Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen was a Canadian poet, novelist and singer-songwriter whose career bridged literature and music across five decades. Before turning to recording, he had already published acclaimed poetry and novels, and he did not release his debut album until his thirties, arriving in the folk world as a fully formed literary voice. His songwriting, delivered in a distinctive low, spoken-sung baritone, combined stark poetic imagery with themes of love, desire, spirituality, war and mortality, on songs like «Suzanne», «So Long, Marianne» and «Chelsea Hotel No. 2».

His most famous composition, «Hallelujah», took years to gain wide recognition but eventually became one of the most covered songs of the modern era, recorded in dozens of languages by hundreds of artists and used extensively in film and television. Cohen's later career included a lengthy hiatus in the 1990s spent at a Los Angeles monastery, followed by a return to performing after learning his manager had drained his finances during his absence. His late-period albums, including You Want It Darker released shortly before his death in 2016, were met with critical acclaim for their unflinching meditations on mortality.

Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and remains one of the most revered lyricists in popular music, his songs such as «Everybody Knows» and «Anthem» prized for their philosophical depth and enduring craftsmanship.