Leonard Cohen
21 September 1934 – 7 November 2016
Leonard Cohen was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet and novelist whose work explored religion, desire, politics and loss. He published poetry and two novels before releasing his first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen, in 1967, and recorded songs including Suzanne, Bird on the Wire and Hallelujah. He returned to touring in 2008 after a long absence and continued recording until shortly before his death in 2016.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Leonard Cohen.
- Adonis (1930–present) Overlapped 82 years →
- Alice Munro (1931–2024) Overlapped 82 years →
- Asha Bhosle (1933–2026) Overlapped 82 years →
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) Overlapped 82 years →
- Athol Fugard (1932–2025) Overlapped 82 years →
- Bill Russell (1934–2022) Overlapped 82 years →
Life events
Cohen was born into a Jewish family in a suburb of Montreal.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe took a bachelor's degree at McGill, where he led a country-folk group and won a literary prize for poetry.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgThe collection appeared in the McGill Poetry Series and established his reputation as a young Canadian poet.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgCohen lived and wrote on Hydra for much of the decade, where he met Marianne Ihlen.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHis second novel drew wide critical discussion in Canada for its experimental form and explicit content.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgThe album, recorded for Columbia Records, included Suzanne and So Long, Marianne.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgThe song was little noticed on release and became widely known through later cover versions.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgCohen lived at the Mount Baldy Zen Center in California for several years as a student of Joshu Sasaki Roshi.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAfter losses to his retirement savings, Cohen began a world tour that continued for several years.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgCohen died at the age of 82, weeks after releasing his final album, You Want It Darker.
Source: en.wikipedia.org