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Leonard Cohen
biography
Leonard Cohen
Cohen in 2008
Background information
Birth name Leonard Norman Cohen
Born September 21, 1934 (age 75)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres Folk, folk rock, rock, blues, world music
Occupations Musician, songwriter, poet, novelist
Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active e 1956 - Present
Labels Columbia
Leonard Norman Cohen, CC, GOQ (born September 21, 1934) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. 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 interpersonal relationships. Famously reclusive, having once spent several years in a Zen Buddhist monastery, and possessing a persona frequently associated with mystique, he is extremely well-regarded by critics for his literary accomplishments and for producing an output of work of high artistic quality over a five-decade career.b
Musically, Cohen's earliest songs (many of which appeared on the 1967 album, Songs of Leonard Cohen) were rooted in European folk music. 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 a wide variety of instruments and female backing singers.
Over 2,000 renditions of Cohen's songs have been recorded. Cohen 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 Cohen's 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".
Early life
Cohen was born in 1934 in Westmount, Montreal, Quebec, into a middle-class Jewish family. His mother, of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, emigrated from Lithuania while his great-grandfather emigrated from Poland. 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." 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.
Hallelujah
On March 7, 2008, Jeff BuckleyÕs version of Cohen's ÒHallelujahÓ, went to number 1 on the iTunes chart after being performed by Jason Castro on the seventh season of the television series American Idol. Another major boost for Cohen's song exposure came when singer-songwriter Kate Voegele released her version of "Hallelujah" from her 2007 Don't Look Away album and appeared as a regular character, named Mia, on season five of the teenage television show One Tree Hill.
A few days later, Cohen was inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in recognition of his status among the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters". He was introduced by fellow musician Lou Reed.
In December 2008, two versions of "Hallelujah" were placed at No. 1 and 2 in the UK Christmas singles chart, with 'X Factor' winner Alexandra Burke at No. 1 and Jeff Buckley at No. 2, following an campaign by Buckley fans to get his version to no. 1 rather than the X Factor version. As a result, online downloads of Cohen's original version placed it at No. 36, 24 years after its initial release. Not since the early days of the UK Singles Chart had three versions of the same song charted simultaneously.
John Cale performed this song in the 2001 Dreamworks movie "Shrek". The cover when watching the actual movie was by John Cale, but the original soundtrack for the movie had a Rufus Wainwright version. John Cale's version was also featured on the television series Scrubs.
The Jeff Buckley version of Hallelujah was used during the final minutes of the West Wing episode "Posse Comitatus", the last episode of season 3.
On February 12, 2010, k.d. lang performed this song at the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada.
word from the webmaster: One the top performance made for that song, is the one that K"D" Lang is singing. You may hear her here
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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