
Hallelujah
"Hallelujah" is a song written by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, originally released on his album Various Positions. Achieving little initial success, the song found greater popular acclaim through a recording by John Cale, which inspired a recording by Jeff Buckley. It is considered as the "baseline" …
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen CC GOQ was a Canadian singer, songwriter, poet, and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, sexuality and romantic relationships. Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll …
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott Buckley, raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by playing cover songs at venues in Manhattan's East Village, such as Sin-é, graduall…
Full Answer
Who is the best singer of Hallelujah?
Jeff Buckley – 1994 Jeff Buckley's 1994 cover has been solidified as the most lauded Hallelujah rendition of all time by countless accolades and citations in 'greatest songs' lists since its release. Inspired by Cale's version, Buckley's Hallelujah is penetratingly beautiful.
Who sang the best cover of Hallelujah?
Who sings the best cover of Hallelujah? Jeff Buckley. Buckley's version is perhaps the most well-known, and has been credited with giving the song the final... John Cale. Rufus Wainwright. Bob Dylan. Regina Spektor. Imogen Heap. Damien Rice. K.D.
Who is the original artist of Hallelujah?
Thirty years ago this weekend, Leonard Cohen first performed a song called "Hallelujah."*
Who first sang Hallelujah?
Hallelujah was originally composed by singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen and released in 1984. Did Leonard Cohen change the lyrics to Hallelujah? Then, Cohen revised the song: He made it longer, darker and changes up the first few verses. … Cale liked the tune, and decided to make his own version of Hallelujah with some new lyrics.

Who sang the best version of Hallelujah?
10 Best Performances of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"Rufus Wainwright.Jeff Buckley.Bon Jovi.Jason Castro.k.d. lang.Il Divo.Imogen Heap.Kate Voegele.More items...•
How many artists have covered Hallelujah?
Since 1991, "Hallelujah" has been performed by a wide variety of singers: over 300, and in various languages.
Who else sang the song Hallelujah?
In fact, as Light explains in “The Holy or the Broken,” “Hallelujah” largely owes its lasting popularity not to Cohen's original recording (which appeared on his commercially unsuccessful 1984 album “Various Positions”), but to Jeff Buckley's 1994 rendition, which was in turn based upon a version that John Cale had ...
What bands have sung Hallelujah?
Leonard Cohen Mourned by Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Hudson, Moby & MoreJeff Buckley:Rufus Wainwright:John Cale:k.d. lang:Willie Nelson:Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris:Brandi Carlile:Jake Shimabukuro:More items...•
What is the most covered song?
Yesterday”According to Guinness World Records, “Yesterday” has the most cover versions of any song ever written. The song remains popular today with more than 1,600 recorded cover versions. Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) asserts that it was performed over seven million times in the 20th century alone.
Why is Hallelujah controversial?
In Hebrew, the word "hallelujah" means to rejoice in praising God. However, the numerous biblical references and religious symbols in Cohen's song lead not to spiritual heights, but to Cohen's secularism. It is a bitter lament about love and loss.
What is the true meaning of Hallelujah?
praise the Lordhallelujah, also spelled alleluia, Hebrew liturgical expression, usually rendered in English as “praise the Lord.” It appears in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) in several psalms, usually at the beginning or end of the psalm or in both places.
Is the song Hallelujah appropriate for church?
Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah is a gorgeous song, one of the best ever written. But it is not a nice song about God or Heaven, it is a dark indictment of affairs of the heart, and is not appropriate for weddings, or funerals, or for the Republican National Convention.
What is Leonard Cohens most famous song?
HallelujahCohen's most famous song, "Hallelujah", was released on his seventh album, Various Positions (1984). I'm Your Man in 1988 marked Cohen's turn to synthesized productions. In 1992, Cohen released its follow-up, The Future, which had dark lyrics and references to political and social unrest.
Is the song Hallelujah appropriate for a funeral?
“Hallelujah” – Jeff Buckley This is a popular choice for funerals. Buckley's smooth voice, accompanied by beautiful lyrics makes this song a true classic for a funeral service.
Why is Hallelujah considered a Christmas song?
The original is definitely not a Christmas song, but there is a Christmas version with lyrics written by a Christian group called Cloverton. People who consider Hallelujah to be a Christmas carol must be thinking of the one that begins “I heard about this baby boy/Who's come to Earth to bring us joy.”
Who has sung Hallelujah on American Idol?
Leonard Cohen's classic “Hallelujah” is as much a perennial on Idol as Etta James' “At Last.” What's the secret to a standout performance? Season nine winner Lee DeWyze, 29, who was assigned the song by Simon Cowell as part of a “judges' pick” showdown, explains why it's “a great choice” — when done right.
How many versions of Hallelujah are there?
