I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue. —Joni Mitchell

Read An Open Letter to Spotify: A call from the global scientific and medical communities to implement a misinformation policy.

Peloton has launched a new series of workouts known as the “Artist Series”. These are direct collaborations & partnerships with artists, where the workouts will see the entire soundtrack featuring the tunes of the artist. Next up- Joni! The class with Ross Rayburn will be live on Monday, Jan 24. More information here.

MusiCares is happy to announce that Person of the Year has been rescheduled to Friday, April 1st. The gathering in celebration of Joni Mitchell's artistry and legacy has been moved to Las Vegas. While unexpected, this change will better ensure that that guests, performers, and Joni are safe. Additional event details, including the venue, will be announced later this month.

Now up for auction to benefit @Musicares, an original signed artist's proof print of Jimi Hendrix based on an oil painting by Joni, never before seen outside of her personal collection.

The painting features Hendrix with angel wings setting his guitar on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, although Joni says she “prefers to think of him in heaven.”

Visit JuliensLive to register to bid and win. Thanks to Experience Hendrix L.L.C. for their cooperation and support.

The Grammy Awards have been postponed because of the surging Omicron COVID-19 variant.

“After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th Annual Grammy Awards show,” the statement said.

Also pushed back this year because of the Omicron variant surge is the Jan. 29 MusiCares Person of the Year all-star concert honoring legendary Joni Mitchell. No new date has been announced yet for MusiCares, which takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Joni’s Song Comes To Life With Watercolor Painting In New Animated Video.

"Just in time for Christmas, Joni Mitchell has debuted the first official music video for “River,” her wistful contribution to the Christmas songbook, taken from her landmark 1971 album Blue. Director Matvey Rezanov and Skazka Studios use animated watercolor painting to capture the song’s lonesome mood while paying tribute to Mitchell’s prolific creativity as a painter. Watch the video for “River” now."

Bass Magazine is just out with a fantastic new discussion between Joni and Larry Klein. A must read for all! Click the cover graphic to read the piece. Also, here's the story behind the cover story.

GRAMMY® Award-winning artists Brandi Carlile, Graham Nash, Herbie Hancock, James Taylor, Leon Bridges, and Pentatonix and GRAMMY Award nominees Black Pumas, Jon Batiste, Maggie Rogers, and Mickey Guyton will join the performance lineup at the 31st annual MusiCares® Person of the Year benefit gala honoring Joni Mitchell on Jan. 29, 2022, two nights before the GRAMMY Awards® telecast. Brandi Carlile and Jon Batiste will also serve as Artistic Directors for the night, a first for Person of the Year.

The tribute will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center and will include a reception and silent auction, followed by a dinner and tribute concert. Artists will pay tribute to some of Joni Mitchell’s most iconic songs, showcasing her timeless lyrics and unique talent for inspiring generations of musicians and songwriters. More information here. (Photo © Joe Sia)

Today at 3pm (EST) this year's Kennedy Center honorees- Joni, Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler, Berry Gordy, and Justino Diaz- attended an awards ceremony at the White House, hosted by President Biden.

Tonight, they were honored at the Kennedy Center before a packed audience that included Biden, Vice President Harris, several Cabinet secretaries, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Stage presenters included Norah Jones, Scarlett Johansson, Jimmy Fallon, Chita Rivera, Kevin Nealon, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Colin Jost, Michael Che, Kelli O'Hara, Yo-Yo Ma, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Steve Martin, Kenan Thompson, Beanie Feldstein, Kate Baldwin, Taylor Trensch, Goldie Hawn, Melissa Manchester, Barbara Hershey, Andra Day, Ellie Goulding, and David Letterman. Brandi Carlile performed "River," and Brittany Howard and Herbie Hancock united to perform "Both Sides Now".

The lifetime achievement medals had been presented to the honorees on Saturday night in a black-tie dinner for 210 donors, politicians and the recipients' families and friends at the Library of Congress. The dinner accords the honorees their chance to say a few words of thanks. Referencing her struggles with illness, Joni struck a tone of optimism: "I'm hobbling along but I'm doing all right!" she said, in brief remarks.

