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Joni Mitchell
Canadian-American singer-songwriter (born 1943)
Roberta Joan Mitchell is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her personal lyrics and unconventional compositions, which grew to incorporate elements of pop, jazz, rock, and other genres.
Among her accolades are eleven Grammy Awards, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone, in 2002, named her "one of the greatest songwriters ever", and AllMusic, in a 2011 biography, stated "Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century."
labels: Asylum Records, Geffen Records, Hear Music, Nonesuch Records, Reprise Records, Warner Music Group
genres: folk rock, folk jazz, pop music, world music, folk music, art rock, jazz
awards: Polar Music Prize, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Canada's Walk of Fame, Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording, Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals, Canadian Music Hall of Fame
Roberta Joan Anderson was born on November 7, 1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta to Myrtle Marguerite (née McKee) and William Andrew Anderson. Her mother's ancestors were Scottish and Irish; her father was from a Norwegian family that may have had some Sámi ancestry, according to one family member. However, Norwegian genealogist Arnfrid Mæland disputes this claim, saying that the family tree has no Sámi lineage dating back to the 1600s. Her mother was a teacher. Her father was a Royal Canadian Air Force flight lieutenant who instructed new pilots at RCAF Station Fort Macleod. During World War II, she moved with her parents to various bases in western Canada. After the war ended, her father worked as a grocer and her family moved to...
1964–1967: Career beginnings, motherhood, and first marriage
She continued to play gigs as a folk musician on weekends at her college and at a local hotel. Around this time she took a $15-a-week job in a Calgary coffeehouse called The Depression Coffee House, "singing long tragic songs in a minor key". She sang at hootenannies and made appearances on local TV and radio shows in Calgary. In 1964, at the age of 20, she told her mother that she intended to be a folk singer in Toronto. She left western Canada for the first time in her life, heading east for Ontario. Mitchell wrote her first song, "Day After Day", on the three-day train ride. She stopped at the Mariposa Folk Festival to see Buffy Sainte-Marie, an American folk singer who had inspired her. A year later, Mitchell played Mariposa, her first...
While some of Mitchell's most popular songs were written on the piano, almost every song she composed on the guitar uses an open, or non-standard, tuning; she has written songs in some 50 tunings, playing what she has called "Joni's weird chords". The use of alternative tunings allows guitarists to produce accompaniment with more varied and wide-ranging textures. Her right-hand picking/strumming technique has evolved over the years from an initially intricate picking style, typified by the guitar songs on her first album, to a looser and more rhythmic style, sometimes incorporating percussive "slaps".
Mitchell's approach to music struck a chord with many female listeners. In an era dominated by the stereotypical male rock star, she presented herself as "multidimensional and conflicted ... allow[ing] her to build such a powerful identification among her female fans". Mitchell asserted her desire for artistic control throughout her career, and still holds the publishing rights for her music. She has disclaimed the notion that she is a "feminist"; in a 2013 interview she rejected the label, stating, "I'm not a feminist. I don't want to get a posse against men. I'd rather go toe-to-toe; work it out." David Shumway notes that Mitchell "became the first woman in popular music to be recognized as an artist in the full sense of that term.......
Canadian musician, singer songwriter and painter. Born on November 7, 1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta, as Roberta Joan Anderson. In June 1965, she married and she kept his name when they divorced early in 1967, upon which she left for New York City and its folk music scene. (She had already begun singing in small nightclubs in her native Western Canada and then Toronto.) In New York, she quickly achieved fame first as a songwriter (e.g. with Chelsea Morning, Both Sides Now or Woodstock) and then as a singer in her own right. After David Crosby had discovered her playing in Florida, he introduced her to his folk rock friends in Los Angeles and its Laurel Canyon scene, where Mitchell would find a home. Early 1968 she recorded her debut LP for Reprise in Hollywood, and by the time of her third album she has her first gold album. Mitchell rose above the folk idiom and had pop hits such as Big Yellow Taxi (1970), Free Man In Paris and Help Me, the last two from 1974's best-selling Court And Spark.
