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QUIZ

Tower of Song

Test your knowledge of Leonard Cohen

By Sean Monkman

The melancholic and darkly humorous work of Leonard Cohen has earned him the appellations “the prince of bummers” and “the grocer of despair.” He tasted early success as a published poet while still a university student, then later as an award-winning novelist based in Greece. Cohen moved into music with his first album release at age 33 — a choice made because he needed a gig that paid more than his efforts as a writer. It has since proven to be quite the fallback plan. Cohen’s legendary, and highly respected, body of work as a musician will see him inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on Feb. 5.

1. While studying at Montreal’s McGill University, Cohen was the president of what organization?
	Liberal McGill
	The McGill Debating Union
	Jewish Students Association
	The Karate Club
	The Speed Dating club

2. The lyric “She feeds you tea and oranges” describes what titular character of Cohen’s signature song — a recounting of his friendship with the wife of a friend that became his first musical hit?
	Suzanne
	Jolene
	Roxanne
	Angie
	Michelle

3. Which was not a real assessment of Cohen’s second novel, 1966’s Beautiful Losers?
	The Boston Globe: “James Joyce is not dead. He is living in Montreal under the name of Cohen.”
	Robert Fulford: “The most revolting book ever written in Canada.”
	The London Daily Telegraph: “The literary counterpart of Hair on the stage and Easy Rider on the screen.”
	The Globe and Mail: “Verbal masturbation.”
	The Montreal Gazette: “The greatest work of Jewish Montreal literature since The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.”

4. Cohen recalls the producer of his 1977 album Death of the Ladies’ Man with this account: “At a certain point [he] approached me with a bottle of kosher red wine in one hand and a .45 in the other, put his arm around my shoulder and shoved the revolver into my neck and said, ‘Leonard, I love you.’” Who was the producer?
	Brian Eno
	George Martin
	Mutt Lange
	Phil Spector
	Timbaland

5. In 1986, Cohen made an appearance as the character François Zolan, head of Interpol, on what TV cop show?
	Miami Vice
	TJ Hooker
	Hill Street Blues
	NYPD Blue
	Cagney and Lacey

6. “I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel / You were famous, your heart was a legend / You told me again you preferred handsome men / But for me you would make an exception.” Cohen’s song Chelsea Hotel No. 2 recounts an amorous encounter with what singer?
	Patti Smith
	Janis Joplin
	Joni Mitchell
	Nico
	Dusty Springfield

7. Complete Cohen’s acceptance speech from the 1992 Juno Awards: “Only in Canada could somebody with ________ win Vocalist of the Year.”
	“such a limited vocal range”
	“no sense of rhythm”
	“a voice like mine”
	“an album that sold only 8,000 copies”
	“a name like Leonard”

8. What honour did Leonard Cohen receive from Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in 2003?
	The Governor General’s Award for English-language Poetry
	Companion of the Order of Canada
	Meritorious Service Medal
	The key to Rideau Hall
	Hottest Chili in the Parliament Hill chili cook-off

9. Four of these are titles for Leonard Cohen poetry releases. One is a Cohen album title. Show me the music.
	Let Us Compare Mythologies
	The Spice-Box of Earth
	Flowers for Hitler
	Parasites of Heaven
	The Future

10. Who was Cohen speaking of when he said the following: “I’m sorry I couldn’t have spoken to the young man. I see a lot of people at the Zen Centre who have gone through drugs and found a way out that is not just Sunday school. There are always alternatives, and I might have been able to lay something on him”?
	Blind Melon’s Shannon Hoon
	The Who’s Keith Moon
	Kurt Cobain
	Tim Buckley
	Jimi Hendrix