Whether one believes in destiny or not, the invisible hand of fate has a way of prodding them down a specific path just the same—Leonard Cohen included. One of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 20th century, Cohen seemingly did everything but pursue a music career in his younger years before finally settling into what was, apparently, his calling.
Of course, none of it was for naught. Cohen’s religious upbringing, the influence of his music-loving mother, his short-lived but informative law school studies, and an enduring love of poetry and literature all informed the music Cohen would create over the span of his decades-long career.
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With a gravelly baritone that sang words that The New York Times once eloquently described as “never far from either a riddle or a punch line,” Cohen was a walking masterclass in writing poetry about love, religion, war, society, and all of the hope and despair that lie therein.
Cohen’s celebrity was subtle. He developed a loyal cult following among intellectuals and poets who pored over his writing for deeper meaning (and insight into the infamously opaque man who wrote it). Part of the beauty of Cohen’s music was that it didn’t shy away from the more arduous parts of life. It leaned into it, reminding us that these struggles and subsequent victories were what made life worth living.
Leonard Cohen Died in His Home in Early November 2016
After suffering a fall at his home in Los Angeles, Leonard Cohen died in his sleep at the age of 82 on November 7, 2016. His death followed a resurgence of sorts, out of necessity more than desire. In the mid-2000s, Cohen discovered his longtime manager, Kelley Lynch, had been mishandling his money, draining his retirement account from millions to less than $200,000. He began touring again to recoup his lost funds after Lynch refused to oblige a Los Angeles civil suit that awarded Cohen $9 million.
Even before his return to the public eye, Cohen had a considerable musical legacy that stretched back into the late 1960s, when he first began recording his music. “Suzanne” was his first big hit, spurred by artists like Judy Collins, who not only covered the song but also insisted that Cohen begin performing his music himself. Other notable hits included “So Long, Marianne”, “Bird on a Wire”, and perhaps his most ubiquitous (thanks to a cover by Jeff Buckley), “Hallelujah”.
Bob Dylan once said of Cohen, “When people talk about Leonard, they fail to mention his melodies, which, to me, along with his lyrics, are his greatest genius. Even the counterpoint lines—they give a celestial character and melodic lift to every one of his songs. As far as I know, no one else comes close to this in modern music. His gift or genius is in his connection to the music of the spheres.”
Photo by Tony Russell/Redferns