subject: Why Leonard Cohen Is Still Going Strong [print this page] There is not a music fan who has not heard the song Hallelujah. It is one of the most covered songs in popular music history, and almost every mainstream artist gives it a try at one point or another. But not as many music listeners are as aware of the singer and songwriter behind those songs. The master songwriter is Leonard Cohen, who has been in the music industry since 1967 with his first album, appropriately titled Songs By Leonard Cohen. Ever since that debut, Cohen has been one of the most respected and beloved singers, not because of his voice, but because of the fantastic lyrics that are all at once cryptic and revealing.
Cohen is not just respected for his songwriting, but he is respected for the shows he puts on as well. Despite the fact that he does not do stage stunts, or have some wild and crazy stage persona, he is captivating to watch on stage. To best describe a Leonard Cohen show, one must imagine if Frank Sinatra had borrowed some love poetry from Edgar Allen Poe, and then made love songs with it. Except Cohen cannot be said to merely write love songs, as his songs often deal with introspective, non-superficial themes. Cohen is able to vary his style so much by being sly and subtle, and then appearing to be tortured and blunt as a hammer. His songs perfectly provoke the feelings they describe to the point that his deep, occasionally gravelly voice does not matter. It is how he presents the song that matters.
Some of his best hits such as I'm Your Man, Hallelujah, and Everybody Knows have become staples of music, and often appear in films, even if he is not the one who is singing the song. Some have gone so far as to call him the Shakespeare of pop songwriting. Perhaps what makes him so popular, aside from the songs, and aside from his stage presence, is simply the mystique surrounding him. By not knowing much about him, the listener wants to know everything about him. But if you were to ask him, he would tell you that there is really not much to know about him. And it is because of this that Cohen is such a class act, and why at the age of 75 he is still going stronger than ever before.
