‘Another magical voice stilled’
Artists around the world celebrate the life and legacy of song’s ‘best wordsmith’
Leonard Cohen has many lyrics and songs that are appropriate for times of mourning. And so when news of the beloved singer/songwriter’s death broke Thursday night, many took to Twitter to pay tribute to the artist, with his words — and theirs.
“Leonard Cohen is as relevant today as he was in the 1960s,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted. Many tributes quoted timeless lyrics from classic songs such as “Hallelujah,” “Suzanne,” and “Bird on a Wire.” Among the most shared were words from “Anthem,” a song from his 1992 release, The Future.
Singer Jennifer Hudson thanked Cohen for writing one of her favourite songs to perform: “Hallelujah.”
Singer k.d. lang wished Cohen “a swift rebirth,” while Bette Midler said Cohen’s was “another magical voice stilled.”
Rufus Wainwright famously covered “Hallelujah” in 2001. But his connection to Cohen runs deeper.
Cohen’s grandaughter Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen was born in 2011, after Wainwright donated sperm to Cohen’s daughter, Lorca.
“I had very few deeply personal experiences with Leonard,” said Wainwright in a statement to the Star. “Like for most of us, for me he dwelled in a higher strata inhabited by some living but mostly passed icons who seemed to have this direct line to the galaxy, whilst at the same time knowing exactly when to take out the trash. Formidable in both the sacred and the mundane.”
Gordon Lightfoot, a soulful Canadian singer-song- writer who, as Cohen did, rose to fame in the 1960s and ’70s, released a statement to mark the passing of his friend: “I am deeply saddened by the passing of my contemporary, colleague, fellow Canadian and my dear friend Leonard Cohen,” wrote Lightfoot. “He loved music and his music affected millions of people around the world. He will be greatly missed.”
Canadian musician Ron Sexsmith said the world was a better place with Cohen in it.
“I looked forward to every record and concert tour,” Sexsmith said. “More than anybody else, his words and music brought out the songwriter in me and made me want to aim higher and try harder.” Elton John, who performed “Born to Lose” with Cohen on the 1993 John album Duets, took to Twitter to pay tribute. Cohen friend, Juno Award-winning guitarist, singer and songwriter Liona Boyd said she loved his work since buying the album Songs Of Leonard Cohen as a teenager.
The pair eventually met through mutual acquaintances in Los Angeles in the 1990s, and began meeting a restaurant in Beverly Hills to talk over cups of tea.
“We traded CDs . . . . Once we played each other our latest demos while in our separate cars in a parking lot. He made me laugh when he smiled and commented, ‘This is such an L.A. moment,’ ” Boyd told the Star.
Canadian musician Bruce Cockburn called Cohen a “beautiful romancer of the darkness in our souls. Hands down, the best wordsmith in contemporary song.” With files from The Canadian Press and USA Today