HELP me teach society that FOR THE ROSES is far better than BLUE, which is clunkier! DYLAN CAN'T WRITE GOOD SONGS IN ANY WAY! CRAP LYRICS TOO!! JONI is the KING!!
Mary, I wanna tell you something important. [Because: I'm sure of it, now.] * You, can preform the deal. You can keep it s secret. [I'm sure, one of you goals: Is "The Gloves; with the riffs". ..part.] In the future. That will, come to pass. And what ever: at your Liberty. * Now something else... [It's not to be rude.] These talk videos. [Done] It's the song Mary... And You are in kind of a marriage with Robert. [Not really that intense though; on your daily life.] It's the song; with Robert Forever. Every Day... Somehow. (i,e,) Not a video about; this stuff. * You have to keep running your business though, [Correct?] Your gonna listen to him. Every day. But maybe not... Every day. But the song and Robert. Will be every day. [They get , like leaches.] But they will let up on the pulling. Just ask. And they; will give you a break... But leavening is not. And, You know these songs and guitars... And all of that. They're not even mine any more... But the song is coming. And, again, and again. The most important for you is this: Never go back to prove you can rip; and do a better show: to "Get-back"; at another Musician... Ever... Remember, Robert did... So avoid that, experience. It took 3 very small seconds... To hear; you difference. Wow... that
Joni is one of the most evocative songwriters ever. Just the first few bars of Just Like This Train, Coyote, Song for Sharon, or Chinese Cafe immediately bring back the time & place when first I heard them, and each new hearing offers something new.
Although I found myself unable to follow Joni when she went off into jazz, I love Blue, Ladies of the Canyon, and Court and Spark. The Hissing of Summer Lawns had some good moments as well, but that was the last record that made any sense to me. And yet, those 4 records changed how and what I thought about music.
to me, Court and Spark and Hissing are her masterpieces. Hejira is amazing too, and I'm yet to take in the later 70s albums, but the intersection of jazz and folk (putting it in wayyy simplistic terms) is, to me, where it's at when it comes to Joni. Like, she was a fantastic songwriter before, but musically she really spread her wings on Court and further on
Trying to name one person as the greatest songwriter of all time is a fool's errand (how do you compare Bach, Cole Porter, Bob Dylan, and Dolly Parton?), but Joni is definitely in that top tier of people you'd consider if you were chasing that fool's errand.
I’m 72 years old. Have been a music lover ever since I first listened to my older brother’s 45rpm records in the mid 1950’s. Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis. Then the Beatles, Rolling Stones. As the 1960’s evolved I got more into folk and Joni was always amount my favorites. When I started playing guitar in my 60’s after retirement, I became interested in alternate tuning and discovered that she was the queen of alternate tunings. I also had polio. Contracted it in 1952. So she is a kindred spirit. Love her now. Always have. I like your stuff too.
Thank you, Mary, for this very moving tribute. I discovered Joni in my late teens, and have been a fan since the early 70’s. I saw her live at the Hollywood Bowl one beautiful summer night. I’d broken up with my girlfriend, and I’d bought two tickets, that I didn’t want to go to waste, so I invited my mom. She’s an artist and had been a musician, and was really able to appreciate the magic that is Joni on that beautiful summer night in LA. Wonderful, as is what you’ve shared, which revealed some things about Joni’s life that I didn’t know. Thanks again. Blessings. Lou
Thank you Mary for such a wonderful video. You captured so much, and so beautifully, in only 10 minutes. I fell in love with Joni when a friend brought over a copy of her then just released debut album, Song to a Seagull, in 1968. A bunch of us sat in front of the speakers and were absolutely mesmorized. I have been a Joni fan ever since.
I've loved Joni Mitchell from the moment I first heard Clouds. I was a Senior in high school when that album was released and I remember purchasing it at my favorite record store in late 1969. I believe she is a musical genius. Thank you for this video.
Thank you, Mary, for this so-lovely tribute to a legendary painter-of-words&music. Joni is such an amazing artist. Of anybody, you are the appropriate person to be telling Joni’s story. You are a musician and composer. I only knew of her from listening to “Both Sides Now” on my small AM transistor radio, back in the day. [DJ’ed by ”Cousin Brucie” out of NYC on WABC]
@@christopherhidalgo6696 I also love George Harrison too especially his guitar solos on "My Sweet Lord" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (go check out the live performance from the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony with Tom Petty, Prince and Jeff Lynne if you haven't). "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp" is my favourite off from ATMP (if you have seen HIMYM, that's a perfect song choice). And lastly, Harrison's work with Jeff Lynne and his supergroup The Traveling Wilburys are great!
I was in tears more than once through this video. I am almost 60. In truth, I was a mite TOO young to have been able to appreciate Joni Mitchell in her early years in real time, and when my own musical tastes began to coalesce I was much more interested in Tull, Yes, and Rush--Joni Mitchell sounded entirely 10 years too old to my young ears. Lol. I have progressed from a classical musician to a rock musician to a trad/folk musician to a singer songwriter, and all that time Joni has floated in the background, and my regard for her songwriting, singing, and her personal strength have just continued to grow. Thank you for this bio: it's a treasure
We finally saw her show in 1974...long past our young hippie years but well aware of her songs. It was magical...her voice, her music, a little nostalgia, a little rebellion. We were home in our youth again. She remains one of our all time favorite singer/songwriters...and that's saying a lot when you come from the years of Dylan, Lightfoot, Beatles, Cohen, etc. Happy Birthday, Mary. Hope you have a fun, enjoyable, warm and wonderful day. Cheers 🍻
I was in my late teens as she was putting out her early stuff. It was so different and struck the heart of teenage angst we were living during that time. Of course we weren’t having complicated relationships in the hippie caves in Crete but we were exploring the complexities of young love and maturing with each experience, good and bad. Unlike so many artists her music stayed relevant even as our maturity broadened and deepened our understanding of life. Seeing her now, seeing the tribute to her with Graham Nash singing Case of You for her, seeing the old movies of her being loving with Graham while having the early lyrics of River on her lap, all that is so touching and personally relevant. Those of us who have a lifetime of experiences in our rear view mirror understand those flash fire relationships like theirs can’t last, and you know that as you live them. You can see that it will end but you treasure those experiences of love and infatuation while you can. Now, decades later, they’re treasures that you feel blessed to have experienced. But she must have been aware of that in the moment and knew to live that moment as fully as she could. Lessons
My Dad was her neighbor when she lived in Detroit in the Verona Apartments in the Cass Corridor, he was fairly well known musician in the scene himself playing drums with the likes of Bob Seger, Mitch Ryder, and pretty much every Blues musician in the Cass Corridor, and being one of the first employees of Creem Magazine, he actually ended up turning down some bigger gigs like Ike & Tina Turner and few others as well. The Cass Corridor was a pretty insane scene itself, it was a blend of some incredible musicians like the MC5, The Stooges, a yet unknown Alice Cooper, artists like Gilda Snowden, and Brian and Wendy Froud and poets like John Sinclair, even Gilda Radner was a regular in the scene. The Cass Corridor was featured a bit in the Creem documentary, but it’s something I don’t think gets enough attention for it’s contributions to the arts.
