The news of Jennifer Warnes appearing on Leonard Cohen’s forthcoming “Old Ideas” album (See Leonard Cohen’s Old Ideas Album To Feature Jennifer Warnes And Anjani) led Dominique BOILE to provide a bevy of photos featuring the two singers. From that set, I chose these images because they seemed most interesting and were less likely to have been already seen by viewers. Click on images to enlarge.
Credit Due Department: The photo atop this post is by Claude Gassian. The second and sixth photos are by Kristen Dahline. The third is by Betsy Annas. The fourth photo (Leonard Cohen in folding chair) is by Sharon Weisz. The photographer responsible for the sixth shot is unknown.
Two exquisite female vocalists, each of whom has a long history with Leonard Cohen, including singing backup for him and releasing their own albums of his material, will appear on Cohen’s Old Ideas CD due to be published in Spring 2012.
Jenny Sings [With] Lenny
Jennifer Warnes, perhaps best known among Leonard Cohen fans for Famous Blue Raincoat, her album of Leonard Cohen songs, has told a concert audience she will appear on the Canadian singer-songwriter’s new album.1
Last night I attended Jennifer Warnes’ concert in Edmonton. Jennifer was in terrific form and gave us an unforgettable evening of great music and stories. During the show she mentioned that she had been recording ‘recently’ with Leonard Cohen, saying that the results will appear on his new album, due next year.
A followup post in the same thread by Jarkko provides more details:
After so many years, Jennifer Warnes was back in the studio with Leonard, and she is singing on one of the tracks. Anjani and Sharon both have significant roles in many of those ten new songs.
Anjani Rates New Leonard Cohen Album “One of his strongest records ever”
Leonard Cohen and Anjani at Joe's Pub (April 24, 2007)
Anjani has worked with Leonard Cohen since 1984, singing on tours and in the studio. She and Cohen collaborated on Blue Alert, which was released in 2006.
On her Facebook page, Anjani responds to a question asking about the target date of her own new CD with the following:
... we plan to put it out soon after Leonard’s next release, early 2012. btw, i think it’s one of his strongest records ever, including a gorgeous cover of Crazy To Love You, one of my fav songs off of Blue Alert.
Credit Due Department: The photo of Leonard Cohen, Jennifer Warnes, and canine companion at the kitchen table is from LeonardCohenFiles. The photo of Leonard Cohen singing with Anjani was found, along with a number of other striking photos of Anjani’s 2007 appearance at Joe’s Pub, at Brooklyn Vegan.
_____________________
In addition, The StarPhoenix has just published a sort of “where is she now” piece about Jenifer Warnes that addresses her special relationship with Leonard Cohen at In the midst of upheaval, Warnes reaches out by Cam Fuller (The StarPhoenix September 14, 2011) [↩]
Jennifer Warnes and Leonard Cohen backstage (Santa Monica, February 24, 2001)
“Way Down Deep” + “A Thousand Kisses Deep” Video Returns
As is true of many Leonard Cohen songs, “A Thousand Kisses Deep” has a complex history. Tom Sakic and I thought it would be interesting to present the earliest performed precursor of this song juxtaposed with the most recent version.
The result was a striking video that opens with Jennifer Warnes singing the gorgeous but inexplicably overlooked “Way Down Deep” (credited to Jennifer Warnes, Leonard Cohen, and Amy Latelevision) from her 1992 album, The Hunter, which is followed by Leonard Cohen’s July 20, 2009 recitation of “A Thousand Kisses Deep” in Dublin.
Jennifer Warnes and Leonard Cohen on tour 1972
The video was well received, garnering over 16,000 views. It was, however, off the air for several weeks until I re-uploaded it yesterday.
Credit Due Department: The photo atop this post showing Leonard Cohen visiting Jennifer Warnes backstage before her February 24, 2001 concert at McCabe’s in Santa Monica, California was found at the Jennifer Warnes web site. The second photo showing Warnes and Cohen on a plane is a screenshot from Tony Palmer’s “Bird On A Wire” documentary.
In commemoration of DrHGuy’s decampment to DPAC1 last night,2 to take in the Broadway Revival Cast presentation of Hair, Heck Of A Guy offers two videos.
