Sharon Robinson (born in 1958 in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

) is an American singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. She is best known for frequent writing and collaborating with

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

,''Sharon Robinson'' profile and discography
Discogs.com although she has written songs for a number of other artists including

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer renowned for his distinctively smooth, vibrato-heavy tenor and a genre-crossing career that spans R&B, soul, gospel, jazz, country, and pop. He gained national prominence with hi ...

Brenda Russell Brenda Russell (née Gordon; born April 8, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and keyboardist. Russell has a diverse musical range which encompasses Rhythm and blues, R&B, pop music, pop, soul music, soul, dance music, dance, and ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...

Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American retired jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, sh ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

Bettye LaVette Bettye LaVette (born Betty Jo Haskins, January 29, 1946) is an American soul singer who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, when her album '' I've Got My Own Hell to Raise'' was released to widespre ...

, and others.

Career

Robinson first recorded an album on Baby Grand in 1977. Allegedly because of the tax shelter issues with the label, she was reluctant to use her own name, hence the outfit / project was named Terea (a name she had used in the past and it is believed to be her middle name). On the untitled album she is backed by members of Street Feet (who also released an album on Baby Grand in 1977). Robinson toured as a back-up singer for Cohen in 1979 and 1980, and then again during 2008–2013. They collaborated on writing the songs " Everybody Knows" and "Waiting for the Miracle", released in 1988 and 1992 respectively. In 2001, she co-wrote, produced, arranged, and performed the backing tracks (as well as appearing alongside Cohen on the cover) for his album '' Ten New Songs''. Robinson contributed to three tracks on Cohen's 2004 album '' Dear Heather'', and dueted with Cohen on "The Letters". She was given a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

in 1985 for the song " New Attitude" (from the ''

Beverly Hills Cop ''Beverly Hills Cop'' is a 1984 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, with a screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., and story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr. It stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Det ...

'' soundtrack) which was recorded by

. In 2004, Robinson was interviewed about her life, career, and work with Leonard Cohen. In 2005, Robinson wrote the song "The High Road" specifically for

for her album '' I've Got My Own Hell to Raise'', which was #59 on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

's best of 2005 Editor's picks. Robinson's recent work includes songs written for

Chris Botti Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album, Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album Impressions ...

In 2008, Robinson released her debut solo album ''Everybody Knows'', which includes three songs she co-wrote with Cohen: "Alexandra Leaving", "Everybody Knows", and "Summertime", their first collaboration, originally recorded by

for her 1987 album ''

Red Hot Rhythm & Blues ''Red Hot Rhythm and Blues'' is the seventeenth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross, released on May 8, 1987, by RCA Records and EMI Records. It was Ross' last of six albums released by the label during the decade. It was produced b ...

''. The set includes "The High Road", and six new tracks written by Robinson. On October 27, 2008, Vibrant Records released ''Everybody Knows'' in the United Kingdom and Europe, replacing the original artwork from Leonard Cohen with a photo of Robinson. In February 2009, Vibrant Records closed due to the bankruptcy of its distributor Pinnacle. In April 2009, UK label Freeworld Records re-released ''Everybody Knows'' in Europe with the original Leonard Cohen-drawn cover art. Robinson self-released the album in the U.S. In 2008 Robinson joined The Leonard Cohen World Tour which lasted until December 2013. In August 2013 she was profiled in a cover story in the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

''. A book of her photographs was released in December 2014 along with exhibits in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and performances in those cities and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. She appeared on Cohen's 2012 album ''

Old Ideas ''Old Ideas'' is the twelfth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released in January 2012. It is Cohen's highest-charting release in the United States, reaching number 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200, 44 years after the release o ...

'' singing, arranging choirs, and playing synth bass on four tracks. She performed songs from both her albums and also songs she co-wrote with Cohen on a tour in March and April 2015, coinciding with the release of her second solo album, entitled ''Caffeine'' performing in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, France, Ireland, Scotland, and England. ''Caffeine'' included 10 new tracks written and produced by Robinson herself, with one song, "Lucky", co-written with Cohen in the 1980s but not recorded. In 2015, Robinson released a four-track EP titled ''Sharon Robinson EP 1'', covering songs by

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, folk music, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock music, rock, heartland r ...

, and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

. After her second 2015 tour was postponed, she toured in Europe again in August and September 2016. In August 2016, she was the guest of honor at the 10th Leonard Cohen Event, held in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Discography

; Leonard Cohen: * '' I'm Your Man'' (1988, wrote and composed a song, ''Everybody Knows'') * '' The Future'' (1992, co-writer on a song, ''Waiting For The Miracle'') * ''Cohen Live: Leonard Cohen In Concert'' (1994, co-writer on one song, ''Everybody Knows'') * '' Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979'' (2000, backing vocals) * '' Ten New Songs'' (2001) (Writing, composition, keyboards, synths, vocals, arrangements) * '' Dear Heather'' (2004; backing vocals, arrangements) * '' Live in London'' (2009, backing vocals) * '' Songs from the Road'' (2010, backing vocals) * ''

'' ( 2012, backing vocals, synth bass) * '' Live in Dublin'' (2014, backing vocals) Also on DVD. * ''Can't Forget: A Souvenir of the Grand Tour'' (2015, backing vocals) * '' Thanks for the Dance'' ( 2019, percussion and vocals on a song) - With Daniel Lanois.

Solo albums

* ''Everybody Knows'' (2008) - Leonard Cohen, artwork & songwriting for three songs. * ''Caffeine'' (2015) - Leonard Cohen songwriting on 1 song * ''EP 1 (songs by Waits, Redding, Hornsby, Clapton)'' (2015) * ''We Were Dreamers - 2021

Bibliography

* 2014 : ''On Tour with Leonard Cohen - Photographs by Sharon Robinson'' - PowerHouse books

References

External links

Sharon Robinson's official website

Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson: a special relationship

Sharon Robinson European Tour 2015
* * with Terea {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Sharon 1958 births Living people American women singer-songwriters Leonard Cohen Record producers from California Grammy Award winners Singers from San Francisco Songwriters from San Francisco 20th-century American women singers American women record producers 20th-century American singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from California