Mary-Thanks so much for this wonderful documentary. what a nice way to start the day! Huge Joni fan here, but I'd never known that "Both Sides Now" was inspired by Saul Bellow's "Henderson The Rain King"-wow! ("Humboldt's Gift" is a favorite) Also that Al Kooper was the conduit to getting the song to Judy Collins was something I hadn't known--obviously your knowledge of her career and research is extensive. Is he the Forest Gump of music or what? Got a good laugh on the "go sit on a tack" response to her continuing to deal with all of her retuning on acoustic! What a badass indeed.
Beautiful. Hearing someone describe an artist in a new and exciting way is like unwrapping a precious gift, where each word becomes a brushstroke that paints a vibrant and vivid portrait in our minds. Thank you!
I like all the classic albums by Joni. I think one of favourite albums is Hejira, it has a really chilled, laid back vibe to it. My all time favourite though must ne Court and Spark.
I’d didn’t expect watching this video to make me cry but Joni always reminds me of my late wife. And I hope you don’t mind me saying, lovely blouse. Very smart and classically styled and arty.
I've loved Joni's music since I was a teenager in the 70s... even Mingus, and her "wilderness years" records... Thank you Mary, for this lovely tribute!
Certainly one of the greatest. I’ve owned copies (Vinyl, CD and digital) of ‘Blue’ since it was released. Joni is treasured here in Canada as one of the stars in our musical constellation Thank you Mary
I had the pleasure of hearing Joni in November of 1966 at the River Boat coffee house in Yorkville, Toronto, and again at the same place in April the following year. I was fortunate to have been able to hang out there even though I was twelve years old because my father George Pastic had a studio in Yorkville. Then he bought an old home on Davenport at Avenue Rd. which he renovated and turned into a fabulous top floor studio, and rented the two lower floors to an antique shop and a hair salon. I heard so many emerging artists in Yorkville during the 60's and early 70's that I couldn't possibly name (or remember...hahaha) them all. My dad became friends with Bruce Cockburn and did the photography and art design for Bruce's first album "High Winds White Sky" which is still one of my favorites. As for Joni, I've loved and admired her ever since then, both for her art and for who she is as a person.
Great video, Mary - many thanks. Like most people, I'm a huge Joni Mitchell fan. But as to her being the greatest songwriter... There is no 'greatest' songwriter. For sure, Joni Mitchell is among the greatest, but this desire to rank songs and songwriters in terms of subjective liking is something of a misnomer. But talking about what makes a song or a songwriter great, by analysing both the music and the lyrics, is of far more value. Without delving into this vast subject, I will give a list of some of the songwriters I consider great - largely from my perspective as a musician. In no particular order, becuase they are all great songwriters: * Judee Sill * Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan) * Don McClean * Joni Mitchell * Jimmy Webb * Stevei Wonder * Billy Joel * Michel Legrand * Burt Bacharach/Hal David * Hoagy Charmichael/Jonny Mercer * Victor Young * Leonard Bernstein * Stephen Sondheim * Paul Simon
Your voice on these essays is like smooth caramel with a hint of smoke. These are the best part of what you do. I hope you get to interview people. Well done Ms Spender, well done.
Listened to Joni since the late sixties. Greatest female singer/ songwriter. Best Canadian songwriter alongside Neil Young. I wonder what she and Graham Nash might have done if they stayed together.
I was just sitting down to play my guitar and work on Joni Mitchell’s coyote. I have been trying to perfect that for at least three weeks now and still find it very challenging and I’ve been playing the guitar Over 50 years. And since I subscribe to you and your headline was greatest songwriter of all time I had this premonition that it might be about Joni I just flew 2700 miles to see her at The Gorge in Washington with Brandi Carlile, The likes of Annie, Lennox, Sarah McLaughlin, Lucius, Marcus Mumford, Allison Russell and many others. She is finally getting the mountainous recognition she deserves. It was a magical night, one that I had waited for since I picked up a guitar in 1971. Thank you Mary for your wonderful tribute to Joni. There is a great Rolling Stone article about Bob Dylan and Sam Shepard about the rolling thunder review. Joni wrote coyote while on the tour. It’s another one of my favorites and could use more recognition.
Thanks for this! I'm 69, and after listening to this, I found the 2000 orchestral arrangement and Joni singing "Both Sides Now" on You tube - awesome and enchanting - the muted trumpet, especially toward the end was powerful. After that, I took out Joni Mitchell's 'Hejira' album - it's on my shelf with 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', many Gordon Lightfoot albums, Leonard Cohen is in my cassette collection - CSN&Y (Deja vu), is in with Joni, many others I haven't listened to in a long time, and one quirky one I really liked, Leon Redbone's "Leon Redbone" [ON THE TRACK]. I lived in Saskatchewan, 65 miles from Saskatoon where she started singing - but I haven't heard her live - I wished I could. P.S. I grew up ON the border in N. MN with only CBC television - Canada has many great artists, as you know. One who I didn't hear about until around 1975 was Bruce Cockburn - he's another great singer/songwriter. But Joni Mitchell is uniquely great - thank you for directing me to this 2000 concert. Oh, Neil Young's 'Harvest' is right here, too - we have about the same range, so I loved fantasizing and singing "Heart of Gold", "Old Man" etc.
