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Leonard Cohen Dead At 82, Fans Pay Tribute To Legendary Singer-Songwriter

By Kris Holt
Published on: 14:18 PST, Nov 10, 2016

Leonard Cohen, singer-songwriter, author, and poet, has passed away at the age of 82.

The news of Cohen’s death was announced on his Facebook page by his label, Sony Music Canada. The statement read:

“It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away.

“We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries.

“A memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date. The family requests privacy during their time of grief.”

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The musician’s exact time and cause of death were not given.

Leonard Cohen was born in Westmount, Quebec, on September 21, 1934. Among his best-known songs are “Suzanne,” “So Long, Marianne,” Bird on a Wire,” and “Hallelujah,” one of the most-covered works of popular music of all time.

Cohen emerged as a force in folk music in the ’60s and ’70s and counted Bob Dylan among his contemporaries. The soulful, dark ambiance he brought to his music and art influenced generations of artists.

His music, as Rolling Stone noted in an obituary, weaved together his deep vocal tones, choral-backing vocals, and simple guitar lines, though it was perhaps his lyrics that best offered an insight into his mind and talents and resonated most with fans.

Leonard Cohen sang about love, hate, spirituality, war, sex, and depression. He outlasted many artists of his generation to enjoy a career and popularity which spanned 60 years, between his first book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies, and the final collection of songs he released this year.

Though he learned guitar as a teenager, it was in the written word in which Leonard Cohen first made an impression. Thirteen books of his poetry were published, with the last in 2012. Cohen also authored two novels, The Favorite Game and Beautiful Losers.

He moved to the Greek island of Hydra after graduating from McGill University in Montreal, though poor sales of his books while he was living there led him to New York, where he ingratiated himself into the thriving folk-rock scene in 1966 and where he began his music career.

From the ’70s onward, Leonard Cohen embarked on several expansive, long-lasting tours which took him all over the world, the last of which stretched from 2008 to 2013. He said in a Rolling Stone interview in 1971 that he went on tour to meet people.

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His 1984 album Various Positions featured “Hallelujah,” by many accounts his most popular and famous song, partly by virtue of a cover by Jeff Buckley in 1994.

In 1995, Leonard Cohen took a break from his career and became an ordained Buddhist monk at the Mt. Baldy Zen Center near Los Angeles. Though he did not quite leave Judaism, Cohen said Buddhism helped him cope with depression.

He did not release another album until 2001, though his career took another twist in 2005, when it was discovered that his manager, Kelley Lynch, had embezzled more than $5 million from his retirement funds. Cohen embarked on his lengthy worldwide tour in 2008 to replenish that money.

Leonard Cohen had two children from his relationship with Suzanne Elrod — after whom Cohen named “Suzanne,” one of his most indelible works — Lorca Cohen, a photographer, and Adam Cohen, himself a musician.

Last month, as Cohen was preparing to release his final album, You Want It Darker, he was profiled in the New Yorker. He said in an interview for the piece that he “was ready to die.” However, judging by the outpouring of tributes on social media, it appears his fans may not have been ready for him to go.

Rest in peace, Leonard Cohen.

[Featured Image by Charles Sykes/AP Images]

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