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Cover of Excitable Boy by Warren Zevon
Cover: Excitable Boy

Song · Warren Zevon

“Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon

From the album Excitable Boy (1978)

“Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon appears on 83 radio countdowns from 27 stations between 1994 and 2026. It was first released in 1978 on the album Excitable Boy. Its best result is #9 on the 102.9 The Whale Rocktober: Scare 24. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #321 indie & aaa song of all time and #497 of the '70s.

83countdowns
27stations
#9best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1994–2026years charted

Watch

Warren Zevon - Werewolves Of London (Official Music Video) [HD]

Video from YouTube (RHINO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" was a joke that got out of hand. Back in 1975 Phil Everly caught the 1935 horror picture Werewolf of London on TV and told Zevon to swipe the title for a dance-craze number. Zevon, LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel knocked it out in about 15 minutes, all tossing in lines while Zevon's wife Crystal took them down, and none of them thought it was anything more than a gag.

It landed on Excitable Boy, his third album, in 1978, and the gag has fangs: Zevon's rolling barroom piano, Wachtel's guitar, and Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood and John McVie laying down a loping, lopsided groove. Jackson Browne produced it with Wachtel, and when Asylum put it out as a single that spring, it gave Zevon the only Top 40 hit of his career.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 441 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 638 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 543 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1996 329 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 500 104.5 KZEP KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) 500
1997 187 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) 499
1997 715 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1998 762 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 717 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2001 436 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 122 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2002 116 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2004 121 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2004 780 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2007 504 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2009 422 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2009 532 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 431 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2011 144 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2011 317 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2012 191 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 186 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 145 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 295 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 84 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 119 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 61 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 181 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2013 266 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 119 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 731 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2014 42 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 266 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 158 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2015 374 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 279 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2015 9 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Rocktober: Scare 24 24
2016 165 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 375 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 285 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2017 457 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2017 328 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2018 480 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2019 482 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2019 774 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 250 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2020 264 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 437 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2020 700 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 111 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2021 257 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 493 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 340 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) 500
2021 260 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 356 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2022 498 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908
2022 240 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 318 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2022) 500
2022 245 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 305 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 196 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 483 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2023 306 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 570 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 197 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 213 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2023) 500
2023 230 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 426 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 188 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 378 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places 800
2024 252 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 303 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2024) 500
2024 273 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2024 494 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 139 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2025 158 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 394 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2025 184 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2025) 500
2026 483 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500
2026 330 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180
2026 87 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917
2026 201 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500
2026 346 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Werewolves Of London; Werewolves Of Lonodon.

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