_Sometimes voices in the night will call me back again_ _Back along the pathway of a troubled mind_ _When forests rise to block the light that keeps a traveler sane_ _I'll challenge them with flashes from a brighter time_ _Oh, I think I understand_ _Fear is like a wilderland_ _Stepping stones or sinking sand_
Mary your voice and delivery are sublime here. You have many careers, but one of them could easily be as a voice-over artist or host. Awesome bio about Joni! I never got into her music by my singer/songwriter cousin is very much inspired by her.
I was blown away when I heard a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Big yellow taxi” in a Trader Joes…I don’t know the words to her songs but I know that line, “Don’t it always seem to go?, that you don’t know what you got til it’s gone, They paved paradise, put up a Parking lot” I was a child who grew up on her music because of my Mom. She’s an amazing guitarist as well that has tons of alternative tunings.
After watching your video, I had to track down and listen to Joni’s 2020 version of Both Sides Now, which brought me to tears. Joni and I are about the same age. In listening to the recent version it struck me that she had to make major adjustments, due to the brain aneurysm, to resume singing. It’s a moving rendition in which she fills each word with emotion. “People say I’m acting strange...they shake their heads and say I’ve changed.” It’s similar to the question,,”How did a young Paul Simon write “Sound of Silence?” Joni’s words transcend age and time, the truth resonating decade after decade, touching generation after generation.
Mary, Being so wonderfully human, you must occasionally have, “a swing and a miss” when at bat, but your “Home Run Stats” are astounding, and speak for themselves! Joni’s 2000 rendition of “Both Sides Now” is one of the most powerful songs I’ve ever heard! Thanks so much for so wonderfully and lovingly supplying this laudatory post! And “River,” off “Blue,” is one of the greatest “Christmas” songs ever, especially if you happen to be facing the day solo… How you managed to deliver all this without tears is beyond me (as I was not nearly so successful!)… All the best always… - Glenn PS: Love the blouse!
Another great video/content Mary! :D You've got such a lovely way with words! :D Your appreciation and respect for other musicians/artists is so apparent! :D As someone that connected with Joni's lyrics from the very beginning of her recording career (and earlier, thanks to other artists recording some of her songs) I was certainly interested to learn what your "take" was on her songwriting! :D And you brought a grin to my face re: your observation/comment that she was a real badass! :D For younger folks it's probably hard to imagine, but consider this: Joni started her musical journey and eventual career in an era when female artists of all kinds (musicians, songwriters, actors, authors, painters etc), were often actively "pushed to the background", objectified and treated as vastly inferior, insulted and even assaulted, their artistic rights/ownership and $ from their work often stolen from them, (remember, women weren't even allowed to open a checking account on their own in most states of the USA until sometime in the 1970's... they had to have a father, brother, husband, manager, agent, or some other male figure sign up for then "allow" them on their own account while the male had complete control.) Joni faced those kinds of challenges and MANY MORE head-on, and was able to set precedents that benefited not only women, but men as well. A pioneer, and a true musician for the sake of the music, vs. "entertainer" or "pop star"! :D Thanks for so beautifully addressing the amazing songwriting of Joni Mitchell! :D (not to take anything away from other fantastic songwriters, both male and female)
We are so lucky to have Mary as both a brilliant historian and a talented musician. I've said it before but you can see the sparks flying off of her brain.
Thank you so much for this video. YESSSS! Joni for me definitely is the Greatest Songwriter of All Time. You brilliantly condensed a a very complex career and life in this short video. Wonderful!
Mary,, simply a terrific presentation and recap of Joni’s work; crisp, to the point, evocative. I saw Joni open for CS&N in 1968, it was my first ever concert; her music lives in my DNA.
Nothing gives old fogies like me more pride than seeing later generations appreciate Joni's work as I did when it was first released so many years ago. I heard Joni's first album when I was nine, and am sixty-five now. So much of pop music is exposable, but not Joni's. It has an authentic and genuine quality that cannot be faked.
Not haviing ever been to canada she was one of a few artists that took us there. Such a beatiful tranquil backdrop for expressing her life experience. Heard leonard cohen recordings before but i never pieced them two together. Thank you. Makes sense now. I got the same woodsy feeling from gordon lightfoot ,another canadian. I did enjoy hiking in our mountains in california and i did so relate. I couldnt help but reflect that the title court and spark sounded a lot like quartz and ? (Composition of sand). I favored her early works for the breath of fresh air that they are.
"Oh I am a lonely painter, I live in a box of paints" Joni was an art student, who played music as a student, because it paid. At one point in her life her brush was a guitar, her voice, a pen... her canvas a stage, a diner , club , wherever she could "paint". Her music is poetry, her thoughts, her feelings, her life, her biography... and her paintings, that is her music told vivid stories of her life in the same way a artist paints. I have listened to her work for decades, she is truly an artist, we are honored to have had her paint in our ears.🎶🖌💚💙❤🩹 (and yes , she paints on canvas too, )
Thank you Mary, I'm only a few years younger than Joni and has loved her music basically my whole life. I was unaware of some the issues she has suffered through. Thanks again.
I remember her as I was only 8 when "Woodstock " happened. The song still gives me goosebumps. well, a very early so valid analysis in the line " they paved paradise, made up a parking lot" and so on. Absolutely underrated artist and a word so many other do not deserve to be called. thanks for the memories....
Beautiful tribute Mary! Being the best is irrelevant. The ability to touch someone's soul with words and music is such a priceless gift. Joni has changed a lot of lives in her time.
Bravo and many thanks for this incredible video! A perfect mix of insight and inspiration, documentary and tribute. Informative, tight, yet also deeply personal and connecting. I know you are a singer songwriter at core, but wow you are also so talented at creating special content like this on artist and music appreciation.
I came to Joni Mitchell's music quite late. It was 1983, I was 23 and the girl who became my wife introduced me to Court and Spark. I was smitten (with the girl and the music) and I've been listening to Joni's music ever since, sometimes with tears in my eyes. Fyi, that girl and I are still married 😁
I love the way you write, I love the way you narrate, and I love how your disarming sincerity and your unique and dreamy speaking voice all come together to make a perfectly captivating video. Honestly, I've never heard you play the guitar -- but I don't need to right now because I'm enthralled enough just to experience you in your element. No one does this like you do, Mary, just like no one could ever really carry "Both Sides Now" the way Joni does (though recently I was emotionally dismantled by the tear-jerking Emilia Jones "CODA" movie version). And -- you really "get" Joni... you really, really do. That's the sweetest icing on the cake.
