Calgary  The father of the child Joni Mitchell gave up for adoption says he wants to help the singing star find her.

"Now that (Joni) has gone public with this, I'll do anything I can to assist her in any way," Brad MacMath, who met the singer at a Calgary art school in 1963, told the Calgary Sun.

"If I could get in touch with her, I would certainly help her," said MacMath, of Toronto.

Mitchell went public last week about her desire to find the daughter, whom she gave up for adoption in 1964.

Mitchell and MacMath who lived together after falling in love in Calgary  moved to Toronto after discovering the pregnancy.

"After we finished our school year, she discovered she was pregnant," said MacMath, who kept the child a secret 30 years.

"She wanted to go away from home; she didn't want her parents to know so we moved to Toronto," he said, adding Mitchell never considered abortion.

But the pair broke up before Mitchell had the baby, he said.

"I left Toronto and moved back to Regina. I sent her money," said MacMath, who returned to Toronto to discuss marriage with Mitchell, but found she'd already married.