Leonard Cohen

Artist Image: Leonard Cohen
Attribution
Image Credit: Gorupdebesanez (Own work), CC BY-SA 3.0

Biography

Leonard Norman Cohen, CC GOQ (21 September 1934, Westmount, Montreal, Canada - 7 November 2016, Los Angeles, California, USA) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and novelist. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality, and interpersonal relationships. Cohen has been inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. While giving the speech at Cohen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2008, Lou Reed described Cohen as belonging to the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters." Cohen was born into a middle-class Jewish family and attended Roslyn Elementary School. His mother, Marsha Klinitsky, of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, emigrated from Lithuania while his great-grandfather emigrated from Poland. He grew up in Westmount on the Island of Montreal. His grandfather was Lyon Cohen, founding president of the Canadian Jewish Congress. His father, Nathan Cohen, who owned a substantial Montreal clothing store, died when Cohen was nine years old. On the topic of being a Kohen, Cohen has said that, "I had a very Messianic childhood." He told Richard Goldstein in 1967. "I was told I was a descendant of Aaron, the high priest." Cohen attended Westmount High School, beginning in 1948 where he was involved with the Student Council and studied music and poetry. He became especially interested in the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca. As a teenager, he learned to play the guitar, and formed a country-folk group called the Buckskin Boys. Although he initially played a regular acoustic guitar as a teenager, he soon switched to playing a classical guitar after meeting a young Spanish flamenco guitar player who taught him "a few chords and some flamenco."

Details

Item Name Item Details
Year Formed 1967
Number of Albums 31
Record Label Columbia
Website www.leonardcohen.com
Wikipedia Leonard Cohen on Wikipedia
Social Networks

Trivia

When did Judy Collins record Suzanne and Dress Rehearsal Rag?

1967

...In 1967 Judy Collins recorded two of his songs, Suzanne and Dress Rehearsal Rag, and that same year Cohen began performing in public, including an app...
What type of voice did Leonard Cohen have?

baritone

...port (Rhode Island) Folk Festival. Though some did not care for Cohens baritone voice and deadpan delivery, he mostly enjoyed critical and commercial ...
What was the title of Leonard Cohen's 1973 album?

Live Songs

...ry, he mostly enjoyed critical and commercial success. Leonard Cohen: Live Songs (1973) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974), which included Chels...
In what year was New Skin for the Old Ceremony released?

1974

...ess. Leonard Cohen: Live Songs (1973) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony ( 1974 ), which included Chelsea Hotel No. 2, a frank recollection of a brief se...
With whom did Cohen have a brief sexual encounter?

Janis Joplin

...a Hotel No. 2, a frank recollection of a brief sexual encounter with Janis Joplin , further deepened Cohens standing as a songwriter of exceptional emo...
Who covered Hallelujah in 1994?

Jeff Buckley

...h attention, the single gained widespread popularity when covered by Jeff Buckley in 1994. The ballad was later performed or recorded by hundreds of a...
What was the name of Cohens best known song?

Hallelujah

... Various Positions (1984) included what became Cohens bestknown song, Hallelujah . Although it did not initially receive much attention, the single gai...
In what year was Various Positions released?

1984

...ngwriter of exceptional emotional power. In addition, Various Positions ( 1984 ) included what became Cohens bestknown song, Hallelujah. Although it did...
When did Leonard Cohen return to the studio?

1999

...), he retired to a Buddhist monastery outside Los Angeles. He emerged in 1999 and returned to the studio, producing Ten New Songs (2001) and Dear Heat...
What was the name of the documentary that featured Leonard Cohens songs?

Leonard Cohen: Im Your Man

...and Dear Heather (2004). The critically acclaimed documentary Leonard Cohen: Im Your Man (2005) blended interview and archival footage with performanc...
At what age did he lose his father?

nine

...He lost his father at the age of nine . After receiving elementary education at the Roslyn Elementary School in 1948, he joined the Westmount High Scho...
What school was he enrolled at in 1948?

