Warren Zevon passed away at his home in California on Sunday, September 7th. He was 56 years old. Zevon was diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of lung cancer in August of 2002. His doctors gave him just three months to live. The last few months of Mr. Zevon’s life were chronicled in the VH1 special, “Inside out: Keep Me In Your Heart”. This documentary also showed the recording of his final album “The Wind”.

Over his long musical career, Zevon recorded 15 albums. He also contributed to many other musicians’ works, including The Everly Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, and The Turtles. Zevon was best known for his songs “Werewolves of London,” “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” and “Excitable Boy”. His gift of storytelling made it easy for critics to love him and other artists to admire him. His lyrics at many times dealt with death, often with a dark sense of humor.

His final album, “The Wind” , follows his well-known pattern. It was recorded at a frantic pace in both the studio and at Zevon’s home. Zevon used this album as a way for his friends and family to remember him and as a way to say goodbye. Zevon lived long enough to see “The Wind” debut at No. 16 on the Billboard charts. It was one of his best record launches in years.

Each song on “The Wind” is unique in its own way and sends out it’s own message. The songs are simple and capture Zevon’s friendly voice, which is easy to sing along to. At the same time they hold the love of life and the fear of death. Many of Zevon’s friends join him on the album. Bruce Springsteen delivers a very powerful guitar solo in “Disorder in the House”, a song which reflects Zevon’s state of mind as he dealt with his illness.

Zevon even covers Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”. His rendition is sad, yet it clearly demonstrates Zevon’s great sense of humor. Perhaps the most powerful of the songs is “Keep Me in Your Heart”, which Zevon first wrote after he was initially diagnosed with his illness. This acoustic song closes the album and is an extremely powerful goodbye.

The VH1 documentary is very hard to look away from. Zevon is easy to identify with. He’s sarcastic and witty, yet at the same time very truthful. He has both his good days and his bad days and shares a great deal with the audience. Mostly, he is able to be both serious and funny about death.

He refers to himself as a “dead man walking” as he arrives at his last television appearance in New York on the David Letterman Show. “Life’s a lot of fun, ” says Zevon, towards the end of the VH1 program. “You have to remember that and keep having fun”.