Highlights of the tribute performances will air on CBS on December 22 at 9pm Eastern/8pm Central. Mark your calendars! Photo by Scott Suchman (Dec 4 at the Library of Congress)/ Portions of the text by Peter Marks

Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967) was nominated for a Grammy today for Best Historical Album. Other contenders are Beyond The Music: Marian Anderson's Complete RCA Victor Recordings; Etching The Voice: Emile Berliner And The First Commercial Gramophone Discs, 1889-1895; Excavated Shellac: An Alternate History Of The World’s Music; and Prince's Sign O' The Times Deluxe Edition.

This year’s Kennedy Center Honors, the nation’s highest honor for the arts, will pay tribute to Joni and other iconic cultural figures Justino Diaz, Berry Gordy, Lorne Michaels, and Bette Midler. The December 5 ceremony will be filmed and a highlights broadcast shown on CBS- Wednesday, December 22 at 9pm Eastern time.

Today's the day we finally get to hear the second volume in Joni's ongoing Archive series. Focusing on the period from late 1967 through early 1971, it's 5 CDs (and, in February, 10 LPs) worth of previously unreleased material. Click the Store link to get your copy!

In August of 1970, Joni traveled to the Four Corners region of the American Southwest to visit James on the set of Two-Lane Blacktop, his first and only starring acting role. While filming on location in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Taylor wrote “You Can Close Your Eyes” for Mitchell and performed the song live in October 1970 when they were in Vancouver to play at Amchitka, a benefit concert supporting Greenpeace’s protest against nuclear weapons tests at Amchitka, Alaska.

Taylor played the song again a few days later at the Paris Theatre in London on October 29, 1970, where he and Mitchell sang it together. Their performance was recorded (and later broadcast on December 27) for “In Concert,” a weekly show on BBC Radio hosted by famed British DJ John Peel.

Today it's being released digitally. Read the full press release here.

Joni has drawn a Brazilian Jaguar in support of Explorers Against Extinction, and inspired by our work with Oncafari in the Brazilian Patanal, part of our 21 for 21 campaign.

This is a rare opportunity to own a piece of original art by one of the most iconic songwriters and environmental campaigners of our time.

Reservoir Media has signed a new deal with Joni, which sees the company become the worldwide administrator of her publishing catalog.

The nine-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter's catalog was previously administered by Sony Music Publishing, following a worldwide deal struck 24 years ago in 1997.

"I'm looking forward to working with Reservoir," said Joni.

Reservoir Founder & CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi added: "I am so proud to welcome Joni Mitchell to our Reservoir family. Joni is a musical pioneer and a once-in-a-lifetime creator, and we look forward to safeguarding her catalog and championing her legacy." More information here.

Joni scholars will recognize the name Frankie McKitrick. Joni: "The first record that I had to have was a classical piece of music. At that time we were living in North Battleford, and my best friend was a musical prodigy, Frankie McKitrick. His feet could barely reach the pedals of the church organ but he could play the thing. And we had gone to a movie. It was called “The Story of Three Loves” and the theme was Rachmaninoff’s “Variations on a Theme” by Paganini. Beautiful melody. I had to have that record. That was my first piece of inspirational music..." Frankie passed away on August 9.

LOS ANGELES - On February 1, 1969, almost a year after Joni Mitchell released her debut album Song to a Seagull, the 25-year-old singer-songwriter was standing on stage at Carnegie Hall in New York City playing the first major concert of her young career for a sold-out crowd that included Bob Dylan. Graham Nash, who was Mitchell's partner at the time, was there too, along with her parents visiting from Canada. Her performance that night earned glowing reviews, including this one from Billboard's Fred Kirby:

"Joni Mitchell charmed a packed Carnegie Hall audience on Saturday...Miss Mitchell doesn't merely sing a song, the fine folk artist effectively interprets her material. And what a lineup of material! Beginning with 'Chelsea Morning" and ending with a medley of 'The Circle Game' and the new 'Little Green,' the outstanding material flowed."