Hair – Broadway Revival Cast (Letterman – 2009)
The first is a presentation of “Let The Sunshine In” performed by the current cast (the same crew who are currently playing in Durham) on Letterman.
Let The Sunshine In – West Coast Cast Of Hair (Smothers Brothers Show, December 1968)
The second video, chosen in a desperate attempt to link this post to Heck Of A Guy’s Leonard Cohen-loving mainstream audience, features the 1968, pre-Famous Blue Raincoat iteration of Jennifer Warnes3, who played the female lead in the original west coast cast of Hair and later became backup singer for, collaborator with, and interpreter of the afore mentioned Canadian singer-songwriter-icon, singing “Let The Sunshine In” on the Smothers Brothers show. Also spotlighted in this video is Delores Hall.
It Must Be The Heck Of A Guy Christmas1 Spectacular
Over the years, DrHGuy has explored, as he is wont to do, the sleigh path less traveled to holiday revelry, and, not being the kind of chap to keep such joyfulness to himself, he annually shares with readers his favorite Yuletide embellishments.
Have Yourself A Chocolodka Christmas
Chief among these tidings of joy is the opening of the Season Of Chocolodka. a time which offers hope to the weary masses and solace to all humankind.
In the spirits of the Season Of Chocolodka, Heck Of A Guy Blog offers …2
The Immaculate Chocolodka Conception
While the value of any substance called Chocolodka would seem intuitively apparent to any sentient adult, doubters should consider this confirmatory evidence: how could anything that begins in this manner go wrong?
Since the recipe calls for a three-quarters (¾) full 750 mL bottle of vodka, the first step, obviously,3 is someone sucking down ¼ bottle of vodka. While alternative means of removing the excess liquor may theoretically exist, personal consumption bespeaks a dedication to the mission & certainly enhances the likelihood of the project’s success. This is best accomplished in two consecutive motions as demonstrated in the photos below by Lady Lawanda and Hippie With Tiara:
Leonard Cohen & Jennifer Warnes Sing “Silent Night”
When mention of the Leonard Cohen- Jennifer Warnes rendition of “Silent Night” was first made on this site in January 2007,4 many readers were taken unawares. And, each time since then allusions have been made to this event, still more folks are surprised. Consequently, it seems appropriate to once again present the historical data and, of course, the song itself.
Leonard Cohen and Jennifer Warnes – Silent Night
Leonard Cohen and Jennifer Warnes - screenshot from Bird On A Wire
This Leonard Cohen-Jennifer Warnes duet was recorded at the December 15, 1979 Brighton, England concert.5
Leonard Cohen & Jennifer Warnes – Silent Night
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“Silent Night” by Leonard Cohen and Jennifer Warnes can be downloaded without charge as part of Another Other Leonard Cohen Album, a collection of unreleased Leonard Cohen songs.
Lady Lawanda’s Fine & Dandy Christmas Mix
Lady Lawanda,6 a talented singer, had a penchant for non-traditional Christmas music. (Several of her friends and family have made the observation that this predilection for musical perversity manifested itself only after she met me. Quelle coincidence, eh?)
A 2009 post, Lady Lawanda’s Sounds Of The Season – Christmas Carols On The Offbeat, lists several of her favorite selections and is highly recommended reading and listening for the melodically adventuresome. For our purposes today, a few examples should be sufficient to give a flavor of her seasonal playlist.
Christmas Soon Come
Lady Lawanda loved Jamaica, visiting often and virtually adopting a dozen or so Jamaicans she met in her travels. One of her favorite gifts was the Christmas Soon Come mix I made her. The first track on that oft played CD was …
Breadfruit Roasting on an Open Fire (The Christmas Song) – Yellowman
Hard Candy Christmas by RuPaul – Best Christmas Song Covered By A Drag Queen
RuPaul
#1 on Lady Lawanda’s Christmas Hit parade, however, was the cover of “Hard Candy Christmas” sung by RuPaul Andre Charles in his drag queen persona.
I admit that Lawanda’s fascination with this song seems silly at first, but, on reflection, the lyrics of the chorus were, after all, a description of the way she lived.
