Cohen was 82 years old and influenced other songwriters for over 50 years. He only had one major hit song and that was Suzanna. Judy Collins' rendition was the version I heard and remember. But he has volumes of incredible songs that many have never heard. He released his final album in October of this year.
I love his deep baritone voice but it was not one that resonated with commercial radio. So Leonard toured and played all around the world for adoring fans.
He had a song entitled Hallelujah. It's a dark song but it's incredibly beautiful. Another songwriter Tim Buckley recorded his rendition of Hallelujah in the early 1990s (I think) and since then the song has been recorded by hundreds of people.
An acapella group, the Pentatonics, recorded a version of Hallelujah and it took my breath away. I'm posting a link to the video here. I'd be interested to know your thoughts.
RIP Leonard.
I just heard this song on another blogger' s site. It was so beautiful. I think "hauntingly" beautiful would be how I felt listening to it. I'm glad I now know the artist who wrote it. He sounds like a man who did what he loved even though the commercial music world said otherwise. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteYou said it all for me!!
DeleteSorry for your loss. You wrote a wonderful tribute to your friend.
ReplyDeleteI love that song! I also like how others have made different versions of it. I like the Christmas version.
ReplyDeleteLisa
Unbelievably, I had never heard of him or his music...Mrs. C does. I spent many years under a rock in the 70's - 90's so...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful song.
'Halleluy' means in hebrew 'praise the Lord'; the phrase appears often in the Bible.
ReplyDeleteAll the Halleluya songs, not only that of Leonard Cohen, are grand. In 1979, the israeli song Halleluya won the Eurovision contest.
The performance of the Pentatonics is very beautiful.
I have long enjoyed that song and I have heard it sung by several artists. I listened to it from the link you provided and it was nice to hear it again. The song is so full of emotion. Thank you for the nice tribute.
ReplyDeleteI loved his songs although I wasn't fond of his voice.
ReplyDeleteAh Leonard Cohen. How fortunate we are to have lived in his time.
ReplyDeleteAlphie
Heard of his death couldn't place him or think of anything he did
ReplyDelete