Fatefully, her label Reprise Records recorded the entire concert with plans to release it. More than 50 years later, the show will finally make its long-awaited debut on November 12 as part of JONI MITCHELL ARCHIVES VOL. 2: THE REPRISE YEARS (1968-1971). On the same day, the performance will be released separately as a 3-LP set on 180-gram vinyl for $59.98, with an exclusive 180-gram, white vinyl version, limited to 3,000 copies, available at www.JoniMitchell.com. The vinyl showcases the full audio across five LP sides with the sixth side featuring an etching of the American eagle that donned Mitchell's skirt at the Carnegie Hall show. As a preview, Mitchell's performance of "Chelsea Morning" from the show is available today digitally. Listen here.

MusiCares announced today that Joni has been chosen as the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year. Mitchell is the honoree of the 31st annual Person of the Year benefit gala.

Proceeds from the event will provide essential support for MusiCares, the leading music charity providing music professionals health and human services across a spectrum of needs. The tribute will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Sat, January 29, 2022, two nights before the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

"We are so excited to bring together an amazing line-up of artists to celebrate the musical legacy of Joni Mitchell," said Laura Segura, Executive Director of MusiCares. "She is being honored not only for her iconic music and lyrics, but for her trailblazing spirit and the inspiration she's brought to so many artists."

The MusiCares Person of the Year tribute ceremony is one of the most prestigious events held during GRAMMY Week. It includes a reception and silent auction, offering an exclusive selection of one-of-a-kind items for bidding guests, followed by a dinner and tribute concert, featuring renowned musicians and other artists paying tribute to Mitchell.

"I’m honored to be chosen as person of the year by this great charity,” said Joni, “I look forward to being part of this gala that will help MusiCares continue their inspired work in providing a support system for those in need.” More information here.

On March 19, 1968, a 24-year-old Joni Mitchell was in the midst of a two-week residency at Le Hibou Coffee House in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, playing to rave reviews in anticipation of her debut album, Song To A Seagull, which was set for release just a few days later on Reprise. Not long before Mitchell was scheduled to take the stage, Jimi Hendrix was just finishing his second sold-out show of the night at the Capitol Theater a few blocks away. Earlier in the day, Hendrix had spoken to Mitchell and noted his plans to record her in his diary entry for that day:

“talked with Joni Mitchell on the phone. I think I’ll record her tonight with my excellent tape recorder (knock on wood) . . . hmmm . . . can’t find any wood . . . everything’s plastic”

Following his two performances on that night, Hendrix rolled in to Le Hibou with his reel-to-reel recorder as promised and kneeled in front of the stage, unnoticed by most, and recorded Mitchell’s two sets that evening. As he also noted in his diary, Hendrix, like many others at the time, was mesmerized by Mitchell: “fantastic girl with heaven words.”

Were you in attendance at this event? Let's talk!

Listen to the entire song on this page, and read the press release here.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced its 44th lifetime achievement award winners. They are: Motown founder Berry Gordy, opera star Justino Díaz, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, entertainer Bette Midler and television impresario Lorne Michaels, who created Saturday Night Live. More information here.

President Obama adds Coyote to his summer playlist. Check out all his selections.

Tomorrow will be the 50th anniversary of Joni Mitchell’s masterpiece, Blue. To celebrate, Rhino is releasing two new collections that offer different perspectives on one of the greatest albums ever made and the inspired period of creativity that made it possible.

Rhino kicks off the celebration today with the release of BLUE 50 (DEMOS & OUTTAKES), a digital EP that debuts five unreleased recordings (see visualization at right) from the making of Blue that will appear on the upcoming Archives collection. The striking cover of the BLUE 50 EP features the original Blue color treatment with a previously unseen alternate photo of Mitchell by Tim Considine from the same session as the original.

All five of these tracks will also be included in JONI MITCHELL ARCHIVES VOL. 2: THE REPRISE YEARS (1968-1971), which will be released on October 29 as a 5-CD set ($64.98). The music will be available the same day exclusively at JoniMitchell.com as a 10-LP set ($249.98) on 180-gram vinyl that will be limited to 4,000 copies. Any ARCHIVES VOL.2 music product purchased on the official Joni Mitchell store comes with an exclusive 7”x7” art print featuring a never-before-seen illustration by Mitchell from the era. More information here.

Patrick Sky was an American singer songwriter, folk musician, guitarist, producer, and accomplished builder and player of the Irish uilleann pipes. Patrick was of Irish and Cree Indian descent- a seminal figure, along with Eric Anderson and Buffy Sainte-Marie, in the folk music revival in the mid-1960s. Notably, Patrick produced recordings by the legendary blues guitarist and singer Mississippi John Hurt for Vanguard Records.

