Joni Mitchell Biography
Joni Mitchell is one of the most critically acclaimed,
influential female singer-songwriters of all time. She has
been credited as a major influence by artists such as
Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin and
Madonna, and is widely credited with blazing a path for
women who desire to make meaningful music.
Mitchell was born Roberta Joan Anderson on November
17, 1943 in Ft. McLeod, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Hospitalized with polio at age 9, Mitchell began singing
to entertain herself and others and, when she
recovered, learned to play guitar using a book written
by folk legend Pete Seeger. After finishing art school, the
young singer-songwriter became a coffeehouse regular
in Calgary, then moved to Toronto, where she met and
married folk singer Chuck Mitchell. Now called Joni
Mitchell, she and Chuck moved to Detroit. When they
divorced, Joni remained in Detroit, where she became
increasingly famous for her moving, heartfelt songs.
Successful New York shows led Reprise Records to sign
Mitchell in 1967; her self-titled debut album, produced
by David Crosby, came out the following year. Joni
Mitchell, a concept album comparing city life to the
seashore, was quickly followed by Clouds, another
acoustic album, though darker, which reached the Top
40. 1970's Ladies of the Canyon expanded Mitchell's
following with the radio hit "Big Yellow Taxi," an
environmental ballad; it also featured longer
instrumental passages and added complex
accompaniment (piano, woodwinds and strings), two
directions further explored in Mitchell's later work.
Ladies of the Canyon also contains her song
"Woodstock," later turned into a hit by her friend, David
Crosby, with Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Joni Mitchell received widespread critical acclaim for her
1972 breakthrough Blue, an honest, introspective,
acoustic effort that defined the "confessional"
singer-songwriter album for years to come. 1973's For
the Roses was a radical departure from Blue, a
jazz-oriented, piano-guitar album that featured the hit
single "You Turn Me On (I'm a Radio)." Mitchell
continued drawing on jazz on 1974's Court and Spark,
which reached No. 2 and spawned the singles "Raised
on Robbery," "Help Me" and "Free Man in Paris."
The Hissing of Summer Lawns, released in 1975, broke
new ground for Mitchell with its experimental mix of
jazz, folk and world beat music (specifically, Burundi
drumming). Hejira, released the following year, featured
bass work by none other than Jaco Pastorius (of
Weather Report); inspired by a road trip across the
U.S., Hejira was Mitchell's most jazz-influenced album
yet. 1977's Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, a double
album, further pushed the boundaries of Mitchell's
songcraft, consisting of detached, mostly
improvisational jazz recorded with a cast of
accomplished musicians, including Chaka Khan. 1979's
Mingus (a jazz album, of course) grew out of a brief
collaboration between Mitchell and jazz legend Charles
Mingus, who died before the album was recorded.
After a several year hiatus, Mitchell returned to the
studio in 1982 to record Wild Things Run Fast, her first
album for Geffen Records. Reintroducing pop and folk to
Mitchell's jazz stylings, Wild Things spawned the radio
single "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care," an Elvis
cover that became Mitchell's first commercial hit in
nearly a decade. Three years later she returned with
Dog Eat Dog, a jazz/folk/pop fusion which featured
synthesizer work by Thomas Dolby. Mitchell continued
her use of electronics on 1988's Chalk Mark in a Rain
Storm, a percussion-heavy album featuring guest
appearances by Peter Gabriel, Don Henley, Billy Idol,
Tom Petty, Willie Nelson and ex-Cars member Benjamin
Orr. Her next album, 1991's Night Ride Home, was a
return to her folk roots, while 1994's Turbulent Indigo
featured only Mitchell and her acoustic guitar, recalling
her critically acclaimed work in the early 1970s.
In 1996 she released the compilations Hits and Misses;
two years later, in 1998, she announced her first live
concert appearances in more than a decade, supporting
Bob Dylan on several of his West Coast dates.
Seth Hindin
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