Influential singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen dies aged 82
InReview
Legendary singer, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen has died at the age of 82.
A message posted on Cohen’s official Facebook page shortly after midday reported his death, but gave no cause:
“It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away,” it said.
“We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries.”
The message – which was later also published on Cohen’s website – had attracted thousands of comments from devastated fans within minutes of being posted, and led to a flurry of tweets.
Leonard Cohen has died at the age of 82 https://t.co/bi21SpmTVs pic.twitter.com/yio6QeieFf
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) November 11, 2016
"There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." – Words for all time and occasion, but absolutely for now. #LeonardCohen
— Adam Baldwin (@AdamaBaldwin) November 11, 2016
RIP LEONARD COHEN
Devastating news…My life was forever changed by his music and words
He'll will never be forgotten Love Always RS— Ron Sexsmith 💙 (@RonSexsmith) November 11, 2016
The Facebook message said the family requested privacy, and that a memorial would take place in Los Angeles at a later date.
Cohen was considered one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 1960s and early ’70s, with his most well-known songs including “Hallelujah”, “Suzanne”, “Bird on a Wire” and “So Long, Marianne”.
His most recent album, the introspective You Want It Darker, was released just last month.
“Hallelujah” has been recorded more than 200 times. Cohen never recorded a chart single and didn’t place an album in the top 10 until he was in his 70s, but his ardent fans and musical peers viewed him as a musical craftsman with few equals.
As a songwriter, his themes encompassed love in all its manifestations, religion, faith and the tenuous state of the world.
Like “Hallelujah”, many of his tunes became much-covered keystones of the popular songbook.
His longtime accompanist Jennifer Warnes recorded several of his best-known works on her 1987 Cohen recital Famous Blue Raincoat.
Like his art, his life evidenced a dynamic tension between sexuality and spirituality. He was a well-known womaniser whose many romantic partners included fellow Canadian musician Joni Mitchell and actress Rebecca De Mornay.
Yet he would famously reject the world of the flesh: Torn by depression and doubt about his life and career, he withdrew to spend more than five years in a Buddhist monastery; he later studied at a Hindu ashram in Mumbai.
A financial crisis late in life led to a fresh burst of fame. After his business manager embezzled millions from him, the impecunious Cohen embarked on a 2008-10 world tour that restored his fortune and renewed his reputation.
His 2012 album Old Ideas, released at the age of 77, became his highest-charting release ever, debuting at No. 3 in the US.
Get InReview in your inbox – free each Saturday. Local arts and culture – covered.
Thanks for signing up to the InReview newsletter.
He was born in Montreal. His father was a wealthy clothier, and he grew up in the city’s affluent Westmount neighbourhood. He was the grandson of Jewish European immigrants, and his maternal grandfather was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar.
The top-10 arrival of the spare and drily witty Old Ideas in 2012 was succeeded by another series of concert dates in Europe and America that year and in 2013.
Popular Problems was released in fall of 2014, shortly after Cohen’s 80th birthday.
Cohen’s many honours included his 2008 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a 2010 Lifetime Achievement Grammy.
He is survived by a son and daughter from his relationship with Suzanne Elrod.
– with AAP
Support local arts journalism
Your support will help us continue the important work of InReview in publishing free professional journalism that celebrates, interrogates and amplifies arts and culture in South Australia.
Donate Here
Comments
Show comments Hide comments