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 acerbic lyrics, he was a guest several times on "Late Night with David Letterman" and the "Late Show with David Letterman". Zevon was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Beverly Cope (née Simmons) and William Zevon. His father was a Jewish immigrant from Russia, whose original surname was Zivotovsky. William Zevon worked as a bookie who handled volume bets and dice games for the notorious Los Angeles mobster Mickey Cohen; he worked for years in Cohen's Combination, in which he was known as Stumpy Zevon, and was best man at Cohen's first wedding. Warren's mother was from a Mormon