Legendary singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen passes away at 82

PanARMENIAN.Net - It's a huge loss for the music industry as Leonard Cohen has passed away, AceShowbiz said. The Canadian singer/songwriter's label Sony Music Canada announced the sad news in a statement issued on Thursday, November 10. He was 82.

"It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away. We have lost one of music's most revered and prolific visionaries," read the statement posted on Facebook.

"A memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date. The family requests privacy during their time of grief," the statement added. The cause of death has yet to be revealed.

Born in Montreal and raised in the Westmount neighborhood, Cohen began his nearly-six-decade career in music in the '60s. He is perhaps best known for his 1984 song "Hallelujah" which has been covered by a bunch of artists like Bono and Willie Nelson. Other songs he's famous for included "Suzanne", "Bird on the Wire" and "Tower of Song".

Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. Two years later, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Grammys.

After news of the singer's passing broke, the Recording Academy expressed their sadness in a statement. The statement read, "We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Grammy Award winner and 2010 Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Leonard Cohen. During an influential career that spanned more than five decades, Leonard became one of the most revered pop poets and a musical touchstone for many songwriters."

It continued, "His extraordinary talent had a profound impact on countless singers and songwriters, as well as the wider culture. We have lost a cherished artist and our sincerest condolences go out to Leonard's family, friends, and collaborators. He will be missed terribly."

A lot of celebrities also mourned Cohen's death, taking to social media to pay tribute to the late star. "Leonard Cohen has died. Another magical voice stilled," Bette Midler tweeted. Lin-Manuel Miranda, meanwhile, quoted some of Cohen's lyrics.

Jennifer Hudson shared on the micro-blogging site a video of her covering Cohen's "Hallelujah" and captioned it, "RIP Leonard Cohen. Thank you for you dedication to music, & writing one of my favorite songs to sing 'Hallelujah'."

Also saying goodbye to Cohen via Twitter were Alanis Morissette, Justin Timberlake, Russell Crowe, Patton Oswalt, Q-Tip, Ruby Rose, Sarah Silverman and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "Yet his work resonated across generations. Canada and the world will miss him," wrote Trudeau.