The following content is related to the February 13 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.
Canadian-born Joni Mitchell originally intended to be a fine artist and considered herself a hobbyist musician in the early Sixties, occasionally playing paid gigs to support her painting studies.
That all changed by the mid Sixties, when personal issues, including needing to give a child up for adoption, inspired her to channel her troubled thoughts into original songs—music that would soon be covered by established folk artists like Tom Rush and Judy Collins, who had a Top-10 hit with Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” in 1967.
In 1965, Mitchell moved to the U.S., performing her own material in coffee houses and folk clubs along the East Coast. At a Florida gig in 1967, she met David Crosby (soon to form Crosby, Stills and Nash), who was floored by her soaring voice, innovative use of altered tunings and profound lyrics.
He convinced her to move to California and encouraged Reprise Records to release her solo acoustic debut (Songs to a Seagull) in 1968. By the end of that decade, Joni Mitchell was a household name. This month, I’ll examine the tunings and techniques of this legend’s signature songs.
“You wanted me to come on your track and do something in a Spanish style. I thought, ‘I have to show him how I do it on the whole guitar’”: Marcin shows an astounded Will Smith his virtuosic guitar technique
“I probably hauled in 20 guitars. I listened to the record top to bottom, turned to him and said, ‘It doesn’t need anything’”: Jeff “Skunk” Baxter on the one studio session where he lugged a ton of guitar gear – and didn't use any of it
