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==Work and influences==
==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? (Michael Cohen album)|What Did You Expect?]]'' (Folkways Records FS 8582, 1973) and ''Some of Us Had to Live'' (Folkways Records FS 8582, 1976).<ref>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</ref><ref>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</ref> The latter two are available from [[Smithsonian Folkways]]. Cohen was influenced by [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Leonard Cohen]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Weaver|first1=Neal|title=In Search of Gay Heroes: Michael Cohen and Steven Grossman|journal=In Touch|url=http://queermusicheritage.com/jun2005mc.html|accessdate=23 November 2016|volume=2|issue=1|date=1974}}</ref> "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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.frieze.com/issue/review/queer_noises_1961_1978_from_the_closet_to_the_charts/ | title=Queer Noises 1961-1978: From the Closet to the Charts (review) | year=2006 | accessdate=22 March 2014 | author=Eichler, Dominic | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415015103/https://www.frieze.com/issue/review/queer_noises_1961_1978_from_the_closet_to_the_charts/ | archivedate=15 April 2014 }}</ref> After releasing a third album on a small label, Cohen "dropped off the radar" until his death in 1997.<ref name="masteradrian.wordpress.com"/>
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? (Michael Cohen album)|What Did You Expect?]]'' (Folkways Records FS 8582, 1973) and ''Some of Us Had to Live'' (Folkways Records FS 8582, 1976).<ref>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</ref><ref>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</ref> The latter two are available from [[Smithsonian Folkways]]. Cohen was influenced by [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Leonard Cohen]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Weaver|first1=Neal|title=In Search of Gay Heroes: Michael Cohen and Steven Grossman|journal=In Touch|url=http://queermusicheritage.com/jun2005mc.html|accessdate=23 November 2016|volume=2|issue=1|date=1974}}</ref> "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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.frieze.com/issue/review/queer_noises_1961_1978_from_the_closet_to_the_charts/ | title=Queer Noises 1961-1978: From the Closet to the Charts (review) | year=2006 | accessdate=22 March 2014 | author=Eichler, Dominic | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415015103/https://www.frieze.com/issue/review/queer_noises_1961_1978_from_the_closet_to_the_charts/ | archivedate=15 April 2014 }}</ref> After releasing a third album, Cohen "dropped off the radar" until his death in 1997.<ref name="masteradrian.wordpress.com"/>


==Discography==
==Discography==

Revision as of 18:41, 23 May 2022

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

Michael Cohen (1951–1997) 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]

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, 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. ^ a b "This Day in Gay History - November 28". 29 November 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  2. ^ "June 2005 Show Script: Chris Robison & Michael Cohen". www.queermusicheritage.com. Retrieved 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.

External links

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