Joni Mitchell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell in December 2021
Born	Roberta Joan Anderson (1943-11-07) November 7, 1943 (age 81) Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada
Other names	Roberta Joan Mitchell Joni Anderson
Citizenship	Canada United States
Spouse(s)	Chuck Mitchell ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1967)​ Larry Klein ​ ​ (m. 1982; div. 1994)​
Children	1
Musical career
Genres	Folk pop jazz rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter painter
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano dulcimer
Years active	1964–2002 2006–2007 2013 2022–present
Labels	Reprise Asylum Geffen Nonesuch Hear Music
Signature

Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell (born November 7, 1943) is a famous Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and painter. She also plays many instruments. Joni Mitchell became well-known in the 1960s for her unique songs. Her music mixes folk, pop, and jazz styles. She has won eleven Grammy Awards and was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone magazine called her "one of the greatest songwriters ever."

Mitchell started singing in small clubs in Canada. She moved to the United States in 1965. Other folk singers recorded her early songs, like "Both Sides, Now" and "The Circle Game." This helped her get a record deal. Her first album, Song to a Seagull, came out in 1968. She became very popular with songs like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Woodstock." Her 1971 album Blue is often called one of the best albums ever made.

Later, Mitchell started adding more jazz to her music. Her album Court and Spark (1974) was her best-selling one. She worked with famous jazz musicians like Jaco Pastorius and Herbie Hancock. Mitchell also produced most of her albums and designed their covers. She called herself "a painter derailed by circumstance." After a break due to health issues, she returned to performing in 2022.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Joni Mitchell was born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943. Her birthplace was Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada. Her mother was a teacher, and her father was a pilot in the Canadian Air Force. They moved around western Canada when she was young.

At age nine, Joni got polio, a serious illness. She spent weeks in the hospital. This illness made her left hand weaker. To help with this, she learned to play the guitar using special tunings. These "open tunings" later helped her create her unique sound.

Her family moved to Saskatoon when she was 11. Joni loved painting more than school. She also studied classical piano briefly. She started singing with friends and learned to play guitar from a Pete Seeger songbook. Her first paid show was in Saskatoon in 1962.

After high school, Joni went to art college. But she left after a year. She found out she was going to have a baby. In 1965, she gave birth to a daughter. Because she couldn't care for her, Joni placed her daughter for adoption. This was a private struggle for many years. She later wrote about it in songs like "Little Green." This experience deeply influenced her songwriting. Joni met her daughter in 1997.

Starting a Music Career

Joni Mitchell kept playing music in clubs. In 1964, she decided to become a folk singer in Toronto. She wrote her first song, "Day After Day," on the train ride there. In Toronto, she found that other singers claimed popular folk songs. So, she decided to write her own music.

In 1965, she met American folk singer Chuck Mitchell. They started playing music together in the United States. Joni married Chuck in June 1965 and took his last name. They performed in coffee houses in Detroit. Their marriage ended in 1967. Joni then moved to New York City to be a solo artist. She became known for her special songwriting and guitar playing.

First Albums and Early Success

Other folk singers like Tom Rush and Judy Collins started recording Joni's songs. Judy Collins had a big hit with "Both Sides Now." This helped Joni get noticed. In 1967, musician David Crosby saw her perform. He was very impressed. He helped her get a record deal with Reprise Records.

Her first album, Song to a Seagull, came out in 1968. It was an acoustic album, meaning mostly just her voice and guitar. Her second album, Clouds, was released in 1969. It included her own versions of "Chelsea Morning" and "Both Sides Now." Joni designed and painted the covers for both albums. This showed her talent for both music and art.

Becoming a Pop Star

In 1970, Clouds won Joni her first Grammy Award. Her third album, Ladies of the Canyon, came out soon after. This album started to mix folk with pop and rock sounds. She used more instruments and backing vocals. It included her famous environmental song "Big Yellow Taxi" and her version of "Woodstock." Ladies of the Canyon was a huge hit. It became her first gold album, selling over half a million copies.

Joni decided to take a year off from touring to write and paint. The songs she wrote during this time appeared on her next album, Blue, released in 1971. Blue was a big success with critics and fans. It is often called one of the greatest albums of all time. Songs like "A Case of You" and "River" showed her deep emotions. Joni said she felt very open and honest when making Blue.

Exploring Jazz and New Sounds

After Blue, Joni Mitchell returned to performing live. Her fifth album, For the Roses, came out in 1972. It was also very popular. In 1974, she released Court and Spark. This album was her first step into jazz music. It became her best-selling album. It had popular songs like "Help Me" and "Free Man in Paris."

For Court and Spark, Joni worked with the jazz-pop band the L.A. Express. She wanted a new sound. They toured together, and the shows were recorded for a live album called Miles of Aisles (1974).

In 1975, Joni started recording The Hissing of Summer Lawns. Her music was becoming more experimental. She mixed jazz with other styles and used more instruments. She even used a sample of African music on one song. In 1976, she released Hejira. This album was written while she was traveling. It featured the talented jazz bass player Jaco Pastorius. Joni considers Hejira to be a very unique album.

Later Albums and Collaborations

In 1977, Joni released her first double album, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter. She continued to work with jazz musicians like Jaco Pastorius and Wayne Shorter. The album had longer, more experimental songs.

Later, the famous jazz composer Charles Mingus asked Joni to work with him. She finished their project after he passed away. The album, called Mingus, came out in 1979. It was a big change for her fans. She toured to support the album, and a live concert film and album, Shadows and Light, were released in 1980.

