June 21, 2024 —– Chart #251
Hello Music Friends,
Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Today’s chart is from a brilliant songwriter from the 70’s who never quite achieved the fame of many of his contemporaries. Perhaps it was his quirky and odd approach to music, you can be the judge. Jackson Browne produced two of his albums and I am a big fan of Jackson, so that’s a pretty good endorsement in my book. 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. So today’s selection is the title track, Excitable Boy.
Before we talk about the song, take a look at the various artists who contributed to tracks on this album. That list included Karla Bonoff, Jackson Browne, Mick Fleetwood, Linda Ronstadt, Leland Sklar and J.D. Southern. Now are you impressed?
Warren Zevon’s songs often center around characters that contain kernels of his personality, but grossly exaggerated. “Excitable Boy” is about a kid with an extreme case of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who murders his prom date. He’s institutionalized, but when he gets out 10 years later, he digs up her grave and makes a cage from her bones. The whole time, folks pass off this behavior as mere rambunctiousness, saying he’s just an excitable boy.
Zevon described this song a joke set to music. “Why not strum the guitar along with the joke?” he told Newsday. “That’s how ‘Excitable Boy’ got written.”
Zevon wrote this song with his friend LeRoy Marinell, a fellow musician. According to Zevon, the title came about after they had dinner at Marinell’s house. Warren was asking why nobody let him play lead guitar, and Marinell responded, “You get good ideas, Warren, but then you get too excited.” Zevon’s retort: “I’m just an excitable boy.” So there you have it . . . . . just a joke.
If you have ever played in a band and played a Halloween party gig, surely you have performed Werewolves of London, it’s a staple. Maybe this year you should go even darker and try Excitable Boy. After all, what could be more Halloween than “And he dug up her grave and built a cage with her bones”?
By the way, the female backing singers on “Excitable Boy” are Linda Ronstadt and Jennifer Warnes. This guy kept good company. Try this one out, its dark, but fun.
Keep Rockin’,
Stan Bradshaw