Joni and Patrick were on the same billing at least twice, once on the Let's Sing Out program in October of 1965, and again at a Syracuse University gig in December of 1969. Patrick was the inspiration for song The Last Time I Saw Richard, as revealed in Michelle Mercer's 2009 book Will You Take Me As I Am: "...this is where that song came from,” [Joni] said. “Patrick Sky, a fellow folksinger, said to me one night in a bar in New York, 'Oh, Joni, you're a hopeless romantic. There's only one way for you to go. Hopeless cynicism. That one little nugget became the song."

Patrick died this morning in Ashville, North Carolina, surrounded by family. He was 77 years old. [Photo by David Gahr, 1965]

Details to follow...

Joni Mitchell & Rhino announce a new, limited-edition LP of material culled from the recent acclaimed set, 'Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1968).' This 12-song LP is strictly limited to 15,000 copies and will be available in stores starting June 12, 2021 for RSD Drops.

Side 1:
House of the Rising Sun
Pastures of Plenty
Seven Daffodils
Urge for Going
Day After Day
The Circle Game

Side 2:
Both Sides Now
Born To Take the Highway
Blue On Blue
Strawflower Me
Chelsea Morning
I Don't Know Where I Stand

All tracks previously released on the 5-CD box set Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967), Rhino box set. Check your local independent record store!

On June 22, 1971, Joni released Blue, concluding her prolific four-album run for Reprise Records with an album considered by many to be one of the greatest of all time. Its stirring songs have been celebrated by music lovers and critics alike for decades while inspiring a wide variety of artists as diverse as Prince and Taylor Swift. Even today, its stature as a masterpiece continues to grow. Just last year, the album was named #3 on Rolling Stone’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

To celebrate the album’s 50th anniversary, Rhino is releasing THE REPRISE ALBUMS (1968- 1971), featuring newly remastered versions of Blue (1971) and the three albums that came before it: Song To A Seagull (1968), Clouds (1969), and Ladies Of The Canyon (1970). In the case of Song To A Seagull, the original mix has been recently updated by Joni and mixer Matt Lee. “The original mix was atrocious,” says Joni. “It sounded like it was recorded under a jello bowl, so I fixed it!”

THE REPRISE ALBUMS (1968-1971) will be available on July 2 in 4-CD and 4-LP 180-gram vinyl (Limited Edition of 10,000) versions, as well as digitally. The newly remastered version of “A Case Of You” from Blue is available today on all digital download and streaming services. Pre-order the CD or LP version of THE REPRISE YEARS (1968-1971) from JoniMitchell.com and you'll also receive an exclusive limited edition 7” x 7” print of the self-portrait featured on the cover art.

Read the press release here and visit the store for more information.

Joni Mitchell's 75th birthday celebration concert from Music Center LA is coming to select theater locations as a Private Watch Party! Through April 22, you can safely gather up to 20 friends in your own auditorium to see Brandi Carlile, Glen Hansard, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Seal, Rufus Wainwright and more light up the big screen with incredible musical performances from throughout Joni's remarkable career.

More information on booking your screening here.

SFJAZZ announces new members of the award-winning SFJAZZ Collective – saxophonist and music director Chris Potter, vocalist Lizz Wright, bassist Aneesa Strings, and drummer Kendrick A.D. Scott. This lineup will explore the music of Joni Mitchell in 2021 and is planning tours in 2022. Formed in 2004, SFJAZZ Collective lineup also includes tenor saxophonist David Sánchez, trumpeter Etienne Charles, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, and pianist Edward Simon.

During the Spring of 2021, the SFJAZZ Collective will explore the music of iconic singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell who received the 2015 SFJAZZ Lifetime Achievement Award. Mitchell is a singular artist with deep connections to the jazz continuum whose work continues to have an extraordinary impact on popular culture. The SFJAZZ Collective is currently in the studio, virtually, recording innovative versions of her classic songs as well as new compositions inspired by her legacy. This material will be the basis for the band’s upcoming album to be released in Fall 2021. The group is making plans to present this material in 2022 on US and international tours.

More information here. Press release here.

