Marc Craig Cohn (; born July 5, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He won the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for Best New Artist in 1992. Cohn is best known for the song "
Walking in Memphis
"Walking in Memphis" is a song composed and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year that the ...
" from his
eponymous 1991 album, which was a Top 40 hit.
Biography
Early life and education
Cohn was born on July 5, 1959, in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
to a Jewish family. He graduated from
Beachwood High School
Beachwood High School is a four-year college preparatory public high school located in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. It is part of the Beachwood City School District.
Recognition
Beachwood has earned three U.S. Department of Education B ...
in
Beachwood, Ohio
Beachwood is a city in eastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 14,040.
History
The land that eventually became Beachwood was originally part of the Connecticut We ...
, a Cleveland suburb. Cohn learned to play guitar and started writing songs when he was in junior high school, playing and singing with a local band called Doanbrook Hotel.
While attending
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
, he taught himself to play the piano. He transferred to
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
and began to perform in Los Angeles-area coffeehouses.
[
]
Career
Cohn released his debut solo album, ''Marc Cohn
Marc Craig Cohn (; born July 5, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1992. Cohn is best known for the song " Walking in Memphis" from his eponymous 1991 album, which was a Top 40 ...
'', in February 1991. The album was successful due to the hit single "Walking in Memphis
"Walking in Memphis" is a song composed and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year that the ...
", which was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards. The song is autobiographical and shares Cohn's experience visiting Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
in 1985. "Walking in Memphis" reached number 13 in 1991 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.[ It is his only Top 40 hit.
''Marc Cohn'' was certified gold by the ]RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
in February 1992 and was certified platinum in 1996.[ The album featured two other charting singles: "Silver Thunderbird" and "True Companion". Cohn won the 1992 ]Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for Best New Artist.[
In May 1993, Cohn released his second studio album, '']The Rainy Season
''The Rainy Season'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, released in 1993. The album peaked at number 63 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and at number 24 on the UK charts.
Track listing
All tracks written by Mar ...
'', which included notable guest appearances by David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...
, Graham Nash
Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...
, and Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...
. "Walk Through the World" (1993), the first song from that album, reached the Top 30 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. Cohn released his third solo effort, '' Burning the Daze'', in 1998. The compilation ''The Very Best of Marc Cohn'' was released in June 2006.
Cohn's track "Dance Back from the Grave", from the album '' Join the Parade'' (October 2007), relates to the events of Hurricane Katrina and to the post-traumatic stress Cohn suffered after being shot in the head in an attempted carjacking in August 2005.
In 2010, Cohn returned with '' Listening Booth: 1970'', a collection of cover songs that were originally released during the titular year. The album peaked at number 28 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. In addition to crossing genres from rock to soul to folk and pop, it featured vocal performances from India.Arie
India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975), also known as India Arie (sometimes styled as india.arie), is an American singer and songwriter. She has sold over five million records in the US and ten million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards ...
, Jim Lauderdale
James Russell Lauderdale (born April 11, 1957) is an American country, bluegrass, and Americana singer-songwriter. Since 1986, he has released 31 studio albums, including collaborations with artists such as Dr. Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller, and ...
, Aimee Mann
Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...
, and Kristina Train
Kristina Train (born January 17, 1982 in New York City as Kristina Beaty) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who lives in Nashville, having previously lived in London, United Kingdom. Her music blends influences from country, soul, gos ...
. As of September 2018, ''Listening Booth: 1970''--which peaked at number 28--was Cohn's highest-charting album.[
Cohn released his first original song in more than seven years, "The Coldest Corner in the World", in 2014. The song was the title track for the documentary ''Tree Man''.][Marc Cohn]
Retrieved July 21, 2019. Cohn released the album ''Careful What You Dream: Lost Songs and Rarities'' in 2016 in celebration of the 25th anniversary of his platinum-selling debut album. Cohn simultaneously released a bonus album, ''Evolution of a Record'', which featured never-before-heard songs and demos.[ In 2017, Cohn worked with William Bell on his ]Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
Award-winning album ''This Is Where I Live''. He co-wrote several tracks on the album, including the opener, "The Three Of Me". Cohn also collaborated with the Blind Boys of Alabama
Blind may refer to:
* The state of blindness, being unable to see
* A window blind, a covering for a window
Blind may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop
* ''Blind ...
on their Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
-nominated song "Let My Mother Live".[
In 2019, Cohn performed at ]Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
at "The Music of Van Morrison
Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards.
As a teenager in t ...
" show, which benefited music education programs for the New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
school system. Other performers included Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''.
Called the "punk poe ...
, Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top ten ...
, Bettye LaVette
Bettye LaVette (born Betty Jo Haskins, January 29, 1946) is an American soul singer-songwriter who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, when her album ''I've Got My Own Hell to Raise'' was released to ...
, Blind Boys of Alabama, and Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter (born October 21, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author who performs and records with the Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006, he was named one of ...
. Cohn performed "Walking in Memphis" alongside Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...
at the 2019 Memphis in May
Memphis in May International Festival is a month-long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival, which is saluting Ghana in 2022, honors a specific foreign country every year and features many events. The ''Beale Street Music Festival'' ...
Festival as part of the "More Together" Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
campaign. "Walking in Memphis" was also the center of a national commercial for the "More Together" campaign. Cohn released ''Work to Do'', a collaboration with the Blind Boys of Alabama
Blind may refer to:
* The state of blindness, being unable to see
* A window blind, a covering for a window
Blind may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop
* ''Blind ...
, on August 9, 2019.
Personal life
Cohn married Jennifer George on May 20, 1988. Cohn and George had two children.[
Cohn and ]ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
journalist Elizabeth Vargas
Elizabeth Anne Vargas (born September 6, 1962) is an American television journalist who is the lead investigative reporter/documentary anchor for A&E Networks, and the host for Fox's revival of '' America's Most Wanted''. She began her new positi ...
married on July 20, 2002. The pair met at the 1999 U.S. Open after Vargas sought an interview with Cohn's friend, Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors.
Agassi is the second of five men to ach ...
.[ They have two sons, Zachary (born January 31, 2003) and Samuel (born August 16, 2006).][ Cohn and Vargas divorced in 2014, days after Vargas came out of rehabilitation for alcoholism for a third time.
On August 7, 2005, Cohn was shot in the head during an attempted ]carjacking
Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is ...
in Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, while on a concert tour with Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...
. The bullet "barely missed Cohn's eye and lodged near his skull." Cohn survived and was hospitalized for observation, but was released after eight hours. According to Cohn, "Doctors told me I was the luckiest unlucky guy they had met in a long, long time."[ A police spokesperson surmised that the car's windshield may have significantly impeded the bullet's force, and added: "Frankly, I can't tell you how he survived."] The shooter was sentenced to 36 years in prison.[
]
Awards
*1991 American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produc ...
– Nominated for Favorite New Artist – Adult Contemporary
*1992 Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
– Winner for Best New Artist[
*1992 ]Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
– Nominated for Pop Male Vocalist for "Walking in Memphis
"Walking in Memphis" is a song composed and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year that the ...
"
*1992 Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
– Nominated for Song of the Year for "Walking in Memphis
"Walking in Memphis" is a song composed and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year that the ...
"
Discography
Albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Singles
EPs
*''Hi-Five: Marc Cohn'' (2005)
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohn, Marc
1959 births
Living people
Musicians from Cleveland
American male singers
American shooting survivors
Jewish American musicians
Jewish singers
Atlantic Records artists
Grammy Award winners