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Leonard Cohen

Canadian singer, songwriter and poet (1934–2016)

  • Audience1.5M
  • Fame81.4
  • Momentum0.3
Source-basedFalling
1.5M youtube followers
  • Audience1.5M
  • Fame81.4
  • Momentum0.3
  • Canada rank#13
  • Musicians rank#178
  • Wikipedia137.1K
Lived 1934–2016, aged 82Canada
Canada flagCanadaMusiciansSinger / Musician
  • Biggest on YouTube
    1.5M
    @@leonardcohen
  • Wikipedia
    109 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Rank in Canada
    #13
    Musicians
  • Era
    1934–2016
    Aged 82
  • Known for
    The Favourite Game
    2003
Summary
Updated 2026-08-14

The voice that turned "Hallelujah" into a hymn for the faithless came late to music — Cohen spent his first thirty-one years as a poet and novelist before picking up a guitar in 1966.

Biography

About

Leonard Norman Cohen was born September 21, 1934, and spent the 1950s and early 1960s writing novels and poems before releasing his first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen, in 1967. Three spare folk records followed through 1974, then a jarring detour with Phil Spector's wall-of-sound production on Death of a Ladies' Man in 1977. He returned to form with Recent Songs in 1979, blending acoustic textures with jazz and Mediterranean threads, then released "Hallelujah" on Various Positions in 1984 — the song that would outlive him in a thousand covers. I'm Your Man in 1988 pushed him toward synthesize…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen
said
And if one is to express the great inevitable defeat that awaits us all, it must be done within the strict confines of dignity and beauty.
— As quoted in "2011's Prince of Asturias Prize for Letters"
Leonard Cohen
said
People used to say my music was too difficult or too obscure, and I never set out to be difficult or obscure.
— As quoted in Los Angeles Times (24 September 1995)
Leonard Cohen
said
I am so often accused of gloominess and melancholy. And I think I'm probably the most cheerful man around. I don't consider myself a pessimist at all.
— As quoted in "The Joking Troubadour of Gloom" in The Daily Telegraph (26 April 1993)
Leonard Cohen
said
Only in Canada could somebody with a voice like mine win 'Vocalist of the Year'.
— First words of his speech accepting the Juno Award for Best Male Vocalist in Canada (1992)
Leonard Cohen
said
It was only when you walked away I saw you had the perfect ass. Forgive me for not falling in love with your face or your conversation.
— The Energy of Slaves (1972)
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Press play

Listen & Watch

Spotify
Latest

On YouTube

Deep cuts

Albums

Low confidence
  • Thanks for the Dance
    2019
  • Book of Longing
    2007
By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Falling
81.4
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum0.3
Historical28.9
Now attention9.0
Source confidence90.0
Completeness90.0
Global rank
—
Country rank
#13
Category rank
#178
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence