Leonard has collaborated with
Leonard Cohen, acting as a writer and producer for 2012's Old Ideas and 2014's Popular Problems, and co-writer, co-producer of 2016's You Want It Darker.[4] "Nevermind", a song from Popular Problems that Leonard co-wrote and produced, was featured as the title theme for Season 2 of
HBO'sTrue Detective.[5] Cohen remarked that Leonard "is such a magnificent composer. I don't think there's anybody working today with those kinds of skills."[6]
In 1997, Leonard released the instrumental album Rivers on his own record label, Unitone.[7]
Leonard has three children: a daughter Jessica, a writer (for whom Madonna's song "
Dear Jessie" was written), and two sons, Sean, who is a musician, and Jordan, a projection mapper and VJ under the name Pickels Visuals.[citation needed]
Leonard was born on March 14, 1956, in
Crystal Falls, Michigan. He entered the music business with late 1970s Chicago-based pop rock band Whisper, then later the same band membership, Trillion (name changed for legal reasons), featuring future
Toto singer
Dennis "Fergie" Frederiksen on lead vocals. His early career also featured short stints as a keyboardist in
Frank Zappa's band in 1976[citation needed] and
The Allman Brothers Band in 1980.[11]
"The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall – that's what I grew up with and that's what I dreamed of doing one day," he recalled in 1992. "I was a big
Gentle Giant fan. I was a hugeJethro Tull fan. But I had to feed my children and heat my house, so I wrote some songs with a little girl who became extremely popular. It's really that simple."[14]
Composed score for the documentary I Am Because We Are (2008). Directed by Nathan Rissman and written and produced by
Madonna.[18]
Composed score for Triumph of the Dream (2012). A documentary by photographer and filmmaker
Norman Seeff that explores the inner creative process of the scientists at work on
NASA'sMars rover Mission.[19]
Roger Waters – album Amused to Death (1992), co-producer and musician ("The most gratifying experience I've ever had," said Leonard. "I adore Roger. I think he's brilliant."[25] Waters remarked: "I liked the cut of his jib.
Whatever Pat had done before didn't interest me. He had sat in
a Chicago theatre, aged fourteen, watching Pink Floyd play Dark Side of the Moon when it was still called Eclipse. He knew all my work and I was impressed."[26])
Lara Fabian – wrote and produced three songs for her first English-language album, Lara Fabian: "Part Of Me", "Givin' Up On You" and "Yeliel (My Angel)"