Leonard Cohen

Who Was Leonard Cohen?

Leonard Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist renowned for his profound lyricism and distinctive voice. A gifted writer and guitarist from a young age, Cohen began his foray into music during the mid-1960s, crafting folk-rock and pop songs that resonated deeply with audiences. His composition “Hallelujah,” featured on the 1984 album Various Positions, stands as one of his most iconic works. In recognition of his significant contributions to music, Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 and received a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2010.

Early Life and the Buckskin Boys

Born on September 21, 1934, in a suburb of Montreal, Canada, Leonard Cohen was raised in an intellectual, middle-class Jewish family that nurtured his passions for poetry and music. His upbringing involved a deep engagement with Jewish theology and the narratives of the Old Testament, influences that would permeate much of his later work. This rich tapestry of early experiences laid the groundwork for his career, which seamlessly intertwined literature, mythology, poetry, and song.

Cohen’s fascination with women prompted him to learn the guitar at the age of 13, leading him to perform country music in the cafés of Montreal. He eventually formed a musical group known as the Buckskin Boys, which entertained audiences with traditional songs at square dances. Despite his musical pursuits, poetry remained Cohen’s foremost passion. Influenced by writers like Federico García Lorca and Jack Kerouac, he prioritized his writing during his studies at McGill University, where he enrolled in 1951 to study English. Cohen graduated in 1955, and in 1956, the university published his debut poetry collection, Let Us Compare Mythologies. Although the book received favorable reviews, it did not achieve commercial success, foreshadowing the complex relationship Cohen would have with recognition throughout his career.

Poetry and Beautiful Losers

During this period, Leonard Cohen briefly attended Columbia University before returning to Montreal, where he held various jobs while dedicating himself to poetry. The publication of his next book, The Spice-Box of the Earth, in 1961 marked the beginning of one of Cohen’s most prolific periods. This work received both critical and commercial acclaim, establishing him as a significant literary voice. The royalties from the book, combined with a Canadian writing grant and a modest inheritance, enabled him to purchase a modest home on the Greek island of Hydra. There, he lived intermittently for the next seven years, immersing himself in writing, swimming, and sailing.

Cohen’s creative output during this time included the poetry collections Flowers for Hitler (1964) and Parasites of Heaven (1966), as well as the novels The Favorite Game (1963) and Beautiful Losers (1966). The latter earned him lofty comparisons to James Joyce but also provoked public outrage in Canada due to its explicit sexual content. Despite the attention these works garnered, Cohen began to feel uncertain about his ability to sustain himself solely through writing. This realization prompted him to revisit music as both a natural extension of his poetry and a potentially more lucrative career.

New York City and Musical Success

Upon returning to the United States, Cohen settled in New York and began to explore the city’s vibrant music scene. By this point, he was well into his 30s and significantly older than many of his contemporaries. More than once, agents discouraged him from pursuing a career as a performer. However, folk singer Judy Collins recognized Cohen’s talent and covered his songs “Suzanne” and “Dress Rehearsal Rag” on her popular 1966 album In My Life. Her encouragement led Cohen to make his performance debut at the 1967 Newport Folk Festival, where A&R representative John Hammond, who had previously signed legends such as Aretha Franklin and Bob Dylan, added Cohen to his roster at Columbia Records.

Later that year, Cohen released his debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen, which is widely regarded as one of his finest works. The album features sparse arrangements and his distinctive, untrained baritone, delivering masterful, melancholic lyrics about love, sexuality, spirituality, and despair. Tracks such as “Suzanne,” “So Long, Marianne,” and “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye” showcased a blend of simplicity and complexity, helping the album reach the Top 100 and garnering Cohen a devoted following.

Following the publication of a new poetry collection in 1968, Cohen released Songs from a Room. While this album was not as universally acclaimed as his debut, it achieved greater commercial success, reaching No. 63 on the charts. It features classic tracks like “The Partisan,” “Lady Midnight,” and “Bird on a Wire,” the latter covered by numerous artists, including Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. Cohen performed Bird on a Wire at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, sharing the stage with prominent acts like Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, and Miles Davis. At the same festival, he also performed “Famous Blue Raincoat,” a poignant song about a cuckolded husband addressing his wife’s lover, alongside other notable tracks from his third album, Songs of Love and Hate (1971).

Cohen’s music reached a broader audience that same year when three of his songs featured in the soundtrack of Robert Altman’s western film McCabe & Mrs. Miller, starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie. Although Cohen would not return to the studio for another three years, he remained active, releasing a new poetry collection titled The Energy of Slaves in 1972. That year marked a personal milestone as well, with the birth of his first child, Adam, followed by his daughter, Lorca, two years later. Throughout this time, Cohen continued to tour, released a live album, and had his songs featured in the 1973 musical The Sisters of Mercy.

