Another great one gone.
Musician, poetand author Leonard Cohen, whose works spanned six decades and inspired numerousother artists, has died aged 82.
“It is with profound sorrow wereport that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passedaway,” a statement on his Facebook page on Thursday said. “We havelost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries.”
His music label, Sony Music Canada,confirmed the death in a statement. “Leonard Cohen was an unparalleledartist whose stunning body of original work has been embraced by generations offans and artists alike.”
“Somepeople care about their work lasting forever — I have little interest in it”
Cohen’s most famous song,“Hallelujah,” in which he invoked the biblical King David and drewparallels between physical love and a desire for spiritual connection, has beencovered hundreds of times since he released it in 1984.
Cohen, a native of Quebec, wasalready a celebrated poet and novelist when he moved to New York in 1966 at age31 to break into the music business. He released his first album, “Songsof Leonard Cohen,” in 1967 and his musical career has been compared to BobDylan and Paul Simon in terms of the influence on other artists.
As a songwriter, his themesencompassed love in all its manifestations, religion, faith and the tenuousstate of the world.
LeonardCohen performs on stage at the Isle of Wight Festival on Aug. 30, 1970. Tony Russell / Getty Images
Like "Hallelujah,“many of his tunes — his breakthrough composition “Suzanne,”“Bird on the Wire,” “Tower of Song” — became much-coveredkeystones of the popular songbook.
His longtime accompanist JenniferWarnes recorded several of his best-known works on her 1987 Cohen recital"Famous Blue Raincoat.”
“Unmatched in his creativity,insight, and crippling candor, Leonard Cohen was a true visionary whose voicewill be sorely missed,” Cohen’s manager, Robert B. Kory, said in astatement. “I was blessed to call him a friend, and for me to serve thatbold artistic spirit first hand, was a privilege and great gift. He leavesbehind a legacy of work that will bring insight, inspiration, and healing forgenerations to come.”
MusicianLeonard Cohen tips his hat to the audience as he accepts the 2012 Awards forSong Lyrics of Literary Excellence at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Libraryand Museum Boston on Feb. 26, 2012. JESSICA RINALDI / Reuters
Cohen released his latestalbum, “You Want it Darker” in October. It was his 14th studio album.Rolling Stone calledthe album possibly his darkest yet, and characterized it as “the soundof a master soundtracking his exit, with advice for those left behind.”
Cohen was inducted into the Rock andRoll Hall of Fame in 2008, and was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awardin 2010.
Cohen was awarded the Companion inthe Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2003. He wasawarded the Glenn Gould Prize, given for a lifetime contribution to the arts,in 2011.
Columbia Records said in a statement:“We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries.”
Cohen’s family has requested privacy.A memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date, the statement onCohen’s Facebook page said.
He is survived by a son and daughterfrom his relationship with Suzanne Elrod.
Among those paying tribute to Cohenonline were “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, singer-songwriterk.d. lang and pop superstar Justin Timberlake. Canadian Prime Minister JustinTrudeau said “Canada and the world will miss him.”
For decades, Cohen was a student and friend of Joshu Sasaki Roshi, a ZenBuddhist monk, and from 1994 to 1999 he lived as a disciple of Roshi’s at theMount Baldy Zen Center in Los Angeles.
He claimed not to fully understandBuddhist concepts, but he said the retreat and its hard work gave him a bettersense of himself.
"I was the cook up there,“he told Magazine. “My life was filled with great disorder, with chaos, andI achieved a little discipline there. So I decided to return to music.”
He continued to write and produce albumsand books.
In 2006, Cohen won a lawsuit against his former manager, Kelley Lynch, whom healleged stole more than $5 million of his retirement money while he was inseclusion at the Zen center. He was left with a nest egg of about $150,000, thelawsuit claimed.
Cohen was awarded $9.5 million but hewas unable to collect it. He returned to touring in 2008-09 in part because ofthe financial losses, telling The NewYork Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/arts/music/25cohe.html) the case was “a long, ongoing problem of a disastrous andrelentless indifference to my financial situation. I didn’t even know where thebank was.”
aninterview with Rolling Stone in Cohen said he didn’t spend much timethinking about how people remember him. give that much thought.Some people care about their work lasting forever — I have little interest init,” Cohen said in the interview. ;You probably know that greatstory about Bob Hope. His wife came to him and said, ‘There’s two plotsavailable at Forest Lawn. One looks at some beautiful cypress trees, one looksover the valley. Which do you think you’d prefer?’ He said, 'Surprise me.'That’s the way I feel about posterity and how I’m remembered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZI6EdnvH-8
So Long Marianne by LeonardCohen
Interestingfacts about this song at http://songlyricstoday.com/so-long-ma…](http://songlyricstoday.com/so-long-marianne-lyrics)
The song was inspired by Marianne Jensen (later Marianne Ihlen), whom Cohen meton the Greek island of Hydra in 1960
I was surprised by the announcement.
See you when I pass, Lenard. Say hello to Jimi, Janis, Jim M., that’s if you can get through to him, Dizzy, The Count, Sonny Terry, Brownie, Stevie Ray and all the other cats up there.
With a voice as deep as Leonard’s was, I bet the whole will be many feet deep.