Canadian Diva Joni’s homepage Biography Interviews Music Lyrics

The Early Years `Joni was born in Alberta as Roberta Joan Anderson on November 9, `She grew up in Saskatchewan, had a serious case of polio; however, she recovered when she was nine. `Joni always had an interest in music and art; took piano and art lessons. `She finished high school in 1964, played in coffee houses in Calgary, then moved to Toronto to pursue a career as a folksinger, where she had to struggle and support herself by working at Simpsons-Sears. `Joni had a baby girl in 1965, gave her up for adoption, then married folk singer Chuck Mitchell. `She separated from Mitchell in 1967, then headed out to seek her fortune in New York. `The Joni Mitchell Album was followed by Clouds in 1969.

Joni – the early years Interview Interview 2003 “Joni enters onto the "bad girls' trail”

CLOUDS (You can listen to excerpts from the album, “Clouds”, including “Both Sides, Now”)“Both Sides, Now”) “I’ve looked at life from both sides now From up and down and still somehow It’s love’s illusions I recall I really don’t know clouds at all”

Joni Mitchell & Graham Nash Interview Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell "get on"Interview 2003 Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell "get on"

Graham Nash David Crosby Stephen Stills

`Joni goes to California to hang out and has affairs with David Crosby and Graham Nash - two members of the band - “Crosby, Stills, and Nash”. `While Joni is starting to publish her recordings, the Sixties happen - the “Summer of Love” in 1967 and the “Woodstock Festival” in `Young people everywhere are disenchanted with the war in Vietnam and ‘Peace and Love’ are the slogans of the day. `Five hundred thousand people show up to the music festival; astonishingly, it proves to be three days of Peace and Music, as promised. `Joni writes the song, “Woodstock”. The Sixties

Jimi Hendrix

Woodstock 1969

Joni captures the spirit of Woodstock Interview Interview 2003 Joni captures the spirit of Woodstock!

By the time we got to Woodstock We were half a million strong And everywhere there was song and celebration And I dreamed I saw the bombers Riding shotgun in the sky And they were turning into butterflies Above our nation... We are stardust, billion year old carbon We are golden, caught in the devil’s bargain And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden

A L B U M S Clouds Ladies of the Canyon Blue Court and Spark The Hissing of Summer Lawns Turbulent Indigo

The Success Years `Joni continues making albums, getting Grammies, and going “gold" in the sales of her records. `She buys a house in Bel Air, California, where she still resides. `She experiments with jazz and releases Mingus. `Joni puts on shows featuring her own art work. `In 1982, Joni marries bass player Larry Klein. `She separates from Klein in `In 1997, she reunites with the daughter she gave up for adoption. `Travelogue, a compilation of earlier songs is released in 2002.

Mingus 1979 Shadows and Light 1980 Dog Eat Dog 1985 Court and Spark 1992 Turbulent Indigo 1994 Hits 1996 Taming the Tiger 1998

Dog Eat Dog 1985 Crazy Crow Music “Land of snap decisions Land of short attention spans Nothing is savoured Long enough to really understand In every culture in decline The watchful ones among the slaves Know all that’s genuine will be Scorned and conned and cast away Dog eat dog…”

The Definitive Biography! Shadows and Light Watch Joni’s video, “How Do You Stop”, from her 1994 album: Turbulent Indigo.video (You must search for her video on this site.)this site