I’ll be fine and dandy
Lord it’s like a hard candy Christmas
I’m barely getting through tomorrow
But still I won’t let
Sorrow bring me way down
Hard Candy Christmas – RuPaul
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Cool Yule
Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt
“Santa Baby” was originally sung and recorded in 1953 by Eartha Kitt. And nobody does it better. Video from ebbonknee
The announcement text reads: “The Heck Of A Guy Illustrated, Explicated, Annotated, & Unexpurgated Dishwasher Safe, Dishwasher Dependent Formulation For The Ultimate Solvent Of Anxiety, Woe, & Inhibitions, The Good Time-Enhancing, Courage-Bolstering, Someone’s Gonna Get Lucky Tonight-Assuring Quintessential Chocolate Vodka: Chocolodka.” [↩]
Lady Lawanda is the blogonym (and, I hasten to add, the self-chosen blogonym) of the woman in my life for three all too brief years until she died from breast cancer June 2008. She was a profoundly important and positive force in her community, the school where she taught, and the lives of her family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and my children. And, she was the center of my world . [↩]
The Alpha And Omega (So Far) Of “A Thousand Kisses Deep”
As is true of many Leonard Cohen songs, “A Thousand Kisses Deep” has a complex history. Tom Sakic and I thought it would be interesting to present the earliest performed precursor of this song juxtaposed with the most recent version.
The result is a video with Jennifer Warnes1 singing the gorgeous but routinely overlooked “Way Down Deep” (by Jennifer Warnes, Leonard Cohen, and Amy Latelevision:2 by Leonard Cohen) from her 1992 album, The Hunter, followed by Leonard Cohen’s July 20, 2009 recitation of “A Thousand Kisses Deep” in Dublin.
Between these end points, “A Thousand Kisses Deep” – both the song and the poem, both in print and as performed – has undergone changes in specific lyrics and the addition, subtraction, and rearrangement of stanzas.
The closest we have to a definitive manuscript of all verses is dated September 21, 1998 and is available online at Blackening Pages: A Thousand Kisses Deep.3 From that point on, the versions are combinations and permutations of these verses with occasional changes in lines and phrases.
The Video: Jennifer Warnes’ “Way Down Deep” To Leonard Cohen’s “A Thousand Kisses Deep”
Despite being romantics at heart, neither Tom nor I planned this as a Valentine’s Day commemoration – but, just as sure as there ain’t no cure for love, it is a suitable treat for those with a Cohenesque perspective.
Credit Due Department: The photo of Jennifer Warnes and Leonard Cohen at the synthesizer atop this post is from the Jennifer Warnes web site. The photo of those same two individuals and canine companion at the table is from LeonardCohenFiles.
way down, way way down
way way down deep
you’re got me way down, way way down,
way way down deep
you’re got me way down, way down deep
I wander with you in my sleep
I’m way down, way way down, way way down deep
It came to me this morning
I was walking down the street
was like my soul could taste you
and God, you tasted sweet
finally I can breathe again
finally I can speak
I’ve got you in the glory place
I’ve got you way down deep
I’ve got you way down, way way down,
way way down deep
you’re got me way down, way way down,
way way down deep
you’re got me way down, way way down,
I wander with you in my sleep
I’m way down, way way down,
way way down deep
it’s a funny feeling
but I cannot say I mind
I know that I’m dealing with
a love that’s far from blind
I see every single angle
I look before I leap
how else can I put it
when you’re got me way down deep
you’ve got me way down, way way down,
way way down deep
you’ve got me way down, way way down,
way way down deep
you’ve got me way down, way down deep
I wander with you in my sleep
I’m way down, way way down,
way way down deep
don’t matter what we gave away
was nothing we could keep
don’t matter what we gave away
you know that talk is cheap
forgive me if I hate you
you’re a liar and a thief
but I’ve got you in the glory place
I got you way down deep
you’ve got me way down, way way down …
don’t matter if the road is long
don’t matter if it’s steep
don’t matter if the moon goes out
and darkness is complete
don’t matter if we lose our way
I know we;re gonna meet
I’ve got you in the glory place
I’ve got you way down deep
Leonard Cohen’s 1996 demo from Armelle Brusq’s movie at Mt Baldy referenced at at Blackening Pages: A Thousand Kisses Deep is also available on YouTube and can be viewed below in the embedded player near the end of this post. [↩]
The events of Leonard Cohen's life and career are marked on a timeline accompanied by audio and video recordings of Cohen's songs and poems as well as links to more information.
