TV: Remembering Leonard Cohen- k.d. lang Sings Powerful 'Hallelujah'

By: Nov. 11, 2016
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As BroadwayWorld reported yesterday, poet, novelist and songwriter Leonard Cohen passed away at the age of 82. His son Adam Cohen commented: "My father passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles with the knowledge that he had completed what he felt was one of his greatest records. He was writing up until his last moments with his unique brand of humor."

Cohen's first album was Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967) followed by Songs from a Room (1969) (featuring the often-recorded "Bird on the Wire") and Songs of Love and Hate (1971). His 1977 record Death of a Ladies' Man was co-written and produced by Phil Spector, which was a move away from Cohen's previous minimalist sound. In 1979 Cohen returned with the more traditional Recent Songs, which blended his acoustic style with jazz and Oriental and Mediterranean influences. "Hallelujah" was first released on Cohen's studio album Various Positions in 1984. I'm Your Man in 1988 marked Cohen's turn to synthesized productions and remains his most popular album. In 1992 Cohen released its follow-up, The Future, which had dark lyrics and references to political and social unrest.

Cohen returned to music in 2001 with the release of Ten New Songs, which was a major hit in Canada and Europe. His eleventh album, Dear Heather, followed in 2004. After a successful string of tours between 2008 and 2010, Cohen released three albums in the final four years of his life: Old Ideas(2012), Popular Problems (2014) and You Want It Darker (2016), the last of which was released three weeks before his death.

Below, watch as four-time Grammy Award-winner k.d. lang performs one of Cohen's most poignant songs, "Hallelujah," at a 2014 performance of After Midnight.


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