Why Leonard waited until 1967 to begin his musical career

General discussion about Leonard Cohen's songs and albums
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Myrtone
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 7:09 am

Why Leonard waited until 1967 to begin his musical career

Post by Myrtone »

Long ago, I realised something; If Leonard began his musical career in his early twenties or earlier, he would have had a head start on the Beatles and Bob Dylan in introducing the singer-songwriter and a head-start on the latter in putting poetry into music.
So why did he wait until it was too late for that head start, and what if he hadn't waited?
John Etherington
Posts: 2605
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 10:17 pm

Re: Why Leonard waited until 1967 to begin his musical career

Post by John Etherington »

Hi Myrtone,

I'm surprised no one has answered this, until now. Although Leonard played in a country group called the Buckskin Boys when he was at school, his chosen career was writing poetry and novels. Also, he was primarily living an idyllic life on Hydra with Marianne from the early Sixties. When he found that writing wasn't lucrative enough, he made his way to Nashville in 1966, with a view to making a country and western record. As he has said, he got "hi-jacked by the scene in New York" where he met the likes of Andy Warhol, Lou Reed, Nico and Judy Collins. He was in the right place at the right time (including astrologically) to fit into the new singer-songwriter scene that was emerging. The fact that he'd led a varied and different life up to that point made him unique and interesting. We can only speculate what might have happened if he'd started earlier. He would have been competing with Dylan, for start!
Myrtone
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 7:09 am

Re: Why Leonard waited until 1967 to begin his musical career

Post by Myrtone »

It has been nearly a year since anyone posted here, how about an alternative history where Leonard Cohen did have that head start.
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