Mitchell's distinctive harmonic guitar style, and piano arrangements all grew more complex through the 1970s as she was deeply influenced by jazz, melding it with pop, folk and rock on experi
Also known as: Ioni Mitchell, J Mitchell, J. Mitchell, J. MItchell, J. Michell
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
Joni Mitchell, the records, oldest first
Song to a Seagull
1968 album
wanted
Clouds
1969 album
wanted
Ladies of the Canyon
1970 album
wanted
Blue
1971 album
wanted
For the Roses
1972 album
Court and Spark
1974 album
wanted
The Hissing of Summer Lawns
1975 album
Hejira
1976 album
Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter
1977 album
Mingus
1979 album
Wild Things Run Fast
1982 album
Dog Eat Dog
1985 album
Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm
1988 album
Night Ride Home
1991 album
Turbulent Indigo
1994 album
Live at the Fez 1995
1995 album
Taming the Tiger
1998 album
Both Sides Now
2000 album
Travelogue
2002 album
BBC In Concert
2004 album
Shine
2007 album
A Woman In The East (The 1983 Tokyo Broadcast)
2015 album
Comfort In Meloncholy (Music And Conversation)
2016 album
Carnegie Hall 1972 (The New York Broadcast)
2020 album
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in 1970, and originally released on her third album, Ladies of the Canyon (1970). Released in April 1970 by Reprise Records, the single was a hit in her native Canada as well as Australia and on the UK Singles Chart.
It only reached No. 67 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1970, but was later a bigger hit there for her in a live version released in 1974, which peaked at No. 24. Charting versions have also been recorded by the Neighborhood, and most notably by Amy Grant in 1995 and Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton in 2002.
Mitchell's composition and recording
In 1996, speaking to journalist Robert Hilburn, Joni Mitchell said this about writing the song:
Music video
An animated music video of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" was produced by John Wilson of Fine Arts Films as an animated short for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour television show in the mid-1970s. The only commercial release of this full-length music video was in the Video Gems home video release on VHS titled John Wilson's Mini Musicals, also released as The Fantastic All-Electric Music Movie. The home video also contains an animated music video of Mitchell's song "Both Sides, Now".
Critical reception
A reviewer from Music & Media wrote, "Grant takes the cab that's been driven by Joni Mitchell before. Acoustic guitar and mainly mandolin give the single a far more intimate ambience than many of its more straight pop forerunners."
"A Case of You" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, from her fourth studio album Blue (1971). The song has been covered by numerous artists and has been listed by listeners of BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs as the No. 1 female song.
In 2021, it was listed at No. 26 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time". In June 2026, CBS News included the song in its list of the 250 essential American songs of the past 250 years.
Writing and recording
Mitchell wrote "A Case of You" in or before 1970. She performed the song at the Amchitka Greenpeace benefit concert in October 1970. She recorded the song in 1971, and it was released on the 1971 album Blue with Mitchell playing Appalachian dulcimer, accompanied by James Taylor on acoustic guitar, which was tuned to standard tuning, (EADGBE), although there are cover versions played in an open G tuning (DGDGBD).
Additional recordings and performances
Mitchell later re-recorded the song for her live album Miles of Aisles (1974), as well as her orchestral album Both Sides Now (2000). She performed it regularly on her 1983 tour. The original recording was included on Mitchell's compilation Misses (1996). A demo recording was included on the 50th anniversary EP of Blue in 2021.
Cover versions
There are well over 500 known recordings of "A Case of You". The cabaret singer Connie Champagne recorded "A Case of You" in the persona of Judy Garland on her 2003 album Imagine Judy Garland: An Evening with Connie Champagne. In 2012 the Portuguese singer Ana Moura recorded a cover version for her album Desfado produced by Mitchell's former husband and producer Larry Klein. James Blake recorded a version for Zane Lowe's programme on BBC Radio 1, which later appeared on the Enough Thunder EP and the deluxe edition of his self-titled album. Schitt's Creek star Noah Reid performed his version in honor of his co-star Catherine O'Hara for the Governor General's Awards in 2021.
"Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. One of the first recordings is by Judy Collins, whose version appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968.
The next year it was included on Mitchell's album Clouds, and became one of her best-known songs. In 1991 Mitchell re-recorded the song with an orchestral arrangement on her 2000 album Both Sides Now.
Background
Mitchell has said that "Both Sides, Now" was inspired by a passage in Henderson the Rain King, a 1959 novel by Saul Bellow.I was reading ... Henderson the Rain King on a plane and early in the book Henderson ... is also up in a plane. He's on his way to Africa and he looks down and sees these clouds. I put down the book, looked out the window and saw clouds too, and I immediately started writing the song. I had no idea that the song would become as popular as it did.
2000 re-recording
Mitchell re-recorded the song in a lush, orchestrated fashion for her 2000 album Both Sides Now. The recording won arranger Vince Mendoza a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s).
Legacy
The song inspired the title of Hillary Clinton's 2024 memoir, Something Lost, Something Gained.
Other recordings
Neil Diamond recorded and included a version in his 1969 album, Touching You, Touching Me. The album reached #30 on the Billboard album chart and was certified gold.
"Carey" is a song from the 1971 Joni Mitchell album Blue. It was inspired by her time spent with Cary Raditz, living with a cave-dwelling hippie community at Matala, on the Greek island of Crete.
Background
In early 1970, Mitchell's relationship with Graham Nash had recently ended, and she decided to fly to Greece for a break, with a female friend. Mitchell's European travels, which also encompassed France and Spain, were intended as a "time out" from her increasing fame and fortune in the music business. After a few days in Athens the two friends traveled to Crete, rented a car, and drove to Matala on the south coast of the island.
Recording and release
While in Europe, Mitchell taught herself to play the Appalachian dulcimer, which was to become a feature of her musical output in the following years. Her dulcimer skills were first showcased on Blue and in particular the original recording of "Carey", which also features Stephen Stills on bass and acoustic guitar. "Carey" was released as a single, debuting at number 93 on the Billboard Chart on September 4, 1971, and lasting just one week; nevertheless, it remains one of Mitchell's most enduring and popular songs.
Cover versions
In 1972, actress Goldie Hawn recorded her version of the song for her album Goldie (Warner MS 2061). Kiki Dee issued a live version of the song on her 1995 album Almost Naked. At the televised 2000 tribute concert to Mitchell, held at the Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, the song was performed by Cyndi Lauper.
"Free Man in Paris" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. It appeared on her 1974 album Court and Spark, as well as her 1980 live album Shadows and Light.
It is ranked No. 470 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Background
The song is about music agent/promoter David Geffen, a close friend of Mitchell in the early 1970s, and describes Geffen during a trip the two made to Paris with Robbie Robertson and Dominique Robertson.
Reception
Billboard described it as having a "good mix of acoustic and electric instrumentals" with Mitchell's "distinctive vocals." Cash Box said that "lyrically, this is a total gem and the musical arrangement is letter perfect" and that "the melody is infectious." Record World said that with this song Mitchell "needs no aid other than a healthy ear from American hit-pickers to ensure her yet another triumph."
Notable versions and covers
In the 1970s, an instrumental version of the song was the theme music used for CBC Television's The Saturday Evening News, which aired at 6 p.m. until 1982 when it was replaced with Saturday Report.
"You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio" is a 1972 song written and originally recorded by Canadian singer songwriter Joni Mitchell. It was released on her fifth studio album, For the Roses, and was issued as a single as well.
Background
Joni Mitchell originally wrote the song in response to her record label's desire for her to write a hit song. The song was recorded in preparation for Mitchell's then-upcoming fifth studio album in Hollywood, California at A&M Studios. Although Graham Nash, David Crosby, and Neil Young all contributed to the recording session for the song, only the harmonica piece performed by Graham Nash was included on the official release.
Other Joni Mitchell recordings
The opening track on her 1974 live album Miles of Aisles is a performance with an extended outro in which she wordlessly duets with Robben Ford's electric guitar.
