Anne Leighton

Anne Leighton, Spoken World Artist, Writer, Publicity, Music Services

A 45-year music industry veteran, Anne Leighton is signed to South Africa’s Sheer Music Publishing for her songs and that country’s Off the Wall Plays for her drama writing. Sheer Music Publishing is a major South African publishing house that handles the classic Pete Seeger hit, “Wimoweh.”

After selling her first play, REACH FOR THE SUN, in 1976, Anne continued to write. 

In 2009, when she began recording her poetry and prose, found significant placements for her work as a spoken word artist. This included performing an original poem on what turned out to be a Grammy-nominated album, HEALTHY FOOD FOR THOUGHT: GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT.  Another highlight was reading poems about Libra, Capricorn, Pisces for jay Tausig’s “Trip Around the Sun” progressive rock series that included Billy Sherwood of the band YES.  

After making a $2500 profit on her third book, THE LEIGHTON EXPLOSION (on Canada’s Soul Asylum Poetry, 2015), she invested that money into recording a Christmas song “Got My Eye on You, Santa,” which found her the songwriting deal Sheer Music Publishing.  Anne’s recorded more songs, including two hip-hop songs, one is a remake of “Santa.” Now, she’s working on more spoken word for an EP that deals with choices we make to evolve or devolve.

Anne’s connections in show business and mass media are current as she’s an active music publicist and music services person.  She worked for 10 years in radio (WZIR, WRNW, WFUV….), and as a freelancer in print, Internet, publishing, and television (Hit Parader, Creem, MTV-VH1, Goldmine, Music Life-Japan, Inside Karate/Kung Fu….).  Since the early 1990s, she’s been active as a publicist and music services person, with clients that have included several campaigns for herself, plus many other artists including Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, John Hall & the band Orleans, Elliott Murphy, Firefall, Sharon Katz & the Peace Train, Phoebe Legere, Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius.

In addition to THE LEIGHTON EXPLOSION, Anne’s books are: GET THE GIG: COMMON SENSE CAREER CONSULTING (2014), PAWS FOR THOUGHT: HOW TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR CAT IS THINKING (2007, Rockwell Books, UK), USING YOUR ART & THE MEDIA TO COMFORT PEOPLE (2004, Free To Run Books, California).  Visit her poetry blog at http://workinggalrockandroll.blogspot.com/