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”