Joni Mitchell, born Roberta Anderson, Nov., 1943 in Fort Macleod Alta., has made songs, paintings and honest declarations of her demand for freedom (and struggles with bondage) all her life.

She has suffered abuse by the media, partners and her peers and has made an articulate stand over all the shamers and blamers.

She titled her 19th and most recent album (2007) with her ambition’s’s most accurately descriptive verb: Shine. In the title song, she comes out laughing at the stubbornness of dualistic thought, which has interfered with her at life’s every turn. Her paintings and philosophic contributions have yet to be seriously appreciated. Best to encounter her in the music itself, or in Malka Marom’s book Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Words. We hope she is having a memorable and elated 75th birthday today.

If you are enjoying this content, please take a second to support Roots Music Canada on Patreon!