HOW BOB DYLAN ENDED WARREN ZEVON’S FIRST CAREER. Sort of. Not intentionally.

A very young Warren Zevon lucked out. He and his girlflriend played some songs at a party, a bigwig happened to be there, and it was: "Hey, you'd be good for White Whale, which is the record label The Turtles are on. They could use you two. I'm talking to you, friend, and lover." 

Well no, it wasn't Friend and Lover, and it wasn't Cymbal and Clinger ("Mr. Bass Man" novelty guy Johnny Cymbal trying to be relevant.). The new duo was christened LYME AND CYBELLE. Zevon, who was favoring green clothing at the time, was Stephen Lyme. 

The team actually did pretty well with their first single but...they chose a Bob Dylan cover for their follow-up. Their version of "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" (White Whale WW 23) was considered a bit too RUDE for AM radio, and that was it. Warren's next move was a solo album which didn't go anywhere, although a song on it was covered by a soul singer for the "Midnight Cowboy" soundtrack.

Fast forward to just before Warren died of mesothelioma at the age of 56. He came full circle and covered Bob Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door." Yes, Warren was darkly ironic to the end. Bob Dylan had once wandered into a Zevon recording session just to check the man out. This surprised and flattered Warren, who was almost speechless. "What are you up to Bob," Warren managed to say. "Travelin'" replied Bob, who, as Warren discovered, "was not much for small talk."

As a small favor, Bob played harmonica on a Zevon track. After Warren died, Bob paid tribute, performing some Zevon songs in live concert, which was quite an honor. Usually a Dylan show is all Dylan songs, but when you write as well as Warren, exceptions can be made.