7 Joni Mitchell 7Mitchell studied commercial art in her native Alberta
before moving to Toronto in 1964 and performing at local
folk clubs and coffeehouses. After a brief marriage to folk-
singer Chuck Mitchell, she relocated to New York City,
where in 1967 she made her eponymous debut album (also
known as Songs to a Seagull). This concept album was
acclaimed for the maturity of its lyrics.
With each successive release, Mitchell gained a larger
following, from Clouds (which in 1969 won a Grammy
Award for best folk performance) to the mischievous
euphoria of Ladies of the Canyon (1970) to Blue (1971), which
was her first million-selling album. By the early 1970s
Mitchell had branched out from her acoustic base to
experiment with rock and jazz, with The Hissing of Summer
Lawns (1975) marking her transition to a more complex,
layered sound. Whereas earlier albums were more confes-
sional in their subject matter, The Hissing of Summer Lawns,
on which she satirized the role of the 1970s housewife,
showed Mitchell’s movement toward social observation.
Although she had a number of pop hits, especially in 1970
with “Big Yellow Taxi” and “Woodstock,” Mitchell’s impact
was as a long-term “album artist.” With its carefully precise
yet improvisational feel, her music is at times difficult to
listen to. She does not opt for straight melody or satisfying
conclusions. “My music is not designed to grab instantly.
It’s designed to wear for a lifetime, to hold up like a fine
cloth,” she once said.
With Hejira (1976) and Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter
(1977), she continued to disregard commercial consider-
ations, while Mingus (1979) was considered by many as
beyond the pale. An album that began as a collaboration
with the jazz bassist Charles Mingus ended up as a treat-
ment of his themes after his death. Mitchell delved not
only deeper into jazz but also into black history; the album