Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen died at 82

Leonard Cohen, whose work spanned nearly 50 years, died at the age of 82.

Cohen's label, Sony Music Canada, confirmed his death on the singer's Facebook page. A cause of death and exact date of death was not given, as reported by Rolling Stone. "It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away," the statement read. "We have lost one of music's most revered and prolific visionaries. A memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date. The family requests privacy during their time of grief."

Born on September 21st, 1934, in Westmount, Quebec, Cohen learned guitar as a teenager and formed a folk group called the "Buckskin Boys." After graduating from McGill University, Cohen moved to the Greek island of Hydra, where he purchased a house for $1,500 with the help of a modest trust fund established by his father, who died when Leonard was nine. While living on Hydra, Cohen published the poetry collection "Flowers for Hitler" (1964) and the novels "The Favourite Game" (1963) and "Beautiful Losers" (1966).

Cohen quickly became the songwriter's songwriter of choice for artists like Collins, James Taylor, Willie Nelson and many others. His next two albums, Songs From a Room (1969) and Songs of Love and Hate (1971), benefited from the spare production of Bob Johnston, along with a group of seasoned session musicians that included Charlie Daniels.

Cohen's relationship with Suzanne Elrod during most of the Seventies resulted in two children, the photographer Lorca Cohen and Adam Cohen, who leads the group Low Millions.

The final act of Cohen's career began in 2005, when Lorca Cohen began to suspect her father's longtime manager, Kelley Lynch, of embezzling funds from his retirement account. In fact, Lynch had robbed Cohen of more than $5 million.

To replenish the fund, Cohen undertook an epic world tour during which he would perform 387 shows from 2008 to 2013. He continued to record as well, releasing "Old Ideas" (2012) and "Popular Problems," which hit U.S. shops a day after his eightieth birthday.

When the Grand Tour ended in December 2013, Cohen largely vanished from the public eye. In October 2016, he released "You Want It Darker," produced by his son Adam. Severe back issues made it difficult for Cohen to leave his home, so Adam placed a microphone on his dining room table and recorded him on a laptop. The album was met with rave reviews, though a New Yorker article timed to its release revealed that he was in very poor health.

Billboard then reported that the singer-songwriter later clarified that he was "exaggerating."