Struggles and “Hallelujah”

In 1974, Leonard Cohen returned to the studio with New Skin for the Old Ceremony. This album, while retaining Cohen’s signature melancholic tone, featured fuller arrangements compared to his earlier works. Among its standout tracks are “Who by Fire,” “Take This Longing,” and “Chelsea Hotel No. 2,” which reflects a romantic encounter with singer Janis Joplin. Following the album’s release, Cohen toured extensively, attracting a devoted fanbase, although the commercial success anticipated by his label was not fully realized.

Cohen’s next project, Death of a Ladies’ Man (1977), was fraught with challenges. Working with the notoriously erratic producer Phil Spector, the recording process became chaotic, culminating in an alarming incident where Spector held a gun to Cohen’s head. The final mix of the album was executed without Cohen’s involvement, resulting in an overly produced sound that he later described as “grotesque” and labeled as his least favorite work. Attempting to regain his footing, Cohen published a collection of poetry and prose titled Death of a Lady’s Man in the following year, and released Recent Songs in 1979, which returned to a sparser style reminiscent of his earlier work, though it did not achieve commercial success.

After a five-year hiatus during which no new material was released, Cohen made a significant comeback in 1984 with the poetry collection Book of Mercy and the album Various Positions, the latter focusing on spiritual themes, notably expressed in the iconic song “Hallelujah.” This track has since become one of Cohen’s most recognized and frequently covered works, with renditions by numerous artists, including Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright. However, despite the song’s enduring popularity, the album itself received minimal recognition at the time.

‘I’m Your Man’

Cohen resurfaced in 1988 with the synth-driven I’m Your Man. Although it did not chart in the United States, it achieved significant success in Canada and Europe, featuring notable tracks such as “Everybody Knows,” “First We Take Manhattan,” and the title song. This album introduced Cohen to a new generation of listeners and was followed by The Future in 1992, from which several tracks were featured in Oliver Stone’s film Natural Born Killers, further solidifying his appeal to younger audiences.

Cohen’s relevance was further emphasized by tribute albums like I’m Your Fan (1992), which included covers by alternative bands such as the Pixies and R.E.M., and Tower of Song (1995), featuring prominent artists like Billy Joel and Elton John. However, rather than bask in the accolades, Cohen chose a more introspective path, retreating to the Mount Baldy Zen Center in 1994, where he took a vow of silence and studied Zen under a master for five years.

Cohen reemerged in 1999, releasing Ten New Songs and the live album Field Commander Cohen, which documented performances from his 1979 tour. The following release, Dear Heather, marked a departure in that it included songs for which he did not write the lyrics. In 2005, the tribute album and film Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man showcased performances from various artists, further highlighting Cohen’s impact on music.

Despite being celebrated, Cohen faced significant personal challenges, including financial exploitation by his former manager, Kelley Lynch, who embezzled millions from him. Though Cohen won a $7.9 million lawsuit in 2006, he was unable to recover the funds, leaving him financially vulnerable as he entered his seventies.

Later Career and Death

In 2006, Cohen published Book of Longing, a new poetry collection, and in 2008, following his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he embarked on a two-year world tour to recover his finances. This journey was documented in the albums Live in London (2009) and Songs from the Road (2010). During this period, Cohen received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. In 2011, Columbia Records released The Complete Studio Albums Collection, compiling all of Cohen’s studio work into a comprehensive box set.

Approaching his eighties, Cohen was far from a relic of the past. In early 2012, he released Old Ideas, which saw him returning to the folk arrangements reminiscent of his earlier works. The album reached No. 3 in the United States and topped charts in Canada and several European countries, marking the highest-charting album of his career, only rivaled by his 2014 release Popular Problems.

Cohen remained prolific until the end, with You Want It Darker released just three weeks before his death, recorded in his home as his health declined. Produced by his son Adam, the album was a testament to his enduring dedication to his craft, with Adam noting, “At times I was very worried about his health, and the only thing that buoyed his spirits was the work itself.” Cohen passed away on November 7, 2016, at the age of 82. The announcement of his death on November 10 revealed little about the circumstances; a week later, his manager, Robert B. Kory, stated that Cohen had fallen and died peacefully in his sleep.

The music world mourned the loss of the legend, with fans and celebrities alike expressing their grief on social media, often quoting his profound lyrics. In January 2018, Cohen was posthumously awarded a Grammy for Best Rock Performance for “You Want It Darker,” marking his first competitive Grammy win after a career that spanned over five decades.