Canadian music legend Leonard Cohen passes away

"It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away," read the statement.

"We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries," it said.

"A memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date. The family requests privacy during their time of grief," read the statement.

A famous Canadian who had lived in Montreal where his cult song Suzanne is still played in a night tour of the city by the river, his more than six decades of career was celebrated with songs that made him one of the most famous poet musicians.

"Beyond all of his songs, Cohen's painfully pure and eternal "Hallelujah" has become a staple of the modern American songbook, conjuring countless covers. As testament to the song's beauty and Cohen's talent, amazingly it never gets old," wrote Billboard.

Nobel laureate Bob Dylan had also performed Cohen's 1984 Hallelujah in concerts during the mid-1980s.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said in a message on Twitter: "No other artist's music felt or sounded like Leonard Cohen's. Yet his work resonated across generations. Canada and the world will miss him."

"There's a blaze of light In every word. It doesn't matter which you heard. The holy or the broken Hallelujah#RIPLeonard," he tweeted.

American singer-songwriter-actress Bette Midler tweeted: "Leonard Cohen has died. Another magical voice stilled."

Leonard Cohen has died. Another magical voice stilled.
Cohen was inducted into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame as well as the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He was a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour.

In 2011, Cohen received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature.

Cohen was awarded the Ninth Glenn Gould Prize in 2011.

In an interview to  the New Yorker magazine he said: "I've got some work to do. Take care of business. I am ready to die. I hope it's not too uncomfortable. That's about it for me."

Image: Wallpapers/his official website