Singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell, 80, performed for the first time on the Grammy Awards show Feb. 4, singing her classic ballad “Both Sides Now” to a standing ovation.
In 2015, Mitchell suffered a brain aneurysm, which made it difficult for her to move and speak, let alone perform. Her first public performance since her illness was at the 2023 Newport Folk Festival. A recording of the show, “Joni Mitchell at Newport,” won Best Folk Album at this year’s Grammys. It was Mitchell’s 10th Grammy award.
We asked Syracuse University professor David Yaffe, author of the biography “Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell,” what her appearance on the show meant in the context of her long career.
Yaffe’s passion for Mitchell’s music led him to write the book, published in 2017. Yaffe reflects on her discography and what it means to him, as well as her career resurgence.
Q: Why did you decide to write a biography of Joni Mitchell?
A: I fell in love with her music when I was 15. It was when I was learning about a lot of other things. I was learning about falling in love, for example. And I was learning about Miles Davis, who was so important to Joni, and I was learning about suspended chords. I was learning about poetry. So I was having all this information coming at me at once. And right away, Joni provided this window and to a very adult world of romance, contradiction and emotional turbulence. But I just instantly fell for her music. It’s not like I ever had an equivocal reaction to it; I loved it right away.
Q: What do you think of her career resurgence, starting with the live concert at Newport, which just won the Grammy?
A: Joni is so above this whole thing. People are wondering, isn’t it amazing that she never sang at the Grammy Awards? No, no, no. It’s amazing that she’s singing there now. She can’t sing at the Grammy Awards. That’s not her scene. She won some Grammys, but not in proportion to her importance as an artist. I’m glad that people are paying attention to her. I’ve never seen a person of that age get that kind of attention from a place like the Grammys. I’m glad to see her happy. I think she’s changed [as a person].
Q: What does she bring to her songs at age 80 that you feel wasn’t there at age 20 or 30?
A: She already had everything. There’s nothing new, even today with her album that just won the Grammy. It’s still that same passion and putting all of her emotions into the music rather than saying them out loud in conversation. It’s been there throughout her entire career.
Q: Can you think of any contemporary artists that are Mitchell’s peers?
A: Probably the best tribute to Joni would just be to be original and not sound like her. Fiona Apple is a great artist. “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” was incredible and [I] like everything that she’s done.
Q: Why should younger audiences who may have never heard of Mitchell listen to her music?
A: Just put on “Blue.” Be in a place where you’re not distracted. Don’t just listen to it on headphones when you’re doing stuff, but really lie down in bed and listen to the album, turn out the lights and don’t have any interruptions. And just take it in and just see what it does to you and see if it does what it did to me when I heard it that way at 15 years old.
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