Mohammed's Radio
"Mohammed's Radio" is a song by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. The song was released on his 1976 album Warren Zevon. The song was featured on A Quiet Normal Life: The Best of Warren Zevon and several other greatest hits-type albums by Zevon. Fleetwood Mac members Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks are also featured on this recording, as are Bobby Keys, Bob Glaub, and Waddy Wachtel.
| "Mohammed's Radio" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Warren Zevon | |
| from the album Warren Zevon | |
| Released | 1976 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 3:43 |
| Label | Asylum |
| Songwriter(s) | Warren Zevon |
| Producer(s) | Jackson Browne |
By one telling, the title of the song was inspired by a Halloween parade Zevon witnessed in Aspen, Colorado in 1973. However, by another telling, Zevon simply liked the sound of the two words together.
In any case, the song has multiple levels of meaning, starting with the redemptive power of rock music, but extending to notions of escapism, cultural mixing, mysticism, and whether rationalities exist below the surface level of society. It features some of Zevon's trademark mordant irony. By another interpretation it is a negative portrayal of life in Los Angeles.
The song has been interpreted by other artists as well, most notably by Linda Ronstadt on her 1978 album Living in the USA, a track that gained airplay on album-oriented rock radio formats.