To rank every recorded version of “Hallelujah” would be a fool’s errand — there are easily 500 of them floating around on the internet, and probably many more if you factor in videos of concert and home performances. But here are 50 notable renditions that run from the terrible to the transcendent, all of them testifying in one way or another to the song’s apparent immortality.
When did the Welsh version of Hallelujah come out?
This North Wales folk group recorded their Welsh-language version of “Hallelujah” in 2005, but didn’t release it until 2008, when they finally landed Cohen’s official approval. While it’s difficult to tell which of Cohen’s verses they’re employing, the Cymraeg words give their version an otherworldly feel, and there’s no mistaking the emotion behind them.
What does "Hallelujah" mean?
Twitter. “Hallelujah is a Hebrew word which means, ‘Glory to the Lord, ’” the late Leonard Cohen once noted when asked about “Hallelujah,” quite possibly the best-known song in his rich and enduring catalog of compositions. “The song explains that many kinds of hallelujahs do exist. I say all the perfect and broken hallelujahs have an equal value.
What song did Leonard Cohen sing in Shrek?
Originally recorded for the 1991 tribute album “I’m Your Fan,” Cale’s version — which cherry-picked three of the 70-plus unused verses that Cohen had penned for the song — provided the lyrical template for most subsequent versions of “Hallelujah,” including Cohen’s live performances of the song from 1993 onward. Best-known for its appearance in the 2001 animated comedy film “Shrek,” Cale’s simple voice-and-piano arrangement strips away all artifice, leaving only a warm but world-weary rumination on the sacred and the profane. To my ears, “Hallelujah” doesn’t get more perfect than this.
What song did Church sing in 2016?
Country singer-songwriter Church closed his 2016 EP “Mr. Misunderstood On The Rocks: Live and (Mostly) Unplugged Live” with this nicely downhome version of “Hallelujah.” Armed only with an electric guitar, and backed only by the singing of some extremely enthusiastic audience members, Church turned the song into something both personal and joyfully communal, like cracking a favorite beer on your back porch with a bunch of friends.
What is the most amusing thread running through Jon Bon Jovi's career?
Perhaps the most amusing thread running through Jon Bon Jovi’s career is how seriously he takes himself as an artist even when no one else does. Case in point: this dreary, countrified 2007 cover, which strains mightily for greatness but never gets even halfway there.
Who sang Hymns of the 49th Parallel?
lang’s recording of the song for her 2004 album “Hymns of the 49th Parallel” was stellar in itself, but she knocked it even further out of the park when she sang it two years later during Cohen’s induction to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Anjani Thomas, Cohen’s partner and musical collaborator, has said that she and Cohen both felt lang’s performance was the definitive one. “We looked at each other and said, “Well, I think we can lay that song to rest now! It’s really been done to its ultimate blissful state of perfection.”
Who recorded the cover of "Hallelujah"?
Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale, by then well into his solo career, recorded a cover of “Hallelujah” for his 1991 Leonard Cohen tribute album, I’m Your Fan, and again a year later for his live album, Fragments of a Rainy Season.
Who sang the cover of Lost Highway?
Rockers Bon Jovi recorded a cover for their 2007 album, Lost Highway. Singing group the Canadian Tenors along with Celine Dion performed a stripped-down cover ...
What is Leonard Cohen's most famous song?
Arguably one of his most recognizable songs, and maybe one of the most covered songs ever, Leonard Cohen once said of his hit, “Hallelujah,” “ I think it's a good song, but I think too many people sing it .”.
Who sang the Tower of Song?
One of the more… unique covers of the song is probably a 1995 rendition by U2 front man Bono for the 1995 tribute album, “Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen.". Bono himself said his spoken-word, trip-hop cover was “an interesting approach. People would never think of Leonard Cohen in that way.
How many verses does Leonard Cohen write for his song?
The first track on Side Two of his seventh studio album, Various Positions, Cohen apparently drafted up to 80 verses for the song – one writing session in a New York hotel room ended with him “banging my head on the floor and saying, ‘I can’t finish this song. ’” And the entire album almost never was; his record label didn’t think it was good ...
Who wrote the most beautiful song?
The most beautiful word: Hallelujah. The most beautiful song, originally written and sung by none other than Buddhist, and Ladies’ Man, Leonard Cohen. “And even though it all went wrong, I’ll stand right here before the Lord of song, with nothing on my tongue but ‘Hallelujah’.”.
Who is the voice of the song "The OG"?
The OG, the writer of the song in the first place, the Leonard Cohen, the voice:
Who is the cellist on Walk the Talk Show?
Cellist Phil Norman Performs on Walk The Talk Show with Waylon Lewis.
Do you have to stand up and say "hallelujah"?
On the contrary, you have to stand up and say hallelujah under those circumstances.
