Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta), is a legendary Canadian musician and painter. Initially working in Toronto and western Canada, she was associated with the burgeoning folk music scene of the mid-1960s in New York City. Through the 1970s she expanded her horizons, predominantly to rock music and jazz, to become one of the most highly respected singer-songwriters of the late 20th century. Mitchell is also an accomplished artist; she has, through photography or painting, created the artwork for each of her albums, and she often describes herself as a "painter derailed by circumstance."

Influences

Mitchell could be labeled a "musician's musician"; her work has had an enormous influence on a number of artists; she has influenced not only "similar" singer-songwriters, such as Sheryl Crow and Shawn Colvin, but a number of artists in diverse genres, such as k.d. lang, Prince, Elvis Costello, PM Dawn, and, perhaps most famously, Janet Jackson, who used a sample of "Big Yellow Taxi" as the centerpiece of her 1998 single "Got 'Til It's Gone". (Mitchell appears to have enjoyed Jackson's sampling of "Taxi"; she made a rare appearance on MTV/VH1 to appear in a brief clip and give the creation a thumbs up.) Although Mitchell usually refrains from commenting on other artists, particularly ones that she influences, she has been impressed with two jazz-based artists who have interpreted her work, Cassandra Wilson and Diana Krall. Although most listeners tend to remember Mitchell's earlier, more commercially popular work, many musicians have found inspiration in her more experimental work, particularly "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" and "Hejira."

Related Topics:
Sheryl Crow - Shawn Colvin - K.d. lang - Prince - Elvis Costello - PM Dawn - Janet Jackson - Big Yellow Taxi - Got 'Til It's Gone - Cassandra Wilson - Diana Krall - The Hissing of Summer Lawns - Hejira

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Mitchell was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1981 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. In 1995, she received Billboard's "Century Award". On May 1, 2002, she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada. She received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, with a citation describing her as "one of the most important female recording artists of the rock era" and "a powerful influence on all artists who embrace diversity, imagination and integrity."

Related Topics:
Canadian Music Hall of Fame - 1981 - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - 1997 - Order of Canada - Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award - 2002

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Mitchell received an honorary doctorate from McGill University on October 27, 2004.

Related Topics:
Honorary doctorate - McGill University - October 27 - 2004

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