The album was in some ways a departure from Cohen's typical minimalist style by using Spector's Wall of Sound recording method, which included ornate arrangements and multiple tracks of instrument overdubs.

The album was originally released in the US by Warner Bros., and on CD and the rest of the world by Cohen's long-time label, Columbia Records.

Spector had created hits such as "Be My Baby" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" with his "wall of sound" production technique in the 1960s, and had some success in the early 1970s by producing albums by John Lennon and George Harrison; however, his behaviour became increasingly erratic.

Songwriter John Prine, who had also witnessed the producer's bizarre antics when he had been invited to his house to compose a song together, later marveled to Paul Zollo of BluebirdRailroad magazine that as soon as Spector "sat down with an instrument, he was normal."

Spector recruited a plethora of top-shelf Los Angeles studio musicians to play on the songs, including guitarists Dan and David Kessel, drummers Hal Blaine and Jim Keltner, and pedal steel player Al Perkins, among many others.

Another night, poet Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan showed up and were ordered by Spector to sing background vocals on the raucously burlesque "Don't Go Home With Your Hard-on".

Interviewed for the 2005 documentary I'm Your Man, Cohen expressed disappointment in the record and felt that the songs "got away" from him; he also noted that it was a favorite among "punksters" as well as his daughter.

Death of a Ladies' Man was released to universal confusion and largely bad reviews, leaving many die-hard Cohen fans stunned.

"Memories" has also been covered at least five times by other artists, including John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats and Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest, although the latter modifies the lyrics considerably.

Swedish singer Svante Karlsson mentioned the album title in the song "I Nöd & Lust" (from Tro Inte Att Du Känner Mig 2010) in which the female character listens to it in her head phones during a train ride.

In 2013, Guitars and Bongos Records released Greg Ashley's cover version of the entire Death of a Ladies' Man album.