How you were able to deliver all that and keep it together... mad props to you. I got teary-eyed, just thinking about that Newport video... Thanks for another great presentation.
Mitchell's "Court & Spark" .. I played it alot, .. and just never tired of it. Gorgeous singing (and playing) .. "People's Parties" standing pretty tall, in this song collection.
Super presentation Mary. Joni is worthy of the video title, she is more than a singer songwriter, she is the greatest muse of our times, a creative force of nature. We are so lucky to have her.
And thank you for this wonderful report on the life and times of Jodi Mitchell. As a Canadian I'm a long time fan of her music. However I , was unaware of much of her past. It's amazing what life can put in our way. How some deal with it and some don't, or can't. I think it was John Lennon who said life is what happens between planed events. It appears some of us have will have a lot of life. Tks again.
Joni is a true musical treasure. I've been hooked since Hejira first came out. She's the best at blending the personal with the universal with a style all her own. It's to your credit to feature her in this video.
Being Canadian, she first wrote “I could drink a two four of you “, but it just didn’t work… Seriously, Joni is hands down my favorite musician. Thank you for sharing this video.
Great video about just about my favorite songwriter, Joni always puts it all out there, no one like her or likely to ever be. I just picked up this week the CD "Ladies of the Canyon" for my collection. The last 3 songs are some of her most famous, Big Yellow Taxi, Woodstock, and The Circle Game. However song 2 which I had forgotten about is called "For Free" as a musician and a human being, I can feel the wounding that is conveyed by the song. A truly beautiful piece, and relevant to now, and a little uncomfortable to listen to in musical world defined by streaming music services brought on post Napster. Thanks for what you do !!!
" They knew they'd never see him on their TV/so they passed his music by/ But the one man band at the corner stand, he was playing real good For Free...."
There's been some lovely content on the channel this year, this episode as lovely any. Now we know more about one of the great inspirations that led you to being a singer songwriter?
What a wonderful essay. I am going into my 62nd year, and from this time I remember Joni's music when it was on the radio as a beautiful, faded, but poignant experience. As a lifelong guitar player, I also remember Joni as a juggernaut in terms of her influence for those of us sporting those old Martin 00-18's. I am grateful for your remembrance of a simpler, and maybe more graceful, era in music. Cheers, Mary -
I'm 62. I remember Woodstock by Matthews Southern Comfort (1970 - I was 9) before I heard Joni (though I probably heard Judy Collins with Both Sides Now prior). Then Big Yellow Taxi... actually before Matthews Southern Comfort (it all fades after 50 years!). Then Help Me and Free Man in Paris... in 1974. You know when I heard Blue (song and album)? I was on a huge Joni binge during the pandemic in 2020. Shame on me! I love Joni. Thank you Mary. Nice tribute.
Thank you for that very nice and heartfelt essay about the song and Joni. Not sure I now know why the song is perfect, but I was moved by your descriptions. It was a great song when I heard it when first released, both by Joni and by Judy Collins, and it's a great song still. Maybe more, now that I've seen clouds from both sides now.
Went straight to listen to Joni's Newport performance after watching your video. I'd never heard this performance before.....you can always tell when music is special when it moves you to tears.
I was at the Joni Jam at the Gorge Amphitheater for her first headlined concert return this month. The thing that struck me the most, as a 64 year old lifelong fan, was that most of the people there were far younger than me.
Thank you for this hommage of Joni Mtichell. I am a great fan and love many of her songs. I am reading Reckles Daughter by David Yaffe these days. It tells the story of the life of this amazing woman artist (her music and paintings) and of a strong person indeed.
Oh, Mary, what a beautiful and moving presentation. Like many who were drawn to this episode of your channel, I have wept over Joni’s music, and your presentation brought tears again. Yes, we are lucky to have shared this time with Joni. Thank you for presenting that case with such love and reverence.
Nice essay, thank you. I grew up hearing Joni’s albums as they came out from my older sister, listening to them again gives me a connection to her, she died in 1980. I have very little nostalgia for anything other than Joni Mitchell (and perhaps Buffy Sainte-Marie).
![Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now (Live at the Newport Folk Festival 2022) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jxiluPSmAF8/mqdefault.jpg)
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HELP me teach society that FOR THE ROSES is far better than BLUE, which is clunkier!
DYLAN CAN'T WRITE GOOD SONGS IN ANY WAY! CRAP LYRICS TOO!!
JONI is the KING!!
Mary, I wanna tell you something important. [Because: I'm sure of it, now.] * You, can preform the deal. You can keep it s secret. [I'm sure, one of you goals: Is "The Gloves; with the riffs". ..part.] In the future. That will, come to pass. And what ever: at your Liberty. * Now something else... [It's not to be rude.] These talk videos. [Done] It's the song Mary... And You are in kind of a marriage with Robert. [Not really that intense though; on your daily life.] It's the song; with Robert Forever. Every Day... Somehow. (i,e,) Not a video about; this stuff.
* You have to keep running your business though, [Correct?] Your gonna listen to him. Every day. But maybe not... Every day. But the song and Robert. Will be every day. [They get , like leaches.] But they will let up on the pulling. Just ask. And they; will give you a break... But leavening is not. And, You know these songs and guitars... And all of that. They're not even mine any more... But the song is coming. And, again, and again. The most important for you is this: Never go back to prove you can rip; and do a better show: to "Get-back"; at another Musician... Ever... Remember, Robert did... So avoid that, experience. It took 3 very small seconds... To hear; you difference. Wow... that
@@koolpfanski wat the gotdam hell are u talkin about
@@thefrancis742Using the spirit: Psycic music...
Joni is one of the most evocative songwriters ever. Just the first few bars of Just Like This Train, Coyote, Song for Sharon, or Chinese Cafe immediately bring back the time & place when first I heard them, and each new hearing offers something new.
