Writers: Warren Zevon and LeRoy P. Marinell
Producers: Jackson Browne and Waddy Wachtel
Recorded: 1977 at the Sound Factory, Los Angeles
Released: January 24th, 1978
| Players: | Warren Zevon — vocals, piano Waddy Wachtel — guitar, vocals Bob Glaub — bass Russ Kunkel — drums Jim Horn — saxophone Linda Ronstadt, Jennifer Warnes & Jackson Browne — backing vocals |
| Album: | Excitable Boy (Asylum) |
The title track of Warren Zevon's second album, “Excitable Boy” became something of an anthem for the idiosyncratic singer-songwriter, who was until then best known for penning the Linda Ronstadt hit “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me.”
According to Zevon, however, its inspiration was purely musical: “I was at LeRoy Marinell's house in Venice, California. LeRoy cooked a pot roast. After dinner the subject of my guitar playing came up, and I asked him why no one let me play lead guitar with them. He said, 'You get good ideas, Warren, but then you get too excited.' I said, 'I'm just an excitable boy.'”
In addition to co-producer Jackson Browne, “Excitable Boy” features Ronstadt and Jennifer Warnes guesting on backing vocals.
“Excitable Boy” received some radio play in the late '70s thanks to the success of “Werewolves Of London,” the top-30 hit from that album.
Excitable Boy was Zevon's most successful album, peaking at Number Eight on the Billboard 200 and earning a gold record.