Roslyn Elementary School

...t the age of nine. After receiving elementary education at the Roslyn Elementary School in 1948, he joined the Westmount High School. He joined the Mc...
At what university did Jeremy join in 1951?

McGill

...tary School in 1948, he joined the Westmount High School. He joined the McGill University in 1951, where he was the president of the McGill Debating U...
When did he complete his bachelors degree in arts?

1955

...the CIVn magazine. He completed his bachelors degree in arts in the year 1955 . In 1956, he published a book of his poems written during his teenage, n...
What was the name of the book he published in 1956?

Let Us Compare Mythologies

...blished a book of his poems written during his teenage, named Let Us Compare Mythologies . This poet dedicated the book in memory of his late father. Y...
Where did Leonard Cohen go back to in 1957?

Montreal, Canada

...ost Popular BTS Member? Career In 1957, Leonard Cohen went back to Montreal, Canada , where he engaged in some jobs and simultaneously, continued his l...
In what year was Cohen born?

1934

...Cohen was born in 1934 , a year before Elvis Presley, and his background personal, social, and intellectual couldn't have been more different from thos...
In what Montreal suburb of Montreal was Cohen raised?

Westmount

...orman Cohen into a middleclass Jewish family in the Montreal suburb of Westmount . His father, a clothing merchant (who also held a degree in engineeri...
When did Cohen's father die?

1943

...er, a clothing merchant (who also held a degree in engineering), died in 1943 , when Cohen was nine years old. It was his mother who encouraged Cohen a...
What did his mother encourage him to write?

poetry

... old. It was his mother who encouraged Cohen as a writer, especially of poetry , during his childhood. This fit in with the progressive intellectual en...
When did Cohen enroll at McGill University as an English major?

17

... raised, which allowed him free inquiry into a vast range of pursuits. At 17 , he enrolled in McGill University as an English major. Cohen only earned ...
What was Cohen's major?

English

...a vast range of pursuits. At 17, he enrolled in McGill University as an English major. Cohen only earned average grades, but was good enough as a writ...
When was Let Us Compare Mythologies published?

1956

...gree, he published his first book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies ( 1956 ), which got great reviews but didn't sell especially well. He was alread...
When was Cohen inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

2008

...ous Positions. Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 , and he received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 2010. Early ...
How did Cohen receive a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement?

2010

...Fame in 2008, and he received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 2010 . Early Life and the Buckskin Boys Cohen was born on September 21, 1934, ...
What did Cohen's parents encourage him to pursue?

poetry and music

...amily, he was encouraged by his parents to pursue his interests in poetry and music and was also thoroughly immersed in Jewish theology and the storie...
Who encouraged him to pursue his interests in poetry and music?

his parents

...t of an intellectual, middleclass Jewish family, he was encouraged by his parents to pursue his interests in poetry and music and was also thoroughly ...
What university did Cohen briefly attend?

Columbia University

...y and 'Beautiful Losers' Around this time, Cohen briefly attended Columbia University before returning to Montreal, where he worked various jobs while...
Where did Cohen return to after attending Columbia University?

Montreal

...s time, Cohen briefly attended Columbia University before returning to Montreal , where he worked various jobs while continuing to write poetry. Howeve...
What was the name of Cohens next book?

The SpiceBox of the Earth

...while continuing to write poetry. However, when his next book, The SpiceBox of the Earth , was published in 1961, it marked the beginning of what would...
How many days away from the war is there?

Seven

... Seven days away from the war, and I am not speaking of the one between the sexes. As would happen so often in subsequent years, the lyrics rolled arou...
Who sang the song that I loved?

Judy Collins

...n our lady of the harbor. Sure, the version that I loved was sung by Judy Collins , but I had tucked away in one of those cranial recesses, that the ma...
When did Leonard Cohen's ancestors arrive in Canada?

