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Hits (Joni Mitchell Album)
''Hits'' is a 1996 greatest hits compilation by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta .... , it has sold 488,000 copies in the United States, and was certified Gold in the United Kingdom in 2013 for 100,000 copies sold. A counterpart album, ''Misses'', was released on the same day as ''Hits''. It consists of Mitchell's lesser known songs that she considers personal favorites. Track listing Charts Certifications References |
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her starkly personal lyrics and unconventional compositions, which grew to incorporate pop music, pop and jazz music, jazz influences. She has received many accolades, including ten Grammy Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. ''Rolling Stone'' called her "one of the greatest songwriters ever", and AllMusic has stated, "When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century". Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and throughout western Canada, before moving on to the nightclubs of Toronto, Ontario. She moved to the United States and began touring in 1965. Some of her original songs ("Urge for Going", "Chelsea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Circle Game (song)
"The Circle Game" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell composed in 1966. One of her most-covered songs, it was originally recorded by Ian & Sylvia and Buffy Sainte-Marie in 1967, and by Tom Rush for his 1968 album of the same name. Mitchell recorded it for her 1970 album '' Ladies of the Canyon'', it also appears on her album Miles of Aisles. Background Mitchell has said that "The Circle Game" was written as a response to the song " Sugar Mountain" by Neil Young, whom she had befriended on the Canadian folk-music circuit in the mid-1960s. Young wrote "Sugar Mountain" in 1964 on his 19th birthday, lamenting the end of his teenage years: "''You can't be 20 on Sugar Mountain''." "The Circle Game" offers a more hopeful conclusion: "''So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty / Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true / There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty / Before the last revolving year is through.''" In a concert at the Paris T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Both Sides, Now (song)
"Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. First recorded by Judy Collins, it appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. The next year it was included on Mitchell's album ''Clouds'', and became one of her best-known songs. It has since been recorded by dozens of artists, including Dion in 1968, Clannad with Paul Young in 1991, and Mitchell herself who re-recorded the song with an orchestral arrangement on her 2000 album ''Both Sides Now''. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked "Both Sides, Now" at number 170 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs. Background Mitchell has said that "Both Sides, Now" was inspired by a passage in ''Henderson the Rain King'', a 1959 novel by Saul Bellow.I was reading ... ''Henderson the Rain King'' on a plane and early in the book Henderson ... is also up in a plane. He's on his way to Africa and he looks down and sees these clouds. I put down the book, looked out the window and saw clouds too, and I immedia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Night Ride Home
''Night Ride Home'' is the 14th album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1991. It was the last of four albums she recorded for Geffen Records. Songs on the album include "Cherokee Louise" about a childhood friend who suffered sexual abuse, "The Windfall (Everything for Nothing)" about a maid who tried to sue Mitchell, and the retrospective single release "Come in from the Cold" about childhood and middle age. The title song "Night Ride Home" (originally titled "Fourth of July" and first performed during promotion for her previous album in 1988) was inspired by a moonlit night in Hawaii. Though the album contained no charting singles, it received critical acclaim, and the track "Come in from the Cold" received airplay on AOR stations. This was Mitchell's first album not to be distributed by the WEA family of labels. She had been signed to WEA's Asylum and Reprise labels in the past, and Warner Bros. Records had been the distributor for Geffen Records from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild Things Run Fast
''Wild Things Run Fast'' is the 11th studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Her first of four releases for Geffen Records, it was released in 1982 and represents her departure from jazz to a more 1980s pop sound. This was her first album to work with bassist Larry Klein, whom she married in 1982. Klein would play bass on and co-produce her next four albums. The resulting world tour took Mitchell through the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia. A video of the tour was released in 1983, entitled ''Refuge of the Roads''. The recorded performances were not performed in front of a live audience, but rather recorded live in a studio once the tour had been completed, with applause dubbed-in during post-production. There was also some Super 8 footage taken by Mitchell on the road. It has since been released on DVD. Mitchell claimed that her inspiration for the album came from hearing the music of popular bands such as Steely Dan, Talking Heads and The Police at a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River (Joni Mitchell Song)
"River" is a song by Canadian singer songwriter Joni Mitchell, from her 1971 album ''Blue''. Written on piano, it has become a standard for artists in many music styles, and has become popular as Christmas music. Although never released as a single, "River" holds second place among Mitchell's songs most recorded by other artists. In 2021, it was ranked at No. 247 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time". Background and composition The song is about the recent breakup of a romantic relationship, with the singer longing to escape her painful emotional bonds. It is thought to be inspired by Mitchell's 1968–1970 relationship with Graham Nash. Although the song is merely set near Christmas time, rather than being about Christmas, it has become something of a modern Christmas standard. Writer Will Blythe believes the song is connected to a visit to Chapel Hill that Mitchell made with then beau James Taylor and a caroling session with his family, the Taylor family, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free Man In Paris
"Free Man in Paris" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. It appeared on her 1974 album ''Court and Spark'', as well as her 1980 live album ''Shadows and Light (Joni Mitchell album), Shadows and Light''. It is ranked No. 470 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Background The song is about music agent/promoter David Geffen, a close friend of Mitchell in the early 1970s, and describes Geffen during a trip the two made to Paris with Robbie Robertson, Robbie and Dominique Robertson. While Geffen is never mentioned by name, