zevon was born in chicago, illinois. his parents were to william zevon, a secular jew and beverly cope simmons, a mormon from salt lake city, utah. they soon moved to fresno, california. by the age of 13, zevon sometimes visited igor stravinsky where he studied modern classical music. zevon's parents divorced when he was 16 years old. after the divorce, he dropped out of high school and moved from los angeles to new york to become a folk singer.