performing a number of covers of his work. Then Letterman came back.
David Letterman speaks on stage during the 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Peacock Theater on November 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images, RRH
“‘Enjoy every sandwich’ is a simple thing, but it means so much. And while there’s not a single person in this room who hasn’t thought about it, no one sticks to it on a daily basis. But God, wouldn’t that also apply to life on Earth? Enjoy every sandwich.
“Here’s a joke I’d like to try. Lo and behold, I’m surrounded by murderers and Wadi Wachtel has been captured. Oh, brother.
“So, that night, Warren was on the show, and that was 22 years ago, the last time I saw Warren after the show, Warren went backstage and I followed him backstage. And even though I had been warned that I could never follow Warren backstage, I And he had his guitar in there, and he used it every time.”He was on our show, and as we were talking, he picked up his guitar and put it in his guitar case. Then flip over the two small guitar clips on top of the guitar case. He closed the guitar case and handed it to me. So I feel like I’ve seen this movie in my head. I now know what should happen, and without a doubt, it actually happened. I couldn’t help but start sobbing. Warren and I hugged and said, “Warren, I love your music.”
“So, for 22 years, I’ve been taking care of guitars. This is the guitar here…You know, in a way, I’m glad the guitar is getting a bigger response than the ‘I’m Surrounded by Killers’ joke. Here’s the guitar, God, uh, I’m going back to work tonight. “Dave (Keuning, lead guitarist for the Killers), it’s all yours, sir. Now we need to get Warren into the halls of rock and roll fame, it’s going to be the Killers. Congratulations, Warren, enjoy all your sandwiches.” ”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction was followed by a much longer two-week tribute to Zevon, a four-hour, 30-plus song concert called “Warren Zevon: Join Me in LA.” The concert was produced as a benefit by the Wild Honey organization at Broadway’s United Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Among the show’s performers were his original producer Jackson Browne and longtime co-writer Calderon, veteran session musicians Rick Marotta, Bob Glaub, and Leland Sklar, and fans such as Dwight Yoakam, Shooter Jennings, and Fountains of Wayne. (Read our review of that show here and interviews with Jordan Zevon, Calderon, and other participants here.)
