Joni Mitchell

“I had in fact, seen quite a bit of the ‘I’ve looked at life from both sides now’. I had some serious battles for a twenty-one-year-old. But I was trying to become a realist in all ways”

The melancholic folk singer was a distinctive voice in the late 1960s. With her beautiful lyrics, long blonde hair, and keen observations Joni Mitchell gained a passionate following, though her personal life was often difficult.

Joni Mitchell was born Roberta Joan Anderson, 1943, in Alberta, Canada. Her early childhood was marred when she contracted polio. Doctors told her she might never walk again but she was determined to prove them wrong, which she did. She developed a love of art, poetry and music and taught herself the ukelele and eventually the guitar. She started singing and began playing in various folk clubs. When she dropped out of university she travelled to Ontario where she continued singing. In 1964 she discovered she was pregnant to her boyfriend, who soon left her. Destitute Joni gave birth to a daughter, Kelly, but had to put her up for adoption. Devastated she turned to song writing as a way to deal with her grief. That same year, 1965, she married fellow singer, Chuck Mitchell. Whilst her work gained in popularity the couple's relationship struggled and they were divorced in 1967. Joni moved to New York and the following year released her debut album, Song to a Seagull. In 1969 she released, Clouds, which featured one of her best loved songs, 'Both Sides Now'. That same year she wrote 'Woodstock' after hearing of her friends experiences at the famed festival. It became one of her most popular songs.
When the 1960s ended Joni released the albums, Ladies of the Canyon and the critically acclaimed, Blue. She continued to develop her musical style and eventually moved from folk to jazz, she became renowned for her lyrics. Following Blue, she released a further fifteen studio albums. She suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015 and has been in ill health, though friends say she continues to improve. She stopped touring and recording following her last album but continues to paint.

Joni was one of the most popular female singers of the late sixties. Her beautiful, personal lyrics struck a chord with many as did her distinctive and unusual guitar work, developed when she discovered her fingers had been weakened by polio and she had to create different tunings. She had the ability to create stories with her words as seen in some of her most popular songs, 'Both Sides Now', 'Woodstock', 'Big Yellow Taxi' and 'The Circle Game'. Her distinctive soprano voice is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful and she gained a strong female audience in an industry largely dominated by men. She maintained the rights to her music and designed all her album covers, she often stated that at heart she was a painter and it was a passion she developed throughout her life. The cover of Clouds features her beautiful self portrait.

Joni was a determined woman who suffered many personal tragedies. As an unmarried mother in the sixties she faced many hardships, she did not even tell her family of her child. She supported herself as best she could and ultimately sacrificed her own happiness so that her daughter would be safe. The experience strengthened her resolve to make something of herself, but also highlighted the many injustices faced by women of the era. Happily she was reunited with Kelly later in life.

Joni had a strong creative vision and was dedicated to her ideas. Her lyrics were often confessional in nature and proved relatable for many women. She continued to explore new styles and forged a distinctive voice and place within the music industry, where she showed remarkable courage in the face of hardship.

“I sing my sorrow and I paint my joy”

Marianne Faithfull

“Between the ages of seventeen and nineteen I shed any number of old lives and grew new ones overnight without any of them seeming quite real to me; I discarded them as cavalierly as a child who moves from one game to another. Pursued in earnest, any one of these might have led to a reasonably happy life. But then again, I wasn’t interested in happiness. I was looking for the Holy Grail.”

With her beautiful voice, aristocratic heritage and wistful style, Marianne was one of the most popular female singers during the 1960s but her tumultuous personal life often overshadowed her talent. For Marianne the 1960s were times of both success and tragedy.

Marianne was born in 1946 in England, on her mother's side she was related to Austrian Royalty. Her childhood was marred by bouts of tuberculosis which also cut into her schooling. By 1964 at the age of eighteen Marianne was performing regularly in folk clubs. At a launch party for The Rolling Stones she met their manager Andrew Loog Oldham and he signed her to a recording deal. Her first major hit was with the Jagger Richards penned, 'As Tears Go By'. Her version peaked at No 9. in the UK charts. The following year Marianne married artist John Dunbar and gave birth to their son Nicholas. She also released her first two albums, Come My Way (UK only) and Marianne Faithfull. Her personal life though was proving tumultuous, as John descended further into the world of drugs, Marianne became unhappy with her life. In 1966 she left John to be with Mick Jagger the lead singer of The Rolling Stones. Between the years 1965-1967 Marianne released three more albums, Go Away from My World, North Country Maid and Love in a Mist. She remained one of the most popular female singers of the era and had great success abroad as well as in Britain. Unfortunately Marianne's association with The Rolling Stones overshadowed her talent and success as a singer. In 1967 she and the other Stones were involved in a drug bust at Keith Richards home. Marianne was found naked, wrapped in a fur rug and following the event her image was tainted by the press and she became addicted to cocaine. The following year she tragically miscarried a baby girl.
Marianne left Mick in 1970, lost custody of her son and battled addiction, anorexia and homelessness. Still she released two albums during this period including the much lauded, Broken English. Marianne successfully reinvented herself as a singer/songwriter in the 1980s and has since recorded over fifteen albums. As well as her singing career Marianne has appeared in several films, including the 1968 film, Girl on a Motorcycle, in which she starred alongside Alain Delon. Marianne continues to tour and record to this day.

