With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today .
Singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen dies at 82
Listen
• 16:54
File: Singer/musician Leonard Cohen performs at Radio City Music Hall on April 6, 2013 in New York City.
(
Jemal Countess/Getty Images
)
File: Poet/recording artist Leonard Cohen attends the 52nd annual Grammy Awards-Special Merit Awards at the Wilshire Ebell Theater on Jan. 30, 2010 in Los Angeles.
(
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
)
File: Musician Leonard Cohen (L) performs with guitarist Javier Mas at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 18, 2012 in New York City.
(
Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
)
File: Musician Leonard Cohen performs at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 18, 2012 in New York City.
(
Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
)
File: (L-R) Leonard Cohen, Judy Collins and Taylor Swift meet at the 41st Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Ceremony at The New York Marriott Marquis on June 17, 2010 in New York City.
(
Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Songwriter's Ha
)
File: Canadian singer Leonard Cohen attends "Principe de Asturias" awards 2011 ceremony at the Campoamor Theatre on Oct. 21, 2011 in Oviedo, Spain.
(
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
)
File: Musician Leonard Cohen performs at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 18, 2012 in New York City.
(
Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
)
File: Canadian singer Leonard Cohen attends "Principe de Asturias" awards 2011 ceremony at the Campoamor Theatre on Oct. 21, 2011 in Oviedo, Spain.
(
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
)
Singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen, best known for the poetic epic song "Hallelujah," has died, according to his official Facebook page. He was 82 years old, according to the Associated Press.
"It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away," the post reads. "We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries."
The post also notes that there will be a memorial for Cohen in Los Angeles at a date to be announced.
"Cohen was the dark eminence among a small pantheon of extremely influential singer-songwriters to emerge in the Sixties and early Seventies," Rolling Stone wrote in its obituary of Cohen. "Only Bob Dylan exerted a more profound influence upon his generation, and perhaps only Paul Simon and fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell equaled him as a song poet. Cohen's haunting bass voice, nylon-stringed guitar patterns, Greek-chorus backing vocals shaped evocative songs that dealt with love and hate, sex and spirituality, war and peace, ecstasy and depression."
Support for LAist comes from
"Well Marianne, it’s come to this time when we are really so old and our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine. And you know that I’ve always loved you for your beauty and your wisdom, but I don’t need to say anything more about that because you know all about that. But now, I just want to wish you a very good journey. Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road."
The Rolling Stone article also notes that Cohen continued to enjoy success into his eighties. His final album, "You Want It Darker," being released earlier this year.
"I never had the sense that there was an end," Cohen said in 1992, according to the Rolling Stone obituary. "That there was a retirement or that there was a jackpot."
Cohen's family requested privacy at this time, according to the Facebook post.
Watch Cohen perform his signature song, "Hallelujah," which became a cult hit after Jeff Buckley covered it in 1994:
Support for LAist comes from
Listen to a much younger Cohen perform another of his iconic songs, "Suzanne":
Fellow musicians and other celebrities posted about Cohen's death on social media, including Sean Lennon, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bette Midler, Moby, William Gibson and more. Many put Cohen's death in the context of a number of other high-profile deaths in 2016, including David Bowie and Prince.
To help us remember a man whose musical work spanned nearly half a century, Take Two's Alex Cohen spoke with Nic Harcourt, whose morning music program can be heard on KCSN here in L.A.
Support for LAist comes from
Nic: "He came from a reasonably privileged upbringing in Montreal but he was exposed very early to country music and to blues music and that was something that resonated with him. But clearly, he was also very much a literary person and he started off as a poet, as a writer, writing short stories and novels. His voice really just came about, I think because he didn't know how to sing at the beginning but he found his voice through the words..."
In 1996, he was officially ordained here in Southern California at the Mount Baldy Zen Center. To better understand the role Buddhism played in his life and work, Alex Cohen also spoke with Hal Roth, Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Contemplative Studies Program at Brown University.
Roth recalled the first time he met the musician, Buddhism in Cohen's music and he shared one of the last emails he received from Cohen:
"Dear Hal,
Always so good to hear your voice. Thank you for all you've done out of love for our ever present Roshi and for the righteous man in this landscape of thickening shadows. I have deeply cherished our friendship, you know that. This old body seems to linger on against my will. Nothing to do at last, I know that you are among the few who will understand when I say, I have never felt better. Countless bows to the immutable kindness of our teachers. Much love to you old friend. See you down the road."
To hear the full segment remembering Leonard Cohen, click the blue play button above.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The study found recipients spent nearly all the money on basic needs like food and transportation, not drugs or alcohol. -
Kevin Lee's Tokyo Noir has become one of the top spots for craft-inspired cocktails. -
A tort claim obtained by LAist via a public records request alleges the Anaheim procurement department lacks basic contracting procedures and oversight. -
Flauta, taquito, tacos dorados? Whatever they’re called, they’re golden, crispy and delicious. -
If California redistricts, the conservative beach town that banned LGBTQ Pride flags on city property would get a gay, progressive Democrat in Congress. -
Most survivors of January's fires face a massive gap in the money they need to rebuild, and funding to help is moving too slowly or nonexistent.
Best of LAist