"It is well known that Joni Mitchell and her engineer and creative catalyst Henry Lewy worked as a partnership to make all of her 1970s albums, in a pretty closed door operation. However, on Hejira, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter and Mingus, a third production partner was involved, from running the tape machine to mic placement, from tracking through mixing - A&M staff engineer Steve Katz.

"Steve was at A&M from 1974 to 1983, nine important years in the booming record business at that time, and he helped create some of the great albums of that time coming out of Los Angeles." -Dave Blackburn

Beginning in New York City as a teenager, Sherry chronicled the artists redefining what pop music was as the 60s gave way to the 70s for various underground magazines. Early iconic photographs of Tina Turner, Joni, James Taylor, and Laura Nyro created trust and opened doors for revelatory images of Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt.

By the time she arrived in Los Angeles, the Troubadour scene was full-force. Sherry, who plays a blue Fender Stratocaster, was on the frontlines of the rock, pop, folk and Laurel Canyon country-rock scenes as much a fellow musician as a photographer documenting the music.

A great coffee table addition for all Joni and Troubadour completists! More information here.

"As the first staff photographer for Rolling Stone magazine in the 1960s, he captured some of the most enduring faces of the era in their prime: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, Janis Joplin, Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Grateful Dead and Steve Miller, among others.

On Oct. 4, Wolman posted a grim message on social media saying that in 2019 he was diagnosed with ALS - the terminal motor-neuron illness better known as Lou Gehrig's disease - and was nearing the end of his life.

"Sad to say I'm now in the final sprint to the end," he wrote. "I go forward with a huge amount of gratitude for the many blessings bestowed upon me... with no regrets, and appreciation for how my photographs - my life's work - have been received."

He died at his home in Santa Fe, N.M., on Monday, Nov. 2, Dianne Duenzl, his representative, said in a statement. He was 83.
-Aidin Vaziri

Joni is opening her vault for the first time to create the Joni Mitchell Archives, a new series of boxed set releases that will span the next several years, featuring deep dives into unreleased content from different eras of her storied career. Joni has been intimately involved in producing the archive series, lending her vision and personal touch to every element of the project. The first set is being officially announced today, to be released October 30. Click the new STORE link above for special exclusive website offers.

Annie Ross of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross died today in New York City. She was 4 days shy of her 90th birthday. In a 1986 interview, Joni stated that "...friends of mine who were older than me and in college began talking about Lambert, Hendricks and Ross as the hottest new sound in jazz. Their record flipped me out, but it was already out of print. I had to finally buy it off somebody and pay a lot, maybe fifteen dollars, which was unheard of at that time. But you couldn't get the record anywhere. Lambert, Hendricks and Ross were my Beatles. In high school, theirs was the record I wore thin, the one I knew all the words to."

In 1952, Ross met Prestige Records owner Bob Weinstock, who asked her to write lyrics to a jazz solo in a similar way to King Pleasure, a practice that would later be known as vocalese. The next day, she presented him with the song "Twisted", a treatment of saxophonist Wardell Gray's 1949 composition of the same name- a song Joni later recorded on the Court and Spark album.

Superstars (including Joni) and rising stars band together to ask Congress to support independent music venues across the country in the quest to #SaveOurStages.

"Independent venues give artists their start, often as the first stage most of us have played on. These venues were the first to close and will be the last to reopen. With zero revenue and the overwhelming overhead of rent, mortgage, utilities, taxes and insurance, 90% of independent venues report that if the shutdown lasts six months and there’s no federal assistance, they will never reopen again."

A new two-part documentary series titled Laurel Canyon, focusing on the fertile music scene that coalesced in the Los Angeles neighborhood of the same name, where many famous artists resided and congregated starting in the late 1960s, will premiere on Epix on May 31 and June 7 at 9 p.m. ET.

The program will include music from such legendary artists as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Joni Mitchell, The Doors, Linda Ronstadt, The Byrds, Eagles, The Mamas & the Papas, Jackson Browne, The Monkees, The Turtles, Buffalo Springfield and more.

It also will feature rare and newly rediscovered film footage and audio, as well as new interviews with Browne, Don Henley, Michelle Phillips, Graham Nash, Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Roger McGuinn and others.

