Waddy Wachtel album were titled Ronin. Released on the Mercury label, the record never charted. In 1984 he played on Steve Perry's (Journey) solo album Street Talk. He has appeared on hundreds of albums with many different artists and bands. Production credits include albums by Stevie Nicks, Keith Richards, Jackson Browne, Bryan Ferry, The Church, Sand Rubies, George Thorogood and the Destroyers and Warren Zevon. Wachtel co-wrote several songs with Zevon including "Werewolves of London". He also co-wrote the Warren Zevon song "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" from the album "Mr. Bad Example". He performed and co-produced the first
Warren Zevon the collection's second disc. "", a biography by his ex-wife, Crystal Zevon, was published in 2007 by Ecco Books. The book consists mostly of interviews with many of Zevon's friends and associates and extracts from his diaries; it is notable for its unvarnished (at his request) portrayal of Zevon. George Plasketes, a professor at Auburn University, wrote a critical study of Zevon's music in 2016, "Warren Zevon, Desperado of Los Angeles". Zevon was also the subject of Michael Flood's essay "Lord Byron's Luggage: Warren Zevon and the Redefinition of Literature Rock". A collection of short stories by Kelly Lynn Thomas,