Marc Craig Cohn (; born July 5, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for the song "Walking in Memphis", which was a top 40 hit from his 1991 album Marc Cohn and was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards. Cohn won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1992. His other charting singles include "Silver Thunderbird" (1991), "True Companion" (1991), and "Walk Through the World" (1993).
In 2019, the Observer-Dispatch wrote the following about Cohn: "Deeply rooted in American rhythm and blues, soul and gospel, gifted with a storyteller's eye and ear, and possessing one of the most expressive and soulful voices in modern music, Cohn draws from real-life to evoke common human feelings of love, hope, faith, joy and heartbreak". He is Jewish, he has 3 older brothers, Alan, Warren, and Steven Samuel Cohn who died in 2014 at the age of 66. and his father Harry A. Cohn died when he was 13 at the age of 72. Following the deaths of his parents, Cohn was raised by his stepmother, Ruth H. Cohn (1914–2009)
As a child, Cohn became "obsessed" with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, and the Band. He 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. In 1977, Cohn graduated from Beachwood High School a Cleveland suburb. While attending Oberlin College, he taught himself to play the piano.
Career
Cohn transferred to UCLA and began to perform in Los Angeles-area coffeehouses. as a session musician, and in a cover band called the Supreme Court. and this experience led to him signing a contract with Atlantic Records.
Cohn released his debut solo album, Marc Cohn, in February 1991. The album was successful due to the hit single "Walking in Memphis". Cohn has said that "Walking in Memphis" is "100 percent autobiographical" and based on actual events that happened during his vacation to Memphis, Tennessee which he hoped would help overcome a bout of writer's block. He has described it as a song about "a Jewish gospel-music-lover", and added that "the song is about more than just a place; it's about a kind of spiritual awakening, one of those trips where you're different when you leave." He was inspired to write "Walking in Memphis" by a 1985 visit to the Memphis, Tennessee area. At the time, he was working as a session singer in New York City while pursuing a recording contract. "Walking in Memphis" was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards and reached number 13 in 1991 on the Billboard Hot 100. As of 2016, it remains Cohn's only Top 40 hit.
Marc Cohn was certified gold by the RIAA in February 1992 and was certified platinum in 1996. Cohn won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. "Walk Through the World" (1993), the first song from that album, reached the Top 30 on Billboards 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.
thumb|Marc Cohn performing in [[Saratoga, California in July 2005]]
In 2010, Cohn returned with Listening Booth: 1970, a collection of covers of 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, Jim Lauderdale, Aimee Mann, and Kristina Train. As of September 2018, Listening Booth: 1970--which peaked at number 28--was Cohn's highest-charting album. 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 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 on their Grammy-nominated song "Let My Mother Live". Cohn performed "Walking in Memphis" alongside Miley Cyrus at the 2019 Memphis in May Festival as part of the "More Together" Facebook 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, on August 9, 2019.
Personal life
Marriages and children
Cohn married designer Jennifer George on May 20, 1988; she is a granddaughter of cartoonist Rube Goldberg. Cohn and George have two children; son Max, born c. 1991, and daughter Emily, born c. 1995. The marriage ended in divorce.
Cohn and married American journalist Elizabeth Vargas on July 20, 2002. The pair met at the 1999 U.S. Open after Vargas sought an interview with Cohn's friend Andre Agassi. They have two sons, Zachary (born January 31, 2003) and Samuel (born August 16, 2006).
Cohn's third wife is Lisa Cohn, who he married in late 2022.
Health
On August 7, 2005, Cohn was shot in the head during an attempted carjacking in Denver, Colorado, while on a concert tour with Suzanne Vega. 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."
Awards
- 1991 American Music Awards – Nominated for Favorite New Artist – Adult Contemporary
- 1992 Grammy Awards – Winner for Best New Artist
- 1992 Grammy Awards – Nominated for Song of the Year for "Walking in Memphis"
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!rowspan=2 style="width:16em;"|Title
!rowspan=2 style="width:18em;"|Album details
!colspan=5|Peak chart<br>positions
!rowspan=2|Certifications<br><small>(sales thresholds)</small>
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
!style="width:45px;"|US
!style="width:45px;"|AUS
!style="width:45px;"|CAN
!style="width:45px;"|GER
!style="width:45px;"|UK
|-
!scope=row|Marc Cohn
|
- Release date: February 12, 1991
- Label: Atlantic Records
|38
|31
|15
|14
|27
|style="text-align:left;"|
- RIAA: Platinum
- ARIA: Gold
- MC: Gold
|-
!scope=row|The Rainy Season
|
- Release date: May 25, 1993
- Label: Atlantic Records
|63
|121
|46
|60
|24
|
|-
!scope=row|Burning the Daze
|
- Release date: March 17, 1998
- Label: Atlantic Records
|114
|—
|—
|64
|153
|
|-
!scope=row|Join the Parade
|
- Release date: October 9, 2007
- Label: Decca Records
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|
|-
!scope=row|Listening Booth: 1970
|
- Release date: July 20, 2010
- Label: Saguaro Road Records
|28
|—
|81
|86
|—
|
|-
|colspan="8" style="font-size:8pt"|"—" denotes releases that did not chart
|}
Live albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! style="width:16em;" |Title
! style="width:18em;" |Album details
|-
! scope="row" |Marc Cohn Live: Special Limited Edition EP
|
- Release date: 2004 or 2005
- Label: Self-released
|-
! scope="row" |Marc Cohn Live 04/05
|
- Release date: 2005
- Label: United Musicians
|-
! scope="row" |Join the Parade: Live EP
|
- Release date: 2008
- Label: Miles Away Records
|-
! scope="row" |Work to Do
|
- Release date: August 9, 2019
- Label: BMG
|}
Compilation albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! style="width:16em;" |Title
! style="width:18em;" |Album details
|-
! scope="row" |The Very Best of Marc Cohn
|
- Release date: June 20, 2006
- Label: Atlantic/WEA
|-
! scope="row" |Careful What You Dream: Lost Songs and Rarities
|
- Release date: March 25, 2016
- Label: Marc Cohn
|}
EPs
- Hi-Five: Marc Cohn (2005)
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" |Year
! rowspan="2" style="width:16em;" |Single
! colspan="10" |Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2" |Certifications
! rowspan="2" |Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:40px;" |US<br>
! style="width:40px;" |US AC
! style="width:40px;" |US Main
! style="width:40px;" |US Country
! style="width:45px;" |AUS<br>
! style="width:40px;" |CAN
! style="width:40px;" |CAN AC
! style="width:40px;" |GER
! style="width:40px;" |IRL<br>
! style="width:40px;" |UK<br>
|-
| rowspan="1" | 1986
! scope="row" |"The Heart of the City"
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|
| rowspan="1" style="text-align:left;" |<small>Non-album single, Morning Records 1067</small>
|-
| rowspan="5" |1991
! scope="row" |"Walking in Memphis"
|13
|12
|7
|74
|11
|3
|5
|25
|7
|66
|
| rowspan="7" style="text-align:left;" |Marc Cohn
|-
! scope="row" |"Silver Thunderbird"
|63
|—
|22
|—
|107
|31
|18
|87
|28
|54
|
|-
! scope="row" |"Walking in Memphis" (UK re-issue)
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|16
|22
|
- BPI: Platinum