Although I found myself unable to follow Joni when she went off into jazz, I love Blue, Ladies of the Canyon, and Court and Spark. The Hissing of Summer Lawns had some good moments as well, but that was the last record that made any sense to me. And yet, those 4 records changed how and what I thought about music.
to me, Court and Spark and Hissing are her masterpieces. Hejira is amazing too, and I'm yet to take in the later 70s albums, but the intersection of jazz and folk (putting it in wayyy simplistic terms) is, to me, where it's at when it comes to Joni. Like, she was a fantastic songwriter before, but musically she really spread her wings on Court and further on
Trying to name one person as the greatest songwriter of all time is a fool's errand (how do you compare Bach, Cole Porter, Bob Dylan, and Dolly Parton?), but Joni is definitely in that top tier of people you'd consider if you were chasing that fool's errand.
I’m 72 years old. Have been a music lover ever since I first listened to my older brother’s 45rpm records in the mid 1950’s. Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis. Then the Beatles, Rolling Stones. As the 1960’s evolved I got more into folk and Joni was always amount my favorites. When I started playing guitar in my 60’s after retirement, I became interested in alternate tuning and discovered that she was the queen of alternate tunings. I also had polio. Contracted it in 1952. So she is a kindred spirit. Love her now. Always have.
I like your stuff too.
So wonderful to see this iconic figure finally get receive praise and recognition she deserves. And so eloquently presented, Mary. Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you, Mary, for this very moving tribute. I discovered Joni in my late teens, and have been a fan since the early 70’s. I saw her live at the Hollywood Bowl one beautiful summer night. I’d broken up with my girlfriend, and I’d bought two tickets, that I didn’t want to go to waste, so I invited my mom. She’s an artist and had been a musician, and was really able to appreciate the magic that is Joni on that beautiful summer night in LA. Wonderful, as is what you’ve shared, which revealed some things about Joni’s life that I didn’t know. Thanks again. Blessings.
Lou
Thanks for a glimpse into this musical icon’s life. I have never heard most of this.
This flight tonight is often overlooked but really one of her best songs.
Thank you Mary for such a wonderful video. You captured so much, and so beautifully, in only 10 minutes. I fell in love with Joni when a friend brought over a copy of her then just released debut album, Song to a Seagull, in 1968. A bunch of us sat in front of the speakers and were absolutely mesmorized. I have been a Joni fan ever since.
I've loved Joni Mitchell from the moment I first heard Clouds. I was a Senior in high school when that album was released and I remember purchasing it at my favorite record store in late 1969. I believe she is a musical genius. Thank you for this video.
Same here ❤
Thank you, Mary, for this so-lovely tribute to a legendary painter-of-words&music.
Joni is such an amazing artist.
Of anybody, you are the appropriate person to be telling Joni’s story. You are a musician and composer.
I only knew of her from listening to “Both Sides Now” on my small AM transistor radio, back in the day. [DJ’ed by ”Cousin Brucie” out of NYC on WABC]
Both sides now and ‘A case of you’ are personally the most moving songs of my life.
Glad you said that. I was mainly a Purple-Sabbath guy, but have yet to escape A Case Of You in one piece.
Joni's one of the greatest artists of the last century no doubt. Great vid Mary!
Neil Young, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, are better
@@christopherhidalgo6696 I also love George Harrison too especially his guitar solos on "My Sweet Lord" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (go check out the live performance from the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony with Tom Petty, Prince and Jeff Lynne if you haven't). "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp" is my favourite off from ATMP (if you have seen HIMYM, that's a perfect song choice). And lastly, Harrison's work with Jeff Lynne and his supergroup The Traveling Wilburys are great!
I was in tears more than once through this video.
I am almost 60. In truth, I was a mite TOO young to have been able to appreciate Joni Mitchell in her early years in real time, and when my own musical tastes began to coalesce I was much more interested in Tull, Yes, and Rush--Joni Mitchell sounded entirely 10 years too old to my young ears. Lol. I have progressed from a classical musician to a rock musician to a trad/folk musician to a singer songwriter, and all that time Joni has floated in the background, and my regard for her songwriting, singing, and her personal strength have just continued to grow. Thank you for this bio: it's a treasure
We finally saw her show in 1974...long past our young hippie years but well aware of her songs. It was magical...her voice, her music, a little nostalgia, a little rebellion. We were home in our youth again. She remains one of our all time favorite singer/songwriters...and that's saying a lot when you come from the years of Dylan, Lightfoot, Beatles, Cohen, etc. Happy Birthday, Mary. Hope you have a fun, enjoyable, warm and wonderful day. Cheers 🍻
I was in my late teens as she was putting out her early stuff. It was so different and struck the heart of teenage angst we were living during that time. Of course we weren’t having complicated relationships in the hippie caves in Crete but we were exploring the complexities of young love and maturing with each experience, good and bad. Unlike so many artists her music stayed relevant even as our maturity broadened and deepened our understanding of life. Seeing her now, seeing the tribute to her with Graham Nash singing Case of You for her, seeing the old movies of her being loving with Graham while having the early lyrics of River on her lap, all that is so touching and personally relevant. Those of us who have a lifetime of experiences in our rear view mirror understand those flash fire relationships like theirs can’t last, and you know that as you live them. You can see that it will end but you treasure those experiences of love and infatuation while you can. Now, decades later, they’re treasures that you feel blessed to have experienced. But she must have been aware of that in the moment and knew to live that moment as fully as she could. Lessons
I cannot agree more. She is at the top along with Gershwin, Paul Simon and other immortals. Thank you for your thorough analysis.
Wonderful lyricist and singer -- and an innovative guitarist.
Great story, Mary. So many of us love Joni, and have grown up and old with her. Thank You.
Well said!
My Dad was her neighbor when she lived in Detroit in the Verona Apartments in the Cass Corridor, he was fairly well known musician in the scene himself playing drums with the likes of Bob Seger, Mitch Ryder, and pretty much every Blues musician in the Cass Corridor, and being one of the first employees of Creem Magazine, he actually ended up turning down some bigger gigs like Ike & Tina Turner and few others as well.
