The Godfather and the King: When Leonard Cohen gave the world the best Elvis Presley cover ever
Leonard Cohen is a unique artist.
So unique, in fact, that the idea of covering a song of his gives us the chills and not the good kind. The singer-poet carved himself out of such a specific niche that he very rarely produced live covers of material by his contemporaries during his career.
While a few traditional folk standards found their way into his set and on his records over the years, there were very few moments that Cohen picked up the mic and performed somebody else’s song in earnest. It would appear that Cohen reserved his vocals for only the esteemed work of the world. That is, of course, until the Godfather of Gloom met The King of rock and roll, the original pop-rock and roller, Elvis Presley.
“I have plans to sing an Elvis song on stage soon,” said Leonard Cohen in a BBC interview from 1988. “I was a huge fan of Elvis! I was in town until today and bought a compilation LP of the man. Soon you will hear me sing ‘Don’t’ and ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ – but not at the plate. My voice is too deep. 20,000 cigarettes have led my tone of voice three to four notches down too far.”
That vocal tone has been part of what made Leonard Cohen such a force to be reckoned with. Not only was he able to gild melancholy with golden poetry, but his voice would add a growing timbre that was only deepening with age, and what might feel like wisdom. As time passed and Cohen’s determination to be his own artist grew, his willingness to cover the songs of other performers also increased.
There is no record of Cohen ever singing the two aforementioned tracks, despite how hard we have looked. However, those wishing for a Cohen and Presley crossover can count themselves lucky that in 1988, as the Canadian stepped onto the stage in Oslo, Norway, he had a special performance up his sleeves.
He would sing ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ for his adoring crowd and capture an entire audience as he did. It’s the kind of performance which made Cohen an icon. It is rich and deep, powerful and moving; it pays homage to the immense presence of the song and allows it to be folded into the singer’s pocket.
The song, originally written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss, was, of course, popularised by Presley as Cohen’s formative years began to grow under him. It would appear that for Cohen, Presley was truly The King. In another interview from the same year, Cohen said: “I was relieved that all the stuff we’d been feeling for so long found expression in Presley and in rock in general.”
The shock of recognition was enough to be enchanted by Presley: “I was playing his records all the time to friends when they’d come over,” continued Cohen. “I’d say, ‘This guy is a great singer’—and they thought this was some kind of inverse snobbery. But it wasn’t. Presley had that special kind of voice which makes your heart go out to a singer.”
It seems odd that the two men would be connected in song. They performed on such different ends of the spectrum. Elvis was enraptured by the bounce of life and the vigour by which it should be pursued, meanwhile Cohen tended to operate on the outside of the circle, looking in, assuming the beauty of life came from its natural fragility. It makes this cover all the more pertinent.
The cover certainly has some rivals when considering what might be called “the best,” and, naturally, there will be some with a truly valid claim. But the beauty of this cover is that disparate ends of the musical spectrum from which two icons looked upon the world, and how music could provide a bridge for them to meet and shake hands on.
The moment Elvis burst into the airwaves of the world was enough to begin a lifelong love affair for Cohen. But he only, as far as we can tell, ever performed the one song of Presley’s, judging by the lack of covers in Cohen’s repertoire, that’s enough to qualify Elvis as a favourite of Cohen’s. He certainly paid the tune enough respect for us to believe that his work resonated with the folk icon, even if they did seem to operate in different worlds.
Below, thanks to the bootleg The Other Songs of Leonard Cohen, we can listen to this rarely heard cover of one of Elvis’ most iconic hits from the incredible Leonard Cohen.
A pure joy.