You can check out a teaser trailer for Laurel Canyon now at the Epix YouTube channel. The video includes a montage of archival film and photos of various famous musicians, along with commentary from The Monkees' Micky Dolenz, Nash, David Crosby and more.

Dolenz notes that Laurel Canyon "was a very small community of musicians and long-haired weirdos," while Nash declares, "We were at the very center of this beautiful bubble of creativity and friendship."

Crosby, meanwhile, says, "When a chemistry happens between people musically, it's magic."

Laurel Canyon was directed by Alison Ellwood, whose credits include 2013's History of the Eagles and the new documentary The Go-Go's.

Philadelphia’s Gene Shay — the voice of a music community for over 50 years, a celebrator and curator of folk music on the airwaves and an eager supporter of it from the stage — has passed away at age 85 from complications surrounding COVID-19. Shay debuted on Philadelphia radio in 1962 at WRTI, and hosted the Folk Show on WXPN from 1995 to 2015.

The impact and influence of that show cannot be overstated. Joni famously wrote her song “Both Sides Now” during downtime when she was playing two nights at Sansom Street venue The Second Fret, and premiered it with an acoustic performance for Shay and his listeners on the WDAS airwaves. [-John Vettese].

You can read a series of interviews with Gene and Joni here.

Wallace Roney, a trumpeter and composer who embodied the pugnacious, harmonically restive side of post-bop throughout an illustrious four-decade career, died Tuesday at St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J. He was 59. The cause was complications from COVID-19. (Nate Chinen)

Wallace played trumpet for Joni on her 2000 "Both Sides Now" tour.

Our review of The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell, a new children's book by Selina Alko.

In a new book, available April 7, 28 crime writers pay tribute to Joni's musical legacy with short stories inspired by her lyrics, representing each of her seventeen studio albums from 1968's Song to a Seagull to 2007's Shine. Joni was once asked to explain a song: "Who cares what I meant, what does it mean to you?" This book answers that.

Lyle Mays passed away this morning in Los Angeles. Lyle was an integral part of Joni's 1979 tour with Pat Metheny, Jaco, Michael Brecker, and Don Alias. He and Pat's hauntingly beautiful transition between Amelia and Hejira stands as one of the enduring highlights of the tour. Lyle was a founding member of the Pat Metheny Group, providing arrangements, orchestration, and the harmonic and metric backbone of the group's musical signature.

Craft Recordings has announced the first-ever vinyl release of Joni’s 2007 album, Shine. Available April 3rd, and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, the acclaimed title includes such tracks as “One Week Last Summer” (which received the 2008 GRAMMY® Award for Best Instrumental Pop Performance), and an updated version of Mitchell’s iconic 1970 track “Big Yellow Taxi.” More information here.

Hailed as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century, Joni will receive the prestigious Les Paul Innovation Award at the 35th Annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards (NAMM TEC Awards), being held Saturday, January 18, 2020 in Anaheim, California. The award is given on behalf of the Les Paul Foundation to honor individuals that have set the highest standards of excellence in creative application of artistry in the spirit of the famed audio pioneer, inventor and musician, Les Paul. More information here.

The Barnes and Noble book store chain has selected MORNING GLORY ON THE VINE to be part of this year’s #BNSignedEditions selection for holiday. Copies of the book, hand-signed by Joni, will be at B&N stores and online starting Saturday, November 16.

For all concerned, know that Joni is safe and sound from the fire threatening the area.

I always dreamed of seeing my book in a bookstore window. This feels even better than I imagined.
- Joni Mitchell

Thank you, Book Soup in Los Angeles for this beautiful window display featuring Joni’s new book Morning Glory on the Vine.

In the image, taken on release day, you can see reflected in Book Soup’s window the old sign from Tower Records on Sunset—in that store over 40 years ago Joni had her first window display of an album. Photo courtesy of Hannah K. Johnson.

We saved the best review for last. Our official recap of the stunning Brandi Carlile performance of the entire Blue album on Monday night. Reviewer Sam Stone takes you there.

The Grammys' expansion of their definition of traditional pop resulted in a spike in the number of entries in its best traditional pop vocal album category, from 55 last year to 81 this year.

