1978 One-Hit Wonder Ranked as Having the 'Best Opening Line in a Song' Was Written in 15 Minutes
Years after his death, Warren Zevon was described by Bob Dylan as a "musician's musician" (and a "tortured" one at that). Dylan's admiration for Zevon is so great that he's even covered some of the late Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's songs live, including "Accidentally Like a Martyr," "Lawyers, Guns and Money" and "Mutineer" - but he apparently never performed his own version of Zevon's biggest hit of all time, "Werewolves of London."
Interestingly enough, Zevon himself was surprised when "Werewolves of London" was a huge success. As George Plasketes wrote in Warren Zevon: Desperado of Los Angeles, the song started out as a joke: After watching the 1935 movie Werewolf of London on late-night TV, Phil Everly suggested Zevon write a song inspired by the film. Zevon took the idea to LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel, both members of his band, and the trio wrote "Werewolves of London" together in a 15-minute session.
Zevon, who later called the track a "dumb song for smart people," didn't want "Werewolves of London" released as the debut single from his 1978 album, Excitable Boy, but the record label insisted...and the decision paid off.
"Werewolves of London" (which happens to feature Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood and John McVie on drums and bass, respectively) became Zevon's only top 40 hit, peaking at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2004, BBC Radio 2 listeners ranked the track as having the "best opening song line" of all time:
"I saw werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand / Walking through the streets of SoHo in the rain / He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fooks / For to get a big dish of beef chow mein"
Warren Zevon thought of 'Werewolves of London' as a sort of 'novelty' song
Years later, Zevon called "Werewolves of London" a novelty song, but "not a novelty the way, say, Steve Martin's 'King Tut' is a novelty."
He also took issue with the public perception that "Werewolves of London" was massively successful, saying, "I don't think it was as big a hit as people think it was."
"People remember it from year to year more - it's been in movies and it gets trotted out regularly - but it's not as if it sold four million copies, like a Paula Abdul single, you know what I mean?" Zevon quipped.
It might not be "Opposites Attract," but "Werewolves of London" is definitely one of the funniest and most beloved songs in rock history.
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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 10:20 PM.