Do I Have To Dance All Night Surpasses 70,000 Views
"Do I Have To Dance All Night" was performed many times in concerts but was never released in the US.
As part of my crusade to popularize this song, I've cobbled together 2 videos - one for the semi-funky 1976 version with Laura Branigan and one for the 1980 more gypsy, less disco version - that kinda sorta fit the music.
As of Dec 19, 2012, the video of the 1976 version of Do I Have To Dance All Night has been viewed 70,152 times.
Heck Of A Guy offers 3 videos of clips and photos from The Leonard Cohen World Tour:
1. The Original Heck Of A Guy Dear Leonard Cohen - Thanks For The Tour. I Hope It Was Good For You, Too. Video Celebration Of The First 14 Months Of The 2008-2009 World Tour can be viewed at Thanks For The Tour
The Cohen Fandemic
Endemic for decades in areas such as Canada, Norway, Poland, and France, Leonard Cohen Fan Syndrome has become a world-wide epidemic in the past 2 years, spread by the Leonard Cohen World Tour and abetted by proselyting carriers despite efforts by authorities to quarantine these individuals at LeonardCohenForum.
Diagnostic Criteria
Based on the observations of DrHGuy, standardized criteria for the pertinent Axis II diagnosis are now available at
Danger Signs
In addition to the formal medical description of this diagnosis, Heck Of A Guy has also compiled a list of the aberrant behaviors which indicate one is at high risk for being a full-fledged fan of Leonard Cohen. These signs and symptoms can be found at
Leonard Cohen’s Elegy For Janis Joplin – Chelsea Hotel #1
This video features the first version of the song Leonard Cohen would later revise into "Chelsea Hotel #2" along with images of Leonard Cohen, Janis Joplin - whose liaison with Cohen at the Chelsea Hotel led to the creation of the song, the Hotel itself, and other associated people & places.
Special Compilation Video – A Thousand Kisses Deep
This composite of Leonard Cohen’s recitations of “A Thousand Kisses Deep” over the years is accompanied by a video montage of drawings by and photos of the Canadian singer-songwriter.
Video – Leonard Cohen Recites “God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot”
Leonard Cohen recites the "God Is Alive; Magic Is Afoot" passage from "Beautiful Losers" which was later popularized by Buffy Sainte-Marie. Cohen's performance took place in 1967.
Heck Of A Guy offers, with assistance from Randy Newman and Etta James, the writer and performer, respectively, of "You Can Leave Your Hat On," a look at Leonard Cohen As Hunk.
Photos of or related to Leonard Cohen that fall into specific themes have been among the ongoing features at DrHGuy, HOAG's sibling site. Galleries displaying collected images of 3 of these themes are now available at
Winter Lady – The Joni Mitchell & Leonard Cohen Versions
In 1966 Joni Mitchell wrote and sang a song called "Winter Lady." In 1967, the year Mitchell and Cohen had their romantic fling, Leonard Cohen wrote and sang a different song that was also called "Winter Lady."
A comparison of these 2 songs as well as a video that includes each artist performing his or her version of "Winter Lady" can be found at
Over 35 tunes performed by Dylan, Janis Joplin, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Otis Redding, Chuck Berry, The Platters, Joni Mitchell, George Jones, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Jay-Z, and other musicians.
Read what Cohen said about them and listen to the music at
Photos, Videos, & More
See photos of Leonard Cohen's arrival in Oviedo, the opening of Leonard Cohen: The B-Side - Drawings And Engravings Of A Multidisciplinary Artist, his speech and press conference, his tribute conference, the lost and found Famous Blue Sharpie, and more at:
Note: Almost all HeckOfAGuy and DrHGuy posts contain different content.
And We’re Still Making Love In My Secret Life – Julie’s Story & Video
... I never had a chance. I was - and this is the only word that fits - smitten. I still am.