The expansion brought in such entries as the all-star Joni 75: A Joni Mitchell Birthday Celebration (Live), Barbra Streisand's Walls, Elvis Costello & the Imposters' Look Now and Bryan Ferry and his Orchestra's Bitter-Sweet. The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards will be will be held January 26.

The ‘Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration’ album will be released on vinyl as part of the Record Store Day Black Friday celebrations in the US on November 29! The 2-LP set will be pressed in a limited edition of 3,000 copies and available from any participating local record retailer. A wider release will occur at a later date.

More information on Record Store Day Black Friday is here.

In 1971, as her album Blue topped charts around the world, Joni Mitchell crafted one hundred copies of Morning Glory on the Vine as a holiday gift for her closest friends. For this stunningly beautiful book, Joni hand-wrote an exquisite selection of her own lyrics and poems and illustrated them with more than thirty of her original paintings and watercolors. Hand-crafted, signed, and numbered in Los Angeles, the existing copies of this labor of love have rarely been seen in the past half-century.

Now, as Joni celebrates her seventy-sixth birthday, Morning Glory on the Vine: Early Songs and Drawings is available widely for the first time. In this faithfully reproduced facsimile edition, Joni's best-loved lyrics and poems spill across the pages in her own elegant script. More information here.

Jerry Lawson, who for four decades was the lead singer of the eclectic cult-favorite a cappella group the Persuasions, has died. He was 75. Lawson died Wednesday at a Phoenix hospice after a long illness, longtime friend and sometime Persuasions producer Rip Rense said.

Lawson's smooth baritone led the group of five and later six singers, who were revered as the "The Kings of a Cappella" by their small but devoted fan base. Through 25 albums the Persuasions recorded rock, blues, gospel and pop songs, all with no sound other than their own voices, long after the doo-wop era and long before the "Pitch Perfect" movies, when a cappella was rare. -Andrew Dalton

In October of 1967, Buffy Sainte Marie urged a young talent scout from the Chartoff-Winkler Agency to come listen to Joni perform at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City. Smitten immediately with her talent, the young man pitched being Joni's manager. "I don't need a manager, I'm doing quite nicely", Joni replied.

But he was a funny man, Joni enjoyed his humor, and before long he was managing Joni's career. And it was just a few months later, in March of 1968, that Elliot Roberts negotiated Joni's first record contract with Reprise Records.

Elliot managed Joni until 1985, and had just recently begun doing so again. A true legend in the music industry, Roberts also landed a record deal for Neil Young, co-managed CSN&Y, conceived the idea of Tom Petty backing Bob Dylan in the 1980s and helped launch the careers of Tracy Chapman and the Cars.

Born Elliot Rabinowitz on February 25th, 1943, Roberts was raised in the Bronx and initially hoped for a basketball career before turning to music. Elliot died this morning at age 76.

Malcolm John Rebennack Jr., known around the world as Dr. John, initially aspired to be a professional songwriter, producer and sideman. He wanted to work behind the scenes, not out front. But after assuming the persona of Dr. John the Night Tripper in the late 1960s, Rebennack was behind the scenes no more.

His idiosyncratic style and sound – the gravelly growl, the sly, deceptively leisurely phrasing, the original hipster patois, the hybrid Big Easy piano – embodied New Orleans and its music. Rebennack, an icon of the city who remained an active creative force until he abruptly disappeared from public view 18 months ago, died Thursday of a heart attack after years of declining health. He was 77. -Keith Spera

Joni and Dr. John appeared on the same stage at the legendary Last Waltz concert in 1976. And, on her 35th birthday Joni attended a Dr. John concert at the Bottom Line in NYC (pictured), in which he sang happy birthday to her from the stage.

Dr John sings to Joni

Elizabeth “Betsy” Asher, a music industry insider and self-described political news junkie, died Dec. 18, 2018 in Los Angeles. She was 75. She was born April 9, 1943 on Parris Island, SC to Paul Burney Doster and Elizabeth Fredrickson.

Betsy worked in the coffee houses of New York’s Greenwich Village and as a publicist before moving to London. By the time she relocated to L.A., the musicians and songwriters she had known in the Village had become household names in rock music. Journalists and biographers often sought Betsy’s unique perspective on the career arc of some of the most iconic musical artists of the last century.