The Cass Corridor was a pretty insane scene itself, it was a blend of some incredible musicians like the MC5, The Stooges, a yet unknown Alice Cooper, artists like Gilda Snowden, and Brian and Wendy Froud and poets like John Sinclair, even Gilda Radner was a regular in the scene. The Cass Corridor was featured a bit in the Creem documentary, but it’s something I don’t think gets enough attention for it’s contributions to the arts.
Mary-Thanks so much for this wonderful documentary. what a nice way to start the day! Huge Joni fan here, but I'd never known that "Both Sides Now" was inspired by Saul Bellow's "Henderson The Rain King"-wow! ("Humboldt's Gift" is a favorite) Also that Al Kooper was the conduit to getting the song to Judy Collins was something I hadn't known--obviously your knowledge of her career and research is extensive. Is he the Forest Gump of music or what? Got a good laugh on the "go sit on a tack" response to her continuing to deal with all of her retuning on acoustic! What a badass indeed.
Thank-you, Mary for reminding me of this lovely lady and gifted song-writer. She's truly an inspiration for any aspiring artist!
Beautiful. Hearing someone describe an artist in a new and exciting way is like unwrapping a precious gift, where each word becomes a brushstroke that paints a vibrant and vivid portrait in our minds. Thank you!
I like all the classic albums by Joni. I think one of favourite albums is Hejira, it has a really chilled, laid back vibe to it. My all time favourite though must ne Court and Spark.
Two GREAT albums! I wore them out In the 70s!
Mary that was the best story about Joni Mitchel’s life I’ve seen or read. Your journalistic talent is impressive. Really enjoyed it.
I’d didn’t expect watching this video to make me cry but Joni always reminds me of my late wife.
And I hope you don’t mind me saying, lovely blouse. Very smart and classically styled and arty.
I've loved Joni's music since I was a teenager in the 70s... even Mingus, and her "wilderness years" records... Thank you Mary, for this lovely tribute!
Certainly one of the greatest. I’ve owned copies (Vinyl, CD and digital) of ‘Blue’ since it was released. Joni is treasured here in Canada as one of the stars in our musical constellation
Thank you Mary
I had the pleasure of hearing Joni in November of 1966 at the River Boat coffee house in Yorkville, Toronto, and again at the same place in April the following year. I was fortunate to have been able to hang out there even though I was twelve years old because my father George Pastic had a studio in Yorkville. Then he bought an old home on Davenport at Avenue Rd. which he renovated and turned into a fabulous top floor studio, and rented the two lower floors to an antique shop and a hair salon. I heard so many emerging artists in Yorkville during the 60's and early 70's that I couldn't possibly name (or remember...hahaha) them all. My dad became friends with Bruce Cockburn and did the photography and art design for Bruce's first album "High Winds White Sky" which is still one of my favorites. As for Joni, I've loved and admired her ever since then, both for her art and for who she is as a person.
Great video, Mary - many thanks. Like most people, I'm a huge Joni Mitchell fan. But as to her being the greatest songwriter...
There is no 'greatest' songwriter. For sure, Joni Mitchell is among the greatest, but this desire to rank songs and songwriters in terms of subjective liking is something of a misnomer. But talking about what makes a song or a songwriter great, by analysing both the music and the lyrics, is of far more value. Without delving into this vast subject, I will give a list of some of the songwriters I consider great - largely from my perspective as a musician. In no particular order, becuase they are all great songwriters:
* Judee Sill
* Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan)
* Don McClean
* Joni Mitchell
* Jimmy Webb
* Stevei Wonder
* Billy Joel
* Michel Legrand
* Burt Bacharach/Hal David
* Hoagy Charmichael/Jonny Mercer
* Victor Young
* Leonard Bernstein
* Stephen Sondheim
* Paul Simon
Your voice on these essays is like smooth caramel with a hint of smoke. These are the best part of what you do. I hope you get to interview people. Well done Ms Spender, well done.
Listened to Joni since the late sixties. Greatest female singer/ songwriter.
Best Canadian songwriter alongside Neil Young. I wonder what she and Graham Nash might have done if they stayed together.
I was just sitting down to play my guitar and work on Joni Mitchell’s coyote. I have been trying to perfect that for at least three weeks now and still find it very challenging and I’ve been playing the guitar Over 50 years. And since I subscribe to you and your headline was greatest songwriter of all time I had this premonition that it might be about Joni I just flew 2700 miles to see her at The Gorge in Washington with Brandi Carlile, The likes of Annie, Lennox, Sarah McLaughlin, Lucius, Marcus Mumford, Allison Russell and many others. She is finally getting the mountainous recognition she deserves. It was a magical night, one that I had waited for since I picked up a guitar in 1971. Thank you Mary for your wonderful tribute to Joni. There is a great Rolling Stone article about Bob Dylan and Sam Shepard about the rolling thunder review. Joni wrote coyote while on the tour. It’s another one of my favorites and could use more recognition.
Mary, your lovely and knowledgeable narrative brings tears of love and joy. Thanks for all you share with us. ❤
Thanks for this! I'm 69, and after listening to this, I found the 2000 orchestral arrangement and Joni singing "Both Sides Now" on You tube - awesome and enchanting - the muted trumpet, especially toward the end was powerful. After that, I took out Joni Mitchell's 'Hejira' album - it's on my shelf with 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', many Gordon Lightfoot albums, Leonard Cohen is in my cassette collection - CSN&Y (Deja vu), is in with Joni, many others I haven't listened to in a long time, and one quirky one I really liked, Leon Redbone's "Leon Redbone" [ON THE TRACK]. I lived in Saskatchewan, 65 miles from Saskatoon where she started singing - but I haven't heard her live - I wished I could. P.S. I grew up ON the border in N. MN with only CBC television - Canada has many great artists, as you know. One who I didn't hear about until around 1975 was Bruce Cockburn - he's another great singer/songwriter. But Joni Mitchell is uniquely great - thank you for directing me to this 2000 concert. Oh, Neil Young's 'Harvest' is right here, too - we have about the same range, so I loved fantasizing and singing "Heart of Gold", "Old Man" etc.
_Sometimes voices in the night will call me back again_
_Back along the pathway of a troubled mind_
_When forests rise to block the light that keeps a traveler sane_
_I'll challenge them with flashes from a brighter time_
_Oh, I think I understand_
_Fear is like a wilderland_
_Stepping stones or sinking sand_
Mary your voice and delivery are sublime here. You have many careers, but one of them could easily be as a voice-over artist or host. Awesome bio about Joni! I never got into her music by my singer/songwriter cousin is very much inspired by her.
