According to his publicist, Zevon, 55, received the news last month and is spending time with his adult children. He is writing and recording as many songs as possible in the coming weeks.

As one would expect of the artist whose songs frequently explored grim themes with a wry twist, Zevon has applied his trademark wit to the situation. “I’m OK with it, he said, “but it’ll be a drag if I don’t make it till the next James Bond movie comes out.”

Zevon’s more than three-decades long career began with Wanted Dead or Alive in 1969. His 1976 album, Warren Zevon, produced by Jackson Browne earned critical acclaim and his career soared with 1978’s Excitable Boy, featuring the single “Werewolves of London,” which became his most popular song.

Over the years, Zevon collaborated with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Chick Corea, Jerry Garcia, Jorma Kaukonen, George Clinton, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruce Hornsby, David Gilmour, and Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry of R.E.M., among many others.

Zevon’s most recent album, My Ride’s Here, released this year, features contributions from Irish poet Paul Muldoon, journalist Hunter S. Thompson and author Carl Hiaasen, as well as a cameo from David Letterman. Zevon performed regularly on the “Late Night” show.

Rhino Records will release a career retrospective, Genius: The Best of Warren Zevon, on October 15th.