National Treasure #49: Joni Mitchell

“I have always thought of myself as a painter derailed by circumstance.”
– Joni Mitchel in an interview with Deirdre Kelly, June 2000

Well, that would be some derailing. I mean, I wonder what her painting career would have looked like, if that was her first and best love, and the music was secondary.

“When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important
and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century.”
All Music Biography

Birth name – Roberta Joan Anderson

Birthplace – Fort Macleod, Alberta

Grammy Awards – 16 nominations and 9, you know, awards

Genres – folk, pop, rock and roll, jazz, non-western beat, classical, R&B

Hits – just a selection

Big Yellow Taxi

Free Man in Paris

Chelsea Morning

Both Sides Now

Official website

16-minute interview with Jian Gomeshi

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2 Responses to National Treasure #49: Joni Mitchell

  1. Jim Taylor says:

    I had never heard of Joni Mitchell until a young minister named Ron Atkinson tried to introduce a group of us who worked at the national United Church HQ to the idea that there was religious music outside the bounds of hymnody. He played Both Sides Now. I was moved to tears. So were several others. It was an eye-opening, ear-opening, mind-opening moment.
    Jim T

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