I was blown away when I heard a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Big yellow taxi” in a Trader Joes…I don’t know the words to her songs but I know that line, “Don’t it always seem to go?, that you don’t know what you got til it’s gone,
They paved paradise, put up a Parking lot”
I was a child who grew up on her music because of my Mom.
She’s an amazing guitarist as well that has tons of alternative tunings.
After watching your video, I had to track down and listen to Joni’s 2020 version of Both Sides Now, which brought me to tears. Joni and I are about the same age. In listening to the recent version it struck me that she had to make major adjustments, due to the brain aneurysm, to resume singing. It’s a moving rendition in which she fills each word with emotion. “People say I’m acting strange...they shake their heads and say I’ve changed.” It’s similar to the question,,”How did a young Paul Simon write “Sound of Silence?” Joni’s words transcend age and time, the truth resonating decade after decade, touching generation after generation.
Mary,
Being so wonderfully human, you must occasionally have, “a swing and a miss” when at bat, but your “Home Run Stats” are astounding, and speak for themselves!
Joni’s 2000 rendition of “Both Sides Now” is one of the most powerful songs I’ve ever heard! Thanks so much for so wonderfully and lovingly supplying this laudatory post!
And “River,” off “Blue,” is one of the greatest “Christmas” songs ever, especially if you happen to be facing the day solo…
How you managed to deliver all this without tears is beyond me (as I was not nearly so successful!)…
All the best always…
- Glenn
PS: Love the blouse!
Another great video/content Mary! :D You've got such a lovely way with words! :D Your appreciation and respect for other musicians/artists is so apparent! :D
As someone that connected with Joni's lyrics from the very beginning of her recording career (and earlier, thanks to other artists recording some of her songs) I was certainly interested to learn what your "take" was on her songwriting! :D And you brought a grin to my face re: your observation/comment that she was a real badass! :D
For younger folks it's probably hard to imagine, but consider this: Joni started her musical journey and eventual career in an era when female artists of all kinds (musicians, songwriters, actors, authors, painters etc), were often actively "pushed to the background", objectified and treated as vastly inferior, insulted and even assaulted, their artistic rights/ownership and $ from their work often stolen from them, (remember, women weren't even allowed to open a checking account on their own in most states of the USA until sometime in the 1970's... they had to have a father, brother, husband, manager, agent, or some other male figure sign up for then "allow" them on their own account while the male had complete control.) Joni faced those kinds of challenges and MANY MORE head-on, and was able to set precedents that benefited not only women, but men as well. A pioneer, and a true musician for the sake of the music, vs. "entertainer" or "pop star"! :D
Thanks for so beautifully addressing the amazing songwriting of Joni Mitchell! :D (not to take anything away from other fantastic songwriters, both male and female)
Incredible video of the ultimate artist!!! Thank you so much for reminding me of Joni’s genius.
Great vid, though I'm surprised you didn't mention David Crosby, who was seminal in advocating and producing her debut album.
We are so lucky to have Mary as both a brilliant historian and a talented musician. I've said it before but you can see the sparks flying off of her brain.
Thank you so much for this video. YESSSS! Joni for me definitely is the Greatest Songwriter of All Time. You brilliantly condensed a a very complex career and life in this short video. Wonderful!
Made me cry.
Mary,, simply a terrific presentation and recap of Joni’s work; crisp, to the point, evocative. I saw Joni open for CS&N in 1968, it was my first ever concert; her music lives in my DNA.
Wonderful tribute, Mary. Very moving.
Nothing gives old fogies like me more pride than seeing later generations appreciate Joni's work as I did when it was first released so many years ago. I heard Joni's first album when I was nine, and am sixty-five now. So much of pop music is exposable, but not Joni's. It has an authentic and genuine quality that cannot be faked.
Legendary, iconic performer.
thank you for your wonderful story about Joni Mitchell..Mary you are a lovely woman and artist...thank you so much
Not haviing ever been to canada she was one of a few artists that took us there. Such a beatiful tranquil backdrop for expressing her life experience. Heard leonard cohen recordings before but i never pieced them two together. Thank you. Makes sense now. I got the same woodsy feeling from gordon lightfoot ,another canadian. I did enjoy hiking in our mountains in california and i did so relate. I couldnt help but reflect that the title court and spark sounded a lot like quartz and ? (Composition of sand). I favored her early works for the breath of fresh air that they are.
I listen to a lot of different music, but Hejira is my favorite album by a female artist ever. Joni is nothing short of amazing.
"Oh I am a lonely painter, I live in a box of paints" Joni was an art student, who played music as a student, because it paid. At one point in her life her brush was a guitar, her voice, a pen... her canvas a stage, a diner , club , wherever she could "paint". Her music is poetry, her thoughts, her feelings, her life, her biography... and her paintings, that is her music told vivid stories of her life in the same way a artist paints. I have listened to her work for decades, she is truly an artist, we are honored to have had her paint in our ears.🎶🖌💚💙❤🩹
(and yes , she paints on canvas too, )
Thank you Mary, I'm only a few years younger than Joni and has loved her music basically my whole life. I was unaware of some the issues she has suffered through. Thanks again.
I remember her as I was only 8 when "Woodstock " happened. The song still gives me goosebumps. well, a very early so valid analysis in the line " they paved paradise, made up a parking lot" and so on. Absolutely underrated artist and a word so many other do not deserve to be called. thanks for the memories....
Beautiful tribute Mary! Being the best is irrelevant. The ability to touch someone's soul with words and music is such a priceless gift. Joni has changed a lot of lives in her time.
Well that brought me to tears, and it was all new to me. Thank you.
Amazing comments Mary. Delivered with confidence, gentle forcefulness, In a sincere way. Well done.
Keep up the great work Mary!
Bravo and many thanks for this incredible video! A perfect mix of insight and inspiration, documentary and tribute. Informative, tight, yet also deeply personal and connecting. I know you are a singer songwriter at core, but wow you are also so talented at creating special content like this on artist and music appreciation.