In the 1980s, Joni Mitchell returned to a more pop sound. Her album Wild Things Run Fast (1982) included a remake of an Elvis song. She married bassist and sound engineer Larry Klein in 1982. She also worked with British musician Thomas Dolby on her 1985 album Dog Eat Dog. This album used more synthesizers and electronic sounds.

Her 1988 album, Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm, featured many guest artists. These included Willie Nelson, Billy Idol, and Peter Gabriel. The album explored bigger political topics.

New Music and Awards

Joni Mitchell released Night Ride Home in 1991. Critics liked it more than her 1980s albums. In 1994, she released Turbulent Indigo. This album was a big success and won two Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Album. It came out around the time her marriage to Larry Klein ended.

In 1996, she released a Hits collection and a Misses album with lesser-known songs. Her last album of new original songs before a long break was Taming the Tiger in 1998. She toured to promote it, even with Bob Dylan.

Around this time, people noticed a change in Joni's voice. It became lower and huskier. She said this was due to vocal issues and the lasting effects of polio, not just smoking. She felt her voice had gained a new, interesting range.

Later Career and Health

In the early 2000s, Joni released two albums of covers and re-recorded songs. Both Sides Now (2000) featured jazz standards with an orchestra. Travelogue (2002) had orchestral versions of her old songs. She said Travelogue would be her last album. She was unhappy with the music industry.

After a few years of only releasing compilations, Joni released a new album of original songs in 2007 called Shine. It was inspired by the war in Iraq. It was her highest-charting album in the U.S. in over 30 years. In 2008, she won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for a song from Shine.

In 2015, Joni Mitchell had a serious health problem: a brain aneurysm. This meant she needed a long time to recover and do physical therapy. She slowly started making public appearances again. In 2018, she attended a concert celebrating her 75th birthday. Many artists performed her songs.

Since 2018, Joni has approved many projects to release old, unreleased music. The Joni Mitchell Archives series started in 2020. She won a Grammy for 'Best Historical Album' for the first volume in 2022. In 2021, she received a Kennedy Center Honor for her lifetime achievements in music.

Return to Live Performance

On July 24, 2022, Joni Mitchell surprised everyone by performing at the Newport Folk Festival. She had first played there in 1967. This was her first public performance in nine years. She was joined by many musicians, including Brandi Carlile.

Before this, Joni had started hosting monthly music sessions at her home. These were called "Joni Jams." Famous musicians like Elton John and Paul McCartney would come to play. These sessions helped her recover and start singing and playing guitar again.

After the Newport show, Joni said she wanted to perform again. The Newport set was released as a live album in 2023 and won a Grammy. In June 2023, she played her first headline concert in 23 years at the Gorge Amphitheatre. She performed for almost three hours with many supporting musicians.

Joni Mitchell was given the 2023 Gershwin Prize for her contributions to popular music. She also performed at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024.

Joni Mitchell's Unique Style

Joni Mitchell's music has a very special sound. While some of her popular songs were written on the piano, many of her guitar songs use "open tunings." This means the guitar strings are tuned differently than usual. She has used about 50 different tunings! This allowed her to create unique harmonies and rhythms.

Her guitar playing style changed over the years. It went from a detailed picking style to a more rhythmic one. In the 1990s, she used a special guitar that could change tunings electronically. This made it easier to play her many different songs live.

Rolling Stone magazine named her the 72nd-greatest guitarist of all time in 2003. She was the highest-ranked woman on that list. In 2023, they ranked her as the 9th greatest guitarist of all time.

Influence on Other Artists

Joni Mitchell's music has inspired many other artists. Her songs often talked about personal feelings and experiences. This helped many female listeners connect with her. She always wanted to control her own art.

Many famous musicians have said Joni Mitchell influenced them. These include Taylor Swift, Björk, Prince, and Harry Styles. Madonna said Joni was the first female artist who truly spoke to her as a teenager.

Many artists have also covered Joni Mitchell's songs. "Both Sides Now" is her most covered song, with over 1,200 versions! Judy Collins had a hit with it in 1967. "Big Yellow Taxi" is also very popular, with over 300 covers. Artists like Counting Crows and Amy Grant have covered it. Even rap artists like Janet Jackson and Kanye West have used parts of her songs.

"River" from her Blue album has become a popular song for holiday albums. Other famous covers include "Woodstock" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and "This Flight Tonight" by Nazareth.

Many songs by other artists also mention Joni Mitchell. Graham Nash's song "Our House" is about his relationship with Joni. Led Zeppelin's "Going to California" is said to be about their admiration for her.

Awards and Honours

Joni Mitchell's star on Canada's Walk of Fame

Joni Mitchell has received many awards from her home country, Canada.

• In 1981, she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
• She received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award in 1996. This is Canada's highest honor in performing arts.
• In 2000, she got a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
• She was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2002. This is Canada's highest civilian honor.
• In 2007, Canada Post featured Joni Mitchell on a postage stamp.

She has won eleven Grammy Awards. Her first was in 1969, and her most recent was in 2024 for Best Folk Album. In 2002, she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognized her as "one of the most important female recording artists of the rock era."

In 1997, Joni Mitchell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2021, she received the Kennedy Center Honors for her lifetime achievements in performing arts. In 2023, she was given the Gershwin Prize by the Library of Congress.

Grammy Awards

*Although officially a Herbie Hancock release, Mitchell also received a Grammy for her vocal contribution to the album.

Juno Awards

Discography

Studio albums

Images for kids

• 

  Joni Mitchell performing "Furry Sings the Blues" in 1980.

See also

In Spanish: Joni Mitchell para niños