According to Sony Music Canada, legendary singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen has passed away at the age of 82. A cause of death has yet to be revealed.
His final work
Just three weeks prior to his death, Cohen released the acclaimed album "You Want It Darker." Cohen's fourteenth studio album was released on October 21, 2016, putting him in rarefied air of other artists who were releasing celebrated albums into their eighties.
His death bookmarks another musical death at the beginning of the year, the passing of David Bowie. His final album, "Backstar," also came out around the time of his death, convincing people he knew of his impending album and tucked secret messages away in the lyrics and videos accompanying the album.
Following Cohen's death, people will likely approach "You Want It Darker" in the same way.
A musical life
Leonard Cohen was born in Quebec on September 21, 1934. He attended McGill University and was drawn to poetry while living on the Greek island of Hydra. Cohen didn't become a popular songwriter until moving to New York City in the mid-1960s.
Cohen's biggest success came in two parts. He wrote the song "Hallelujah" for Jennifer Warnes' 1984 album "Various Positions." The song didn't achieve immediate success, but instead found its way to the forefront of popular culture in 1994 when Jeff Buckley recorded a version of it. Since then, the song has been received as one of the greatest in the history of music and found its way into various movies and pop culture moments.
Cohen stopped making music in 1995, choosing to dedicate his life to becoming a Buddhist monk outside of Los Angeles. He resumed his career six years later with "Ten New Songs," inspired by his new Buddhist religion. Cohen began performing at a prolific rate from 2008 to 2013 after having more than $5 million embezzled from his career earnings by his manager.
A month before his passing, Cohen said "I intend to live forever" after reports claiming he was near death.
With his contributions to music, his voice surely will stand the test of time.