She was smart and quick-witted, although it would take me 3 years to recognize that she was, in fact, much smarter than me, and then another 2 years to forgive her for that. She was also good-looking and unabashedly sexy.
And, we fell madly, irredeemably, unflinchingly in love.
Complementing the unlikely story of how Julie and I met, fell in love, and - 9 years, 2 husbands, 1 wife, and 2 careers later - got together to spend an outrageously wonderful 20 years together before her death, a video, set to the poignant "In My Secret Life" by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson, is now available that evokes the role Julie, who died 10 years ago, continues to play in my life.
The written account of the story (think When Harry Met Sally meets Waiting For Godot) starts, appropriately, at This Is How A Love Story Began
Clicking on Taste of LC - Heck Of A Guy and Taste of LC - DrHGuy finds posts from those sites that feature Leonard Cohen's choices in furniture, clothing (including suits, fedoras, caps, berets, other hats, boots and other footwear, swimsuits, and in at least one case cut-offs), art, jewelry, food, books, magazines, alcohol, tobacco, firearms, ... - all of which offer a different perspective on Leonard Cohen.
This Heck Of A Guy compilation includes unreleased Leonard Cohen performances over a 30+ year period.
Track List: Vol 1
1. Feels So Good (The Other Blues Song)
2. Book Of Longing
3. The Darkness
4. Puppets
5. Lullaby
6. Do I Have to Dance All Night (1976)
7. Blues By The Jews
Track List: Vol 2
1. Red River Valley
2. Never Got To Love You (Duet with Anjani)
3. Can't Help Falling In Love
4. Ride Around
5. The Union Makes Us Strong
6. We Shall Not Be Moved
7. To Love Somebody
8. The Hypnotist (Poem)
9. Chelsea Hotel #1
10. There's No Reason Why You Should Remember Me
11. Streets Of Laredo
12. Do I Have To Dance All Night (1980)
Now, Another Other Leonard Cohen Album, the second collection of unreleased Leonard Cohen songs joins the popular The Other Leonard Cohen Album to offer fans of the iconic singer-songwriter a total of 3 CDs of musical treats. Another Other Leonard Cohen Album includes the following tracks plus liner notes by Sylvie Simmons.
1. Je Veux Vivre Tout Seul
2. Kevin Barry
3. Die Gedanken Sind Frei
4. Store Room
5. As Time Goes By
6. Don’t Go Home with Your Hard-on
7. Blessed is the Memory
8. Silent Night
9. Dead Song
10. Another Saturday Night
11. Ballad of the Absent Mare
12. Guerrero
13. The Butcher
14. Un As Der Rebbe Singt
15. Song to the Machines
16. If It Be Your Will
17. Thirsty for the Kiss
18. A Thousand Kisses Deep
19. I Tried To Leave You
20. Whither Thou Goest
21. Mr Cohen Must Be Going
Heck Of A Guy celebrates Leonard Cohen’s 77th birthday (September 21, 2011) with a video of scenes from Leonard Cohen’s life and photos of fans expressing their affection for Mr. Cohen, all set to “I Love Leonard Cohen” by Robin Grey.
Leonard Cohen At 75 Viewed Over 15,000 Times: a video montage of favorite scenes featuring the singer-songwriter, poet, and icon set to "They Can't Take That Away From Me."
Video – Jennifer Warnes’ Way Down Deep & Leonard Cohen’s A Thousand Kisses Deep
The video begins with Jennifer Warnes singing the gorgeous but routinely overlooked "Way Down Deep," which is followed by Leonard Cohen's recitation of "A Thousand Kisses Deep" in Dublin to juxtapose the earliest performed precursor of Cohen's now classic "A Thousand Kisses Deep" with the most recent version.
Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen had a fling in the 1960s that, for unspecified reasons, was short-lived, with Cohen instigating the parting.
It was then and is now a complex connection. In 1988, Cohen said, I'm still very friendly with Joni - I had dinner with her before the tour, and I have the same admiration for her as you do. But I think it was Noel Harrison who came up to me in the LA Troubadour and said "How do you like living with Beethoven?"
That's right - the entire 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour, including the events that triggered the Tour, have been compressed into one 60 second video.