1860

.... Leonard Cohen's ancestors, LithuanianRussian Jews arrived in Canada in 1860 . When Leonard came around, in 1934, the family was prosperous upper midd...
What class did his family belong to?

upper middle class

...860. When Leonard came around, in 1934, the family was prosperous upper middle class clothiers, and hence his tastes for suits, which is referenced in...
What has often been the general background of my daily life?

Depression

..., he sang, There is a crack in everythingThats how the light gets in. Depression has often been the general background of my daily life, Cohen told me...
Cohen had a wry humor that made its way into what?

conversation

...work wasnt always dour. Cohen had a wry humor that made its way into conversation and into the way he sometimes juxtaposed his tombstone voice with ar...
Cohen Patti Smith and Kurt Cobain were artists who followed whom for how long?

nearly 50 years

...of his voice and his songs dark themes kept some at a distance. For nearly 50 years , artists who followed Cohen Patti Smith and Kurt Cobain among them...
What was the name of Leonard Cohen's first album?

Songs of Leonard Cohen

..., and did not begin a music career until 1967. His first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), was followed by three more albums of folk music: Songs ...
In what year did Cohen release Love and Hate?

1971

... albums of folk music: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate ( 1971 ) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974). His 1977 record Death of a La...
Who co-wrote and produced Death of a Ladies' Man?

Phil Spector

...). His 1977 record Death of a Ladies' Man, cowritten and produced by Phil Spector , was a move away from Cohen's previous minimalist sound. In 1979, Co...
What year did Cohen release I'm Your Man?

1988

... released on his studio album Various Positions in 1984. I'm Your Man in 1988 marked Cohen's turn to synthesized productions. In 1992, Cohen released ...
In what year did Cohen release The Future?

1992

... I'm Your Man in 1988 marked Cohen's turn to synthesized productions. In 1992 , Cohen released its followup, The Future, which had dark lyrics and refe...
What was the name of Cohen's follow-up album?

The Future

...urn to synthesized productions. In 1992, Cohen released its followup, The Future , which had dark lyrics and references to political and social unrest....
How many new songs did Cohen make in 2001?

Ten

...cs and references to political and social unrest. Cohen returned to music in 2001 with the release of Ten New Songs, a major hit in Canada and Europe....
What is the title of the book?

A Broken Hallelujah

...hy do we listen so intently? Liel Leibovitz asks at the outset of A Broken Hallelujah , his moving portrait of the songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen. T...
On what date was Leonard Norman Cohen born?

September 21, 1934

...Born Leonard Norman Cohen on September 21, 1934 , in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; son of Nathan B. Leonard Cohen, known primarily as a folk singersongwrit...
What is Leonard Cohen's father's name?

Nathan B

...orman Cohen on September 21, 1934, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; son of Nathan B . Leonard Cohen, known primarily as a folk singersongwriter with a mode...
Cohen earned praise as a writer for exploring issues of what faith?

religious

...elationships with women, and he has also repeatedly explored issues of religious faith. He earned critical praise as a poet and novelist during the 19...
When did Cohen earn critical praise as a poet and novelist?

1950s and 1960s

... faith. He earned critical praise as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and 1960s ; the 1956 McGill Literary Award was the first of several honors aw...
What was the first of several honors awarded to Cohen's writings?

1956 McGill Literary Award

...praise as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and 1960s; the 1956 McGill Literary Award was the first of several honors awarded his writings. During ...
What were some of Cohen's songs for upcoming albums?

Suzanne, Sisters of Mercy, and Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye

...hen's songs for upcoming albums, including Suzanne, Sisters of Mercy, and Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye . The success of those songs led other sing...
What was the name of the album that Cohen released in 1968?

The Songs of Leonard Cohen

... to record an album of his own works, and in 1968 he released The Songs of Leonard Cohen . Approaching his mid30s, Cohen entered a new phase of his car...
When did Cohen release his own album?

1968

...cordings. Soon Cohen decided to record an album of his own works, and in 1968 he released The Songs of Leonard Cohen. Approaching his mid30s, Cohen en...