‘All I Want’: Joni Mitchell’s 82 Birthday and a Deep Dive Into her Influence in the Music Industry
By Eliana Hebert
Don’t be blue, folk icon Joni Mitchell celebrates her 82nd birthday this past weekend! Mitchell was born on Nov. 7, 1943, in Alberta, Canada. At 21, she moved only a couple of hundred miles north of Syracuse to Toronto, playing at local coffee shops and clubs. As she got more popular, she moved to New York three years later, where her experience living in the city inspired songs such as Chelsea Morning. In late 1967, she moved to California, where her career took shape around West Coast artists of the time.
Mitchell’s discography started in 1968 with her self-titled album, Songs to a Seagull. Just one year later, she released Clouds, winning a Grammy for best folk performance in the process. The album’s lead single, Both Sides, Now, remains one of her most popular songs, with its performance by Judy Collins hitting number 8 on Billboard’s Top 100, and remaining on the chart for 11 weeks.
Mitchell released an impressive eight albums over the course of the 70s. Her top hits came from that decade, including albums Ladies of the Canyon in 1970, Blue in 1971, and For the Roses in 1972. Blue, her first record with one million sales, might be her best-known. While the tracks River and Carey are more frequently played, social media’s most popular one is California, after Amanda Seyfried’s acoustic appearance on the Tonight Show went viral and engaged new audiences with Mitchell’s work.
Court and Spark followed in 1974, then The Hissing of Summer Lawns in 1975, Hejira in 1976, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter in 1977, and to close out the 70s, released Mingus in 1979. Court and Spark became her best-selling album, and many people perceive a melancholy tone in the rock-esque music with themes of growing up, indecision, and loneliness. This became one of the albums that solidified Mitchell as a key singer and songwriter in the music industry – an inspiration to her peers and the many artists seeking a similar, soulful feeling.
David Crosby became one of Mitchell’s more important friends in the music industry. He produced her first album during their brief romantic relationship from 1967-68, but their lives and careers remained intertwined. She dated Graham Nash from 1968 to 70, with songs like Our House and A Case of You coming from their relationship. In the end, neither of these relationships worked out long-term, but the musicians remained friends. Despite not attending the festival, Mitchell composed ‘Woodstock’ in 1969, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young performed it in 1970, where it peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains one of the most popular songs on their essential album Déjà Vu.
Mitchell had a monumental impact on the recording industry throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s. She opened her home to friends and fellow artists like Neil Young, Cass Elliot, James Taylor, and Carole King, who got inspiration from her presence. Mitchell changed the way audiences perceived folk music, opened up doors for herself and others in the industry, and has changed countless lives through her poetic lyrics. On her 82nd birthday, take a moment to acknowledge her influence and the art of folk music.
