Leonard Cohen Broke?

When I saw Little Richard's keynote address at SXSW last year, writer Dave Marsh asked him if he had any advice for aspiring rock stars. "Always sign your own checks," said Mr. Penniman, without missing a beat.

According to this Macleans article (via Metafilter), legendary Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen may have learned that lesson the hard way. All of Cohen's royalty millions are squandered, though it's still not clear where the money went.

Now Cohen is engaged in a tangle of he said-she said-he said lawsuits with his former personal manager and financial advisor replete with lurid allegations of extravagance, extortion and even a tantric sex challenge. The good news for fans is that Cohen may step up his output to make up for the missing funds.