Betsy is referenced by Joni in Song for Sharon, and perhaps Moon at the Window as well.

A feature-length documentary, Laurel Canyon, is set to premiere later this year. The film, according to a press release, “will pull back the curtain on a mythical world and provide an up-close look at the lives of the musicians who inhabited it.” Alison Ellwood (History of the Eagles) will direct; the film will premiere later this year on EPIX.

Among the artists who will be featured are Joni, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, the Mamas and the Papas, Carole King, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, James Taylor, the Doors, Frank Zappa and more. More information here.

In 1971, as her album Blue topped charts around the world, Joni Mitchell crafted one hundred copies of Morning Glory on the Vine as a holiday gift for her closest friends (see original book). For this stunningly beautiful book, Joni hand-wrote an exquisite selection of her own lyrics and poems and illustrated them with more than thirty of her original paintings and watercolors. Hand-crafted, signed, and numbered in Los Angeles, the existing copies of this labor of love have rarely been seen in the past half-century.

Now, as Joni celebrates her seventy-fifth birthday, Morning Glory on the Vine: Early Songs and Drawings is available widely for the first time. In this faithfully reproduced facsimile edition, Joni's best-loved lyrics and poems spill across the pages in her own elegant script. The lively, full-color watercolor paintings depict a superb array of landscapes, still-lifes, portraits of friends, self portraits, innovative abstractions, and more. All the paintings from the original book are included, along with several additional works that Joni had intended to include for her friends in 1971. Finally, the refreshed volume features an original introduction written by Joni herself. Morning Glory on the Vine is a gorgeous and intimate keepsake and an invitation to explore anew the dazzling, visionary world of Joni Mitchell. More information here.

In Joni 75, artists gather to celebrate Joni's 75th birthday. The lineup features Brandi Carlile; Glen Hansard; Emmylou Harris; Norah Jones; Chaka Khan; Diana Krall; Kris Kristofferson; Los Lobos with La Marisoul, Cesar Castro and Xochi Flores; Graham Nash; Seal; James Taylor; and Rufus Wainwright. Presented by The Music Center at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, the Joni 75 concerts were recorded November 6 and 7, 2018, with musical arrangements by co-musical directors Brian Blade and Jon Cowherd. Premieres nationwide beginning March 2 on PBS. Check local listings here.

Musicians! The transcription team is expanding its reach. If you are a guitarist, a pianist, a bass player, or just someone who loves Joni's music - you can now follow the team and learn about the magic behind Joni's music.

To celebrate Valentine's Day, RHINO is giving away a copy of Joni Mitchell's LOVE HAS MANY FACES on vinyl and one hardcover copy of Joni - The Joni Mitchell Sessions book by Norman Seeff. The limited-edition, 8LP boxed set is presented in a hard-bound deluxe folio package. Limited to 5,000 individually numbered copies, it includes 53 songs on eight 180-gram LPs. Etchings of Mitchell’s artwork are featured on four individual album sides, each one signifying the end of an act in the ballet. Enter to win!

The International Folk Music Awards (IFMAs) was held tonight at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montréal, Canada. The Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented each year during the annual event. Recipients are determined by the voting members of Folk Alliance International and are presented to a living recipient (Joni), a memorial recipient (Leonard Cohen), and an organization or recognized academic (fRoots Magazine). Joni was not in attendance and long-time friend Eric Andersen agreed to accept the award for her. Eric got stuck on a snowbound train attempting to get to the event, and texted them his acceptance comments. They agreed to read it, but didn't do so.

"I am happy to say that Joni is very grateful to receive this important award and proud as a Canadian to receive it here in this sacred city. She's sorry she can't be here to see everyone and accept it personally. To most of us, she remains the flower in the desert who could always find the truth on other people's lies and beauty in the wreckage. She remains a warrior with a stubborn streak and unrelenting stamina who could drink a case of anyone and still be on her feet!--Thank you with open hearts."

See the video that Folk Alliance International created for the event.

Good news for global Joni fans! The Joni 75 movie will be coming to theaters outside of the US on March 21st - tickets go on sale February 21. The film also premieres on the small screen nationwide in the USA beginning March 2 on PBS (check local listings). Streams beginning March 3 via PBS Passport and PBS apps. More details as we get them.