Leonard Cohen, legendary Canadian poet and singer-songwriter, dead at 82

I am ready to die. But even with a successful career and future Cohen did not stop writing songs, making it to 2016 and releasing You Want It Darker just weeks before he died.

A memorial will be held for Cohen in Los Angeles on a date still to be announced, according to his official Facebook page.

The posting says Cohen’s family has requested privacy “during their time of grief”.

Cohen, a native of Quebec, was already a celebrated poet and novelist when he moved to NY in 1966 at age 31 to break into the music business. His work was a medley of jazz and spoken word, poetry and guitar. Songs like Hallelujah and Suzanne earned him a place at the upper echelon of songsmiths, and he was idolized by such fellow heroes as James Taylor, Willie Nelson, and Nick Drake, among many others.

He is being remembered by many of his peers in the music world. First to pick up the baton was Jeff Buckley in 1994, whose exquisitely pure tenor voice, recorded with a churchy echo, seemed ideally suited to the song’s religious themes.

“Leonard had an influence that extended like an underground stream throughout the entire culture, especially among other artists”, said Brian D. Johnson, who interviewed Cohen several times and reviewed his work for Maclean’s. He was spending much of his time with his children in the south of France, but eventually a collection of songs came together.

1956: Temporarily moves to NY to pursue graduate school, but returns to Montreal after a year. It’s a sad love song that talks about his muse, Suzanne Verdal, who was dating another person.

The legendary singer and songwriter is considered to be one of the greatest Canadian songwriters of his generation.

“I don’t consider myself a pessimist at all, ‘ he told the London Daily Telegraph in 1993”.

“I was the cook up there”, he said. The album was produced by Cohen’s son, Adam, in a process that included recording the congregation of the family’s old synagogue in Montreal.

Following in the Cave’s lead, tributes and compliments in celebration of Cohen’s brilliance continued to flow from some of the industry’s most famous names. He wrote, recorded, and toured all the way up until his final months. His ability to conjure the vast array of human emotion made him one of the most influential and enduring musicians ever.

Among his accolades were entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid tribute to the Grammy Award victor who was also bestowed with the nation’s highest honour.

Conveying what all his fans feel today, singer Roseanne Cash echoed the lyrics from Cohen’s song Anthem when she tweeted, “Leonard Cohen is dead”.