Despite the 1960s liberalism and sexual revolution Marianne suffered the judgement of many for her reckless behaviour. She once lamented that the drug bust turned the boys into heroes but she was labelled a 'villain' and a 'bad mother'. It was an image she suffered with for many years, constantly having to prove herself as she was doubted by many who believed her to be nothing more than 'Mick Jagger's Girlfriend'. She was often erroneously labelled as a 'groupie' but her career has been both long and successful.

Marianne was also a fashion icon during the decade, with her mini skirts, bohemian dresses and long blonde hair. She was one of the more popular folk singers of the day and her youthful image helped audiences to accept many of the traditional folk songs she sang. She was also successful in bridging the gap between folk and pop.

Marianne was a young woman when she was thrown into the heady world of Swinging London. When the 1960s came to an end she was only 23 but had many tragic and euphoric experiences behind her. Marianne should not only be defined by her relationships with the Stones but should be celebrated for her wonderful contributions to the world of music and her strength throughout an often difficult life.

“All these half-truths strung together created a very misleading image. That press release…projected an eerie fusion of haughty aristocrat and folky bohemian child-woman. It was a tantalizing ready-made-fantasy. Unfortunately, it wasn’t me”

Vashti Bunyan

"I wanted my songs to be heard-I didn't want to be a little disappearing person! Which is what I became, but it wasn't what I wanted to do"

With her ethereal voice, and gentle, story like lyrics Vashti Bunyan was largely unknown during the 1960s. It has been in more recent years that her music has seen a resurgence in popularity.

Vashti was born in England, 1945. In the early 1960s she briefly studied art at Oxford University, but was expelled for lack of attendance. She was inspired by the music of Bob Dylan and embarked on a music career. She wrote her own songs and was 'discovered' by The Rolling Stone's manager, Andrew Loog Oldham. Her first single, released in 1965, was penned by Jagger and Richards, 'Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind'. Vashti however didn't want to become the next Marianne Faithfull, and was determined to use her own material, rather than have others write it for her. Her next single was her own, the beautiful, 'Train Song' but it failed to make much of an impact. Instead Vashti decided to travel to the Hebridean Islands with her boyfriend, Robert Lewis, in a gypsy caravan. Their idea was to join a music commune being formed by fellow songwriter, Donovan. Though this never materialised they lived in the Hebrides with their two children in a tiny cottage. It was during this journey that Vashti began writing songs for her album, Just Another Diamond Day. Released in 1970, the album told the story of Vashti's journey through Britain, unfortunately however it failed to make an impact, and a discouraged Vashti gave music away in order to raise her children. 
Vashti disappeared from public view, however during this time her album became a cult classic and in the early 2000s was selling for astronomical fees on ebay. Encouraged by this new interest in her work Vashti has since released two new albums, Lookaftering and Heartleap, and a compilation album of her  previously unreleased sixties work. 

Vashti's songs are the hidden gems of 1960s music, they are beautiful and lyrical, she transports her listener to the wilds of Scotland, with her trusty companions, Bess the horse, and her dogs. Vashti has now become known as the godmother of 'Freak Folk' for her more experimental use of voice and instruments. 

As a young woman in the male dominated sixties world of music Vashti knew what she wanted and was determined to have her words at the forefront, she wanted to make her mark on the music industry using her own songwriting talents. She also experienced a different side of 1960s life travelling throughout Britain. She and Robert were often met with suspicion for being travellers, but they also met many kind people, it was a freer way of existence and influenced Vashti profoundly. 

"I came back to London with a certainty that there were momentous changes ahead. Though I could not articulate my thoughts. For myself I had big ideas of recording my own songs, dreams of freedom and fame-and absolutely no money"