Leonard Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet from Montreal, Quebec, who began his musical career in the mid-1960s after establishing himself as a poet and novelist, releasing his debut album in 1967. His work combined folk and contemporary folk traditions with elements of pop, gospel and cabaret, featuring a deep baritone voice, literate lyrics and recurring themes of love, spirituality and politics, and over his career he incorporated more elaborate arrangements and electronic textures while maintaining a lyric-centred approach.
