#929. Lineage of Song: “Hallelujah”

 

Leonard Cohen

Jeff Buckley

John Cale

Father Ray Kelly

Pentatonix

Here’s one of the most famous songs of the modern era, and cover songs. 

Back in college I took a class in Canadian literature, and the professor was a huge fan of Leonard Cohen. In fact I learned Cohen’s poetry before knowing, really, about his music career, but then I had a look around and found his style was very close to spoken word accompanied by instruments.

Anyway, John Cale covered “Hallelujah,” setting the style for how Jeff Buckley would achieve immortality. It’s the Cale version included in Shrek, but aficionados still adhere to Buckley. Cohen’s can be heard in Zack Snyder’s Watchmen.

But for my money, once I discovered it on YouTube, my favorite is probably Father Kelly’s riff.