Joni Mitchell Overview

Whether the pond she's skating across is folk, pop-rock, or jazz, Joni Mitchell attacks song with an unfailing ear for off-kilter melody and poetically sparked lyrics. Her thirty-plus years as a musician have seen her experiment with many styles and join... [more]

Whether the pond she's skating across is folk, pop-rock, or jazz, Joni Mitchell attacks song with an unfailing ear for off-kilter melody and poetically sparked lyrics. Her thirty-plus years as a musician have seen her experiment with many styles and join forces with players from Neil Young to Charles Mingus; in her music and public persona Mitchell stands out as a spokeswoman for the liberated experience of her generation. Mitchell turned to music when suffering from polio as a child and taught herself to play guitar using a Pete Seeger instructional manual. She joined the folk scene in Toronto during her college years, then toured small clubs gaining a reputation as a songwriter for folk stars like Judy Collins. David Crosby became her champion and helped launch her recording career with a first album in 1968. Three years later, Mitchell went platinum with "Ladies of the Canyon," which contained the hit "Big Yellow Taxi." Her next platinum disc was "Blue," a collaboration with James Taylor. This was the album that melded confessional poetry with acoustic guitar to create a combination that has since fueled the career of many a girl-poet. Few could match Mitchell's inventive lyrics and sophisticated musicianship -- she tuned her guitar in various modes and used the instrument like an orchestra, playing the top strings as a horn section and the bottom strings for rhythm. In the late '70s Mitchell's sound changed significantly as she explored jazz fusion, collaborating with jazz artists like Jaco Pastorius and Mingus. Some of her more innovative work received heavy criticism, including a "Worst Album of the Year" title from Rolling Stone. In the '80s and '90s she worked with pop musicians Peter Gabriel, Willy Nelson, Tom Petty, and Billy Idol to create the successful "Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm." With "Night Ride Home," an engaging selection of jazz compositions, she shifted the focus away from guest performers and back to her own voice. "Turbulent Indigo" (1994) completed her comeback. Mitchell has produced all of her albums since her debut and, an accomplished painter, created the artwork for each of her album covers. Although she announced in 1994 that she is suffering from postpolio syndrome, she has continued to be productive. In recent years, Mitchell has devoted some of her time to fostering the work of younger women artists. [show less]