Leonard Cohen has become a world-famous poet, novelist, and songwriter. It all began back in the late 1950s, when he established himself in poetry circles in college. He benefited from a modest inheritance that allowed him to venture north of the border in Canada. By the 1960s his journey as an artist had put him in touch with Andy Warhol and the Factory. Heavily influenced by the culture surrounding the modern artist, Cohen began to frequent associated clubs and listening to performers like Nico.

Suddenly Leonard became a songwriter and he soon attracted a manager, a singer willing to perform his material in Judy Collins, and Columbia Records. His first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen, was released in 1967. The album proved too dark for American audiences but tortured enough to earn him acclaim in Canada and in Europe. He became an underground sensation. Still, Leonard Cohen continued to record and tour North America. Cohen tickets sold throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. His work was featured in the Robert Altman film McCabe & Mrs. Miller. He took a different approach with Phil Spector in 1977 on Death of a Ladies Man, moving from a minimalist folk approach and using a wall of sound.

He remained busy through the decades, always existing just below the mainstream but delivering familiar hits. In 1984 he released Various Positions with a recording of Hallelujah, a song that would perhaps best be remembered for Jeff Buckley's tortured rendition. Cohen sold fewer and fewer tickets in the United States as Columbia did not give him the promotional support to be a success, but he remained a favorite artist in his homeland Canada and throughout Europe.

As time passed music tastes changed and Leonard Cohen continued to experiment. He tried synthesizers on I'm Your Man in 1986 and reemerged to the younger demographic in 1990 thanks to his song Everybody Knows in the movie Pump Up the Volume. The semi-reclusive artist moved away from selling tour tickets and instead disappeared in 1996.

In 2001 he reemerged again with Ten New Songs. Years followed with bitter suits between business managers and the artist, leaving the artist with a substantially less secure fortune. He returned to the stage in 2008 on tour that sold Leonard Cohen tickets to see the songwriter perform for the first time in years. Now he is making the United States an annual touring destination.