I came to Joni Mitchell's music quite late. It was 1983, I was 23 and the girl who became my wife introduced me to Court and Spark. I was smitten (with the girl and the music) and I've been listening to Joni's music ever since, sometimes with tears in my eyes.
Fyi, that girl and I are still married 😁
What a lovely tribute: the greatest indeed. Thank you so much. ❤
I love the way you write, I love the way you narrate, and I love how your disarming sincerity and your unique and dreamy speaking voice all come together to make a perfectly captivating video. Honestly, I've never heard you play the guitar -- but I don't need to right now because I'm enthralled enough just to experience you in your element. No one does this like you do, Mary, just like no one could ever really carry "Both Sides Now" the way Joni does (though recently I was emotionally dismantled by the tear-jerking Emilia Jones "CODA" movie version). And -- you really "get" Joni... you really, really do. That's the sweetest icing on the cake.
Wonderful tribute to a legend
How you were able to deliver all that and keep it together... mad props to you. I got teary-eyed, just thinking about that Newport video... Thanks for another great presentation.
Mitchell's "Court & Spark" .. I played it alot, .. and just never tired of it. Gorgeous singing (and playing) .. "People's Parties" standing pretty tall, in this song collection.
Spot-on, Mary!
Super presentation Mary. Joni is worthy of the video title, she is more than a singer songwriter, she is the greatest muse of our times, a creative force of nature. We are so lucky to have her.
Beautiful tribute to an amazing artist.
And thank you for this wonderful report on the life and times of Jodi Mitchell. As a Canadian I'm a long time fan of her music. However I , was unaware of much of her past. It's amazing what life can put in our way. How some deal with it and some don't, or can't. I think it was John Lennon who said life is what happens between planed events. It appears some of us have will have a lot of life. Tks again.
Since I've been a little kid (born in 63), she has been a part of my listening life. One of my goto artist and all time fav.
Well done, Mary. A great tribute to our Joni
This is a beautiful and well-researched analysis of one if the most influential musicians in my life and in the unique eclectic genre she occupies.
i have loved joni for about 54 years. i`ve discovered , and become fond of you recently........
Joni is a true musical treasure. I've been hooked since Hejira first came out. She's the best at blending the personal with the universal with a style all her own. It's to your credit to feature her in this video.
Being Canadian, she first wrote “I could drink a two four of you “, but it just didn’t work…
Seriously, Joni is hands down my favorite musician. Thank you for sharing this video.
Thank you Mary for this video about Joni. She was and she is an example of an exceptional person for many of us
Excellent video. Extremely well penned.
Thank you Mary,your diction is perfect ,and your words on Joni are as moving as the subject is..keeping playing clear and strong ,.Mary 💖🎶🤗
Lovely video. Thank you for explaining so clearly the impact Joni Mitchell has had.
Your insight into these older musicians and their music is impressive. Take it from and old guy, I know.
Great video about just about my favorite songwriter, Joni always puts it all out there, no one like her or likely to ever be. I just picked up this week the CD "Ladies of the Canyon" for my collection. The last 3 songs are some of her most famous, Big Yellow Taxi, Woodstock, and The Circle Game. However song 2 which I had forgotten about is called "For Free" as a musician and a human being, I can feel the wounding that is conveyed by the song. A truly beautiful piece, and relevant to now, and a little uncomfortable to listen to in musical world defined by streaming music services brought on post Napster. Thanks for what you do !!!
" They knew they'd never see him on their TV/so they passed his music by/ But the one man band at the corner stand, he was playing real good For Free...."
There's been some lovely content on the channel this year, this episode as lovely any. Now we know more about one of the great inspirations that led you to being a singer songwriter?
What a wonderful essay. I am going into my 62nd year, and from this time I remember Joni's music when it was on the radio as a beautiful, faded, but poignant experience. As a lifelong guitar player, I also remember Joni as a juggernaut in terms of her influence for those of us sporting those old Martin 00-18's. I am grateful for your remembrance of a simpler, and maybe more graceful, era in music. Cheers, Mary -
Way to go, Mary! Super well written and produced!
I'm 62. I remember Woodstock by Matthews Southern Comfort (1970 - I was 9) before I heard Joni (though I probably heard Judy Collins with Both Sides Now prior). Then Big Yellow Taxi... actually before Matthews Southern Comfort (it all fades after 50 years!). Then Help Me and Free Man in Paris... in 1974. You know when I heard Blue (song and album)? I was on a huge Joni binge during the pandemic in 2020. Shame on me! I love Joni. Thank you Mary. Nice tribute.
I really love these retrospectives.
Well done!
I don't know how you got though that without crying yourself, Mary. Thank you.
Thank you for that very nice and heartfelt essay about the song and Joni. Not sure I now know why the song is perfect, but I was moved by your descriptions. It was a great song when I heard it when first released, both by Joni and by Judy Collins, and it's a great song still. Maybe more, now that I've seen clouds from both sides now.
Went straight to listen to Joni's Newport performance after watching your video. I'd never heard this performance before.....you can always tell when music is special when it moves you to tears.
I was at the Joni Jam at the Gorge Amphitheater for her first headlined concert return this month. The thing that struck me the most, as a 64 year old lifelong fan, was that most of the people there were far younger than me.
When she matured into jazz I followed her there. Opening my ears to so much more music! She’s an old soul.
Well spoken, thank you, Mary.
Joni has always been one of my favourite song writers. I grew up to all of her hits. 🇨🇦
Saskatchewan Canada proud! 🇨🇦
Thank you for this hommage of Joni Mtichell. I am a great fan and love many of her songs. I am reading Reckles Daughter by David Yaffe these days. It tells the story of the life of this amazing woman artist (her music and paintings) and of a strong person indeed.
Oh, Mary, what a beautiful and moving presentation. Like many who were drawn to this episode of your channel, I have wept over Joni’s music, and your presentation brought tears again. Yes, we are lucky to have shared this time with Joni. Thank you for presenting that case with such love and reverence.
Nice essay, thank you. I grew up hearing Joni’s albums as they came out from my older sister, listening to them again gives me a connection to her, she died in 1980. I have very little nostalgia for anything other than Joni Mitchell (and perhaps Buffy Sainte-Marie).
Thank you, Mary!!!
outstanding bravo