Michael Cohen (musician)

Michael Cohen (1951 – unknown) was an American singer-songwriter from New York City.[1] He released three albums in the 1970s which were among the first to deal with explicitly gay themes.[2] Cohen was licensed as a cab driver in New York City in 1972.[3]

Not to be confused with Michael Cohen (Israeli musician).
Michael Cohen
Mike Cohen (1972) LP front cover picture
Born1951
Died1997

Work and influences

Cohen self-released his first album, eponymously titled Mike Cohen, in 1972. This was followed by two albums on Folkways Records, "What Did You Expect?" (Folkways Records FS 8582, 1973) and "Some of Us Had to Live" (Folkways Records FS 8582, 1976).[4][5] The latter two are available from Smithsonian Folkways. Cohen was influenced by Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.[6] "The Last Angry Young Man", which opens What did You Expect?, deals with the misconceptions around homosexuality of the older generation while "Gone", from the same album, deals sensitively with the death of a gay friend. Frieze Magazine describes Cohen's "Bitterfeast" from the same album as a "raw and chokingly emotional" ballad based on a poem by Leonard Cohen.[7] After releasing a third album on a small label, Cohen "dropped off the radar" until his death in 1997.[1]

Discography
  1. Mike Cohen (1972)
  2. What Did You Expect? (1973) Discographic details from Smithsonian Institution
  3. Some of Us Had To Live (1976) Discographic details from Smithsonian Institution

References
  1. "This Day in Gay History - November 28". Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  2. http://www.queermusicheritage.com/jun2005s.html accessed 10 August 2016
  3. Liner notes to What Did You Expect...? Songs about the Experience of Being Gay (New York: Folkways Records FS 8582, LP, 1973), http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/folkways/FW08582.pdf, accessed January 2014
  4. What Did You Expect...? Songs about the Experience of Being Gay. New York, New York: Folkways Records (originally FS 8582, LP released 1973) http://www.folkways.si.edu/michael-cohen/what-did-you-expect-songs-about-the-experiences-of-being-gay/american-folk-struggle-protest/music/album/smithsonian
  5. Some of Us Had to Live. New York, New York: Folkways Records (originally FS 8583, LP released 1976) http://www.folkways.si.edu/michael-cohen/some-of-us-had-to-live/american-folk-struggle-protest/music/album/smithsonian
  6. Weaver, Neal (1974). "In Search of Gay Heroes: Michael Cohen and Steven Grossman". In Touch. 2 (1). Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  7. Eichler, Dominic (2006). "Queer Noises 1961-1978: From the Closet to the Charts (review)". Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
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