Search Results - Leonard Cohen
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Leonard Norman Cohen, CC, GOQ (born September 21, 1934) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet, novelist, and artist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often deals with the exploration of religion, isolation, sexuality and complex interpersonal relationships. Musically, Cohen's earliest songs (many of which appeared on the 1967 album, Songs of Leonard Cohen) were rooted in European folk music.[1] In the 1970s, his material encompassed pop, cabaret and world music. Since the 1980s his high baritone voice has evolved into lower registers (bass baritone and bass), with accompaniment from electronic synthesizers and female backing singers. Over 2,000 renditions of Cohen's songs have been recorded. He has been inducted into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. While giving the speech at his induction into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008, Lou Reed described Cohen as belonging to the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters."[2] Cohen was born in 1934 in Westmount, Montreal, Quebec, into a middle-class Jewish family. His father was of Polish ancestry. His mother, of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, emigrated from Lithuania.[3] He grew up in Westmount on the Island of Montreal. His father, Nathan Cohen, owned a substantial Montreal clothing store, and died when Leonard was nine years old. Like many other Jewish families with names like Cohen, Kahn, and Kagan, Cohen's family claimed descent from the Kohanim "I had a very Messianic childhood," he told Richard Goldstein in 1967. "I was told I was a descendant of Aaron, the high priest."[4] He attended Herzliah High School, where he studied with poet Irving Layton. As a teenager he learned to play the guitar, subsequently forming a country-folk group called the Buckskin Boys. His father's will provided Leonard with a modest trust income, sufficient to allow him to pursue his literary ambitions.
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Showing 1 to 6 of 6 Articles matching 'Leonard Cohen' in related articles. |
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1. Live in London is an AMAZING Album
June 14, 2009
While Leonard Cohen isn't the greatest singer on Earth, he does have a uniqueness to him that captivates the audience. He also seems to be a jack of all trades seeing that not only is he a singer and songwriter he was a poet and part time Buddhist monk.
"Leonard Cohen " Live in London" finds the 74 year old Canadian wordsmith in full throws of his orchestrated personal pain. Somehow, although he tends to talk only about his own problems, Cohen is able to communicate the feelings of almost every listener's deep-buried emotions, as well. This masterful delivery at London's O2 Arena was his... (read more)
Author: Jen Barnum
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2. Leonard Cohen Live in London CD
June 09, 2009
Not only was Leonard Cohen a full time singer and songwriter he also has several other 'hats'. He was a part time Buddhist monk as well as a poet. While his singing voice isn't the greatest ever, he has a sort of bluesy moan that makes up for it.
Cohen, 74 sings about his troubles but the way his feelings convey to the audience is definitely music to the ears. His bout at the London's O2 Arena was his first major live tour in about 15 years and his double live CD includes pictures and 26 songs for your enjoyment.
His album is a mix of both old and new songs, however getting a hold ... (read more)
Author: Jen Barnum
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3. Leonard Cohen Tours the World in 2009
May 19, 2009
Over 70 shows planned for the 74 year-old singer/songwriter
Having published his first book of poems at the young age of twenty-two in 1956, Leonard Cohen has since continued to achieve success in everything he has done during his long career as a singer-songwriter, poet, musician, novelist, and poet. While having been known early on for his literary capabilities – publishing four collections of poems and two novels before recording his debut album in 1967 – Cohen has since exceeded expectations in the musical world, and has overshadowed his own literary works with his award winning music... (read more)
Author: Melissa Pulsifer
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4. A review of the movie Two Lovers
March 09, 2009
This movie has its setting in Brooklyn and brings with it a stellar cast including Gyneth Paltrow as Michelle Rausch, Vanessa Shaw as Sandra Cohen, Isabella Rosellini as Ruth Kraditor and staring Joaquin Phoenix as Leonard Kraditor.
The opening scene is melodically dark and harrowing and just brilliant filmmaking and sets a tone going into the movie.
While the film centers on Brooklyn with some later jaunts into Manhattan, the overall setting embodies the sense of the desert and the central characters have various degrees of fainting to its parched affects and the loss of a... (read more)
Author: Joseph Jagde
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5. Playing the Guitar - The Shrek Song (Hallelujah), Background and Basic Chords
September 16, 2008
One of the greatest songs I've ever heard is Hallelujah, commonly known as the Shrek Song. This song has an interesting story. Written by Leonard Cohen and recorded on his 1984 album, Various Positions, the composing proved to be a challenge. "I filled two notebooks and I remember being in the Royalton Hotel (in New York), on the carpet in my underwear, banging my head on the floor and saying, I can't finish this song" he's quoted as saying. Filled with biblical references Cohen has said that he wrote up to 80 verses of Hallelujah.
References include "she broke your throne and cut your ha... (read more)
Author: Ignatius Gluck
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6. Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen Inducted into Hall of Fame
March 24, 2008
It's been a long time coming but Leonard Cohen, one of Canada's most celebrated poets, has finally been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.The legend behind such writerly odes as First We Take Manhattan and Hey That's No Way to Say Goodbye was celebrated by such noted luminaries as Lou Reed and Damien Rice.Lou Reed, of Velvet Underground fame, said of Cohen "You wrote a song called I'll Be Your Mirror and it made me want to keep writing songs," high praise indeed from the man that brought "head" into common parlance. Damien Rice followed with a much coveted, but thankless ... (read more)
Author: Mickey Twist
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