Popularly known for his entertaining poems and the relatable themes in his bibliography and discography, Leonard Cohen has been recognized as a musical icon whose life and works positively impacted the music scene since the 60s.
With popular releases such as “Ten New Songs” produced in 2001 and his famous debut album Songs of Leonard Cohen, the music icon consistently devoted his career to entertaining and enlightening his audiences with themes such as romantic relationships, depression, death, religion, politics, etc. This article takes a deep dive into the life, achievements, and times of Leonard Cohen, providing the reader with insight into the realities, requirements, and journey in becoming a musical icon. Learn about the life and times of many other Canadian artists.
Early Life and Early Career
Legally named Leonard Norman Cohen, Leonard was born on 21st September 1934 to his parents, Nathan Bernard Cohen and Marsha Klonitsky, in Westmount, Quebec. His grandfather, Lyon Cohen was the founding president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, and as such, Leonard's family was an Orthodox Jewish one and gave him "Eliezer" as his Jewish name, which directly translates as "God helps." Read about Oscar Peterson, one of Canada's most successful pianists.
In Leonard's words, he had "a very messianic childhood." He also added in 1967 that his parents raised him with the consciousness of being Aaron's descendant —the biblical high priest. Leonard, during his childhood, attended the Congregation Shaar Hashomayim with his family and maintained relationships with them throughout his lifetime.
His Education
Leonard was enrolled in the Roslyn Elementary School to get formal education. He then completed Grades 7 through Grade 9 at Herzilah High School. During this period, Leonard lost his father, who owned a clothing store when he was nine years old (1944). While at Herzilah School, he studied under the tutelage of Irving Layton, who would later become his literary inspiration.
In 1948, he then transferred to Westmount High School to study poetry and music. This endeavor shaped his artistic life tremendously. Leonard took particular interest in Federico Garcia Lorca's poetic works. He also actively participated in and beyond the school's photography curriculum and on the yearbook staff, events, arts clubs, cheerleading, etc. Leonard also served as the president of the Student's Council while contributing to Westmount High's theatre program.
Leonard taught himself, during this period, to play the acoustic guitar and this newfound skill fostered the creation of the Buckskin Boys —a country-folk music group. Later, he switched to a classical guitar after he learned some flamenco and a few chords from a young Spanish guitar player.
Discography
Beginning in 1950 and 1960, Leonard Cohen started to pursue a career as a poet and novelist. However, this artistic endeavor was pivoted in 1967 when he kick-started his music career. He noted that his mother instilled a musical interest in him, and he wrote his first album titled "Songs of Leonard Cohen" which eventually won an RIAA gold record.
Being the first issue of his discography, he released three subsequent folk-music albums titled New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974), Songs from a Room (1969), and Songs of Love and Hate (1971). See how David Foster reached stardom and fame.
In 1977, Leonard Cohen recorded Death of a Ladies Man. This release, which was a foreign sound compared to his previous minimalistic releases, was produced and co-written by Phil Spector.
Two years later, Leonard Cohen resurfaced in the music scene with Recent Songs (1979) —a release with a traditional sound and a blend of jazz, Mediterranean, and East Asian influences with his acoustic style. Later in 1984, he also released his seventh album titled "Various Positions," which had his most popular hit —"Hallelujah."
The Hallelujah crooner eventually switched up his sound to "Synthesized productions" and released "I'm Your Man," in 1988. With recent success and changes, he released a follow-up to the I'm Your Man album, "The Future," in 1992 with political and social unrest references and dark wordings before taking a nine-year break.
Returning in 2001 with a clearer and refreshed perspective on his music career, Leonard released Ten New Songs, which would become an international hit in Canada and Europe. Three years later, Leonard Cohen released his eleventh album titled Dear Heather in 2004.
A year later, he faced a critical setback in his music career after discovering that his manager had stolen a large portion of his earnings and sold Leonard's publishing rights to his songs. This discovery in 2005 made Leonard resort to back-to-back tours between 2008 and 2013 in a bid to cover losses.
His adventurous tours massively fostered the creation and release of his live albums. His released live albums include Live Songs (1973), Cohen Live: Leonard Cohen in Concert (1994), Live in London (2009), Songs from the Road (2010), and Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 (2009).
Between 2012 and 2016, Leonard released three different albums two years apart from each —Old Ideas (2012), Popular Problems (2014), and You Want It Darker (2016 and three weeks before his death). Old Ideas would go on to attain the number three spot on Billboard 200 which was a massive feat for any of Leonard's releases.
Eventually, after his death, his team released “Thanks for the Dance” as a posthumous album in 2019, making Leonard Cohen release fifteen (15) studio albums throughout his lifetime. The famous singer had also released a total of eight live albums throughout his music career, all of which are accessible at Colombia Records.
Career
As previously established, Leonard Cohen started his artistic career as a novelist and poet before eventually switching to a career in music. His bibliography, discography, and filmography explored several themes including depression, religion, politics, romantic relationships, sexuality, isolation, death, etc. During his lifetime, Matthew Bissonette and Steven Clark drew inspiration from Leonard Cohen in creating the movie Looking for Leonard in 2002.
Throughout his career days, Leonard remained an active poet —a disposition that enabled him to originate a versatility in his lyrics across several themes and contributed immensely to his artistry.
Honors and Awards
Leonard Cohen's 14th studio album “You Want It Darker,” released three weeks before his death in 2016, was criticized as a late-period masterpiece. The title track would go on to win him the Grammy Awards posthumously for the best rock performance category. While he was alive, he also won the Grammy Award in 2010 for lifetime achievement, coming two years after he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2011, his poetic efforts bagged him one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize. Later in 2019, his relationship with Marianne Ihlen, considered his muse in the 1960s, was explored in a documentary titled Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love (2019).
Leonard Cohen was also inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and was bestowed the Companion of the Order of Canada honor which is Canada's highest civilian honor. After his death, natives and city officials of Montreal remembered and honored him by naming streets and various locations —this includes a library— after him.
Death and Final Moments
Leonard Cohen passed away when he was 82 years old on 7th November 2016. Already diagnosed with leukaemia at the time, his death is believed to have been triggered by a fall in his house in the evening. Shortly after this, he died in his sleep.
His passing away was made public on 10th November 2016, and his funeral was conducted the same day following a Jewish rite which was his predominant belief.
Being a public icon, especially for citizens of Montreal, a tribute concert was organized in his memory in December 2016, which had numerous art and musical performances, poetry readings, etc.
Aside from the Montreal tribute concert named "God is Alive, Magic is Afoot" after his Beautiful Losers novel, the city of Los Angeles also held a memorial in his honor. Read the success story of Justice Bieber!
Conclusion
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Just like with Leonard Cohen, Superprof ensures that each student, after enrolling, is taught fundamental music principles of music, singing, and performing. Since the music field is one branch of art that relies heavily on individual creativity and ingenuity, students on Superprof are provided with engaging exercises, tests, and interactive sessions that help them build their creative forte.
Another special characteristic of learning via Superprof is the flexibility it offers students. Whether at work or in the comfort of a home, students can easily schedule a class with a tutor after enrolling and obtain top-quality lessons and education at their convenience.
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