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Leonard Cohen on the road to singing sensation
Poet, musician, novelist, ladies' man, monk, actor... Leonard Norman Cohen, one of Canada's most influential cultural icons was born on Sept. 21, 1934 in Montreal. Whether from a mountaintop at a Buddhist retreat in California, on the Greek island of Hydra or strolling along the streets of his beloved ville d'amour, the melancholy bard of popular music has delighted fans worldwide with his poetry, novels and music.
Cohen has always loved music. At 17, he had a country-western trio called the Buckskin Boys.
"I always thought of myself as a singer," he tells Beryl Fox in a 1966 interview on CBC's This Hour Has Seven Days, "and kind of got side-tracked to literature." He leaves the Greek island of Hydra in 1966 for Nashville and by Christmas of 1967, Cohen releases his remarkable debut album, The Songs of Leonard Cohen.
• Cohen also dabbled in acting. One of the more memorable performances was his cameo as the head of Interpol on the popular TV show Miami Vice.
Program: This Hour has Seven Days
Broadcast Date: May 8, 1966
Guest(s): Leonard Cohen
Host: Beryl Fox, Patrick Watson
Duration: 9:27
Last updated: April 5, 2013
Page consulted on April 5, 2013
All Clips from this Topic
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Cohen wows critics with his first collection of poetry.
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Cohen lives on and off in Greece for almost seven years with a Norwegi...
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Leonard Cohen defends the 1963 work he says is "a third novel disguise...
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While living in a white house on the sun-drenched island of Hydra, Gre...
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Cohen leaves his blissful domestic life on Hydra with the intention of...
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Adrienne Clarkson interviews Cohen after the publication of his second...
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Cohen opens up about his writing in a rare in-depth television intervi...
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Cohen opens up about his writing in Part II of a rare in-depth televis...
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Cohen discusses turning 50 with CBC Radio's Morningside host Peter Gzo...
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Vicki Gabereau gets in-depth and personal with the Canadian legend.
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Cohen receives the Juno Award for Male Vocalist of the Year and the Go...
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A Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction prompts the songwriter to refl...
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A Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction prompts the songwriter to refl...
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Poet, musician, novelist, ladies' man, monk, actor... Leonard Norman C...