"Lawyers, Guns and Money" | |
---|---|
Single by Warren Zevon | |
from the album Excitable Boy | |
Released | July 1978 |
Recorded | 1977 |
Length | 3:29 |
Label | Asylum |
Songwriter(s) | Warren Zevon |
"Lawyers, Guns and Money" is a song by Warren Zevon, and the closing track on his 1978 album Excitable Boy .
Record World called it "rock 'n' roll at its angriest." [1]
An edited version of the song was released as a single and this edited version is on the A Quiet Normal Life best of compilation on the physical CD and LP, although the lyrics on the rear cover are the full un-edited version. The digital download and streaming version of the compilation use the album version.[ citation needed ]
The song was first covered by Rick Derringer on the 1978 album If I Weren't So Romantic, I'd Shoot You and was released as a single. It was also covered by Hank Williams Jr. in 1983 for his album Five-O and released as the B-side of his single "I'm for Love". Meat Loaf covered the song on his 1999 live album VH1 Storytellers. It was later covered by The Wallflowers on the album Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon in 2004. It has also been covered by Micky & The Motorcars, with a recording of it on their 2009 album "Live at Billy Bob's Texas", and is regularly played live by Widespread Panic.
The song lent its title to a light-hearted radio program on the Melbourne community radio station 3RRR, which looked at the legal fraternity in the city. The program started in 1985 and ran for several years, hosted by the pseudonymous duo "Donoghue & Stevenson"—Dennis Connell and Ross Stevenson. The song was used as both intro and exit music for the program. [2]
The song was used for the opening of the show Justice, with Victor Garber, in 2006. There is a blog called Lawyers Guns and Money. [3] The third episode of the HBO series The Staircase featured the song for its end credits.
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer and songwriter. 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".
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.
"Werewolves of London" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, written by Zevon, LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel. It first appeared on Excitable Boy (1978), Zevon's third studio album, then it was released as a single by Asylum Records in March 1978, becoming a Top 40 US hit, the only one of Zevon's career, reaching No. 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in May.
"Poor Poor Pitiful Me" is a rock song written and first recorded by American musician Warren Zevon in 1976.
Sentimental Hygiene is the sixth studio album by rock singer-songwriter Warren Zevon and his first "sober" one. The album was released on August 29, 1987, by Virgin Records. The release of Sentimental Hygiene marked the first studio album for Zevon in five years. It produced the single "Reconsider Me", as well as the dance single "Leave My Monkey Alone". The band on the album includes guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry, who also recorded an album of covers with Zevon at this time.
A Quiet Normal Life: The Best Of Warren Zevon is a greatest hits album by American musician Warren Zevon released in 1986.
Stand in the Fire is a live album by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, released December 26, 1980. It was recorded in August 1980 during a five-night residency at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California and featured two new original songs and one new cover. The album was dedicated to Martin Scorsese.
Hindu Love Gods was an American rock band that was, in essence, an occasional side project of members of R.E.M., with Warren Zevon and Bryan Cook.
"The Lakes of Pontchartrain" is a folk ballad from the United States about a man who is given shelter by a Louisiana Creole woman. He falls in love with her and asks her to marry him, but she is already promised to a sailor and declines. It is a tale of unrequited love.
"Saturday Night Special" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. It is the opening track on their album Nuthin' Fancy. The song addresses fatal tragedies involving guns.
Ross Stevenson is an Australian radio presenter on Melbourne station 3AW. The lighthearted breakfast news and gossip show, Breakfast with Ross & Russel, is one of Australia's most successful radio shows.
Living in the USA is the ninth studio album by American singer Linda Ronstadt, released in 1978. The album was Ronstadt's third and final No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Preludes: Rare and Unreleased Recordings is a two-CD compilation of music and interviews, including unreleased outtakes and demos, by singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, who died in 2003.
"Good Times" is a song by the Australian rock band the Easybeats, written by George Young and Harry Vanda. It was released in June 1968 on their album Vigil, and as a single in July 1968 through Parlophone. It features guest vocals by Steve Marriott of Small Faces, and piano by Nicky Hopkins. The original Easybeats recording reached #22 in Australia. When broadcast by BBC radio, it was reportedly heard by Paul McCartney on his car radio; McCartney apparently rang the station immediately to request a repeat playing.
Kenneth Michael Edwards was an American singer, songwriter, bassist, guitarist, mandolinist, and session musician. He was a founding member of the Stone Poneys and Bryndle and a long-time collaborator with Linda Ronstadt and Karla Bonoff.
"Didn't I Break My Heart Over You" is a single by London glam rock band, Rachel Stamp. This single was the band's second release via the Cruisin' Records label, and reached Number Three on the NME Independent Singles Chart in February, 2000. The single was released on two formats two weeks prior to the release of the "Hymns For Strange Children" album and featured two songs left over from the album recording sessions - "Black Tambourine" and a cover of the Warren Zevon song, "Carmelita". There was no promotional video made to promote this release.
"I'm for Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Hank Williams Jr. It was released in May 1985 as the first single from the album Five-O. The single was Williams Jr.'s seventh number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of fifteen weeks on the country chart. The A-side was written by Williams. The B-side is a cover of Warren Zevon's song "Lawyers, Guns and Money".
"Cadillac Ranch" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen that was first released on Springsteen's 1980 album The River. In 1981 it was released as a single in Europe, backed by "Be True" in France and by "Wreck on the Highway" in the UK. Although it was not released as a single in the US, it did reach #48 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. A favorite in concert, a live version was included on Live/1975–85. A version was also included on the documentary film Blood Brothers.
Ladies and Gentlemen... The Bangles! is a compilation album of early material by The Bangles. It was released by the band on Thanksgiving Day, 2014.
"A Certain Girl" is a rhythm and blues song written by Allen Toussaint, with the credit listed under his pen name Naomi Neville. New Orleans R&B singer Ernie K-Doe recorded it in 1961. Minit Records released the song as the B-side of "I Cried My Last Tear".