Leonard Cohen, the Canadian singer-songwriter of hundreds of amazing and memorable songs, including ''Suzanne," "Bird on a Wire" and "So Long, Marianne," has died at age 82.
"My father passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles," Adam Cohen said in a statement Thursday. "He was writing up until his last moments with his unique brand of humor."
Cohen was originally a poet who wrote much in the vein of famous Beat poet Allen Ginsberg when he was young, but eventually became a musician. Late in life, Cohen also became an aspiring Zen Buddhist monk.
Cohen's songs were performed by hundreds of other artists and musicians, but no song was covered more than "Hallelujah," a remarkable piece about spirituality, music and love. "Hallelujah" gained worldwide popularity in the early 1990s when it was recorded by New York singer Jeff Buckley, who himself died tragically when he drowned in the Mississippi River in 1997.
Here is "Hallelujah" recorded by 1,500 singers who came to Luminato Festival in Toronto to participate in a choir performance event featuring singer and composer Rufus Wainwright earlier this year. The event was arranged by the group Choir! Choir! Choir!.
Thank you Leonard for all of your amazing songs.