Who is Joni Mitchell? Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943) is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter. Mitchell`s singing began in small nightclubs and busking on the streets of Toronto and in her native Western Canada. She subsequently became associated with the burgeoning folk music scene of the mid-1960s in New York City. Mitchell achieved fame in the late 1960s and was considered a key part of the Southern California folk rock scene. Throughout the 1970s, she explored and combined the pop and jazz genres. Mitchell has amassed a body of work that is highly respected, both by critics (in 2002, Rolling Stone magazine called her "one of the greatest songwriters ever") and by fellow musicians. Retrospective appraisals of Mitchell`s work have labeled her the "female Bob Dylan," but Mitchell has sometimes objected to the way her legacy is described by critics, singling out in particular the "female Bob Dylan" moniker: "Being female creates a new category in some people`s minds. No one would say that Dylan is the `male Joni Mitchell.`" Mitchell is also an accomplished visual artist. She has, through photography or painting, created the artwork for each of her albums and has described herself as a "painter derailed by circumstance."[citation needed] A blunt critic of the music industry, Mitchell had stopped recording over the last several years, focusing mainly on her visual art, but in October 2006 she announced that she is working on material for a new album.
Name: Joni Mitchell
