If you saw the SNL Cold Open on Saturday, then you are familiar with the work of Leonard Cohen, legendary singer/songwriter. The show opened with Cohen’s most famous work, Hallelujah, sung by Kate McKinnon’s Hillary Clinton.

Cohen passed away on November 10th at the age of 82. “He leaves behind a legacy of work that will bring insight, inspiration and healing for generations to come.”

You can learn more about this extraordinary talent and his enduring impact on popular music through interviews, features, reviews and audio files about Cohen that are available to Columbia College students, faculty and staff in the online music database, Rock’s Backpages.

We found many, little gems hidden in interviews with Cohen, including this quote from a 1988 interview with Paul Mathur that appeared in Melody Maker:

It’s difficult, but beautiful to want to change the world. Great art has always been created, but never under that name. Pop music is a good arena for eternity. It doesn’t trivialise things because the world couldn’t be any more absurd than it already is.

 

Rock’s Backpages is an online library of over 30,000 articles and interviews covering the last 60 years of pop music culture. Some of the musicians and groups profiled and interviewed include Aaliyah, Adele, the Beatles, Beyonce, Drake, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga, and Vampire Weekend. The archive covers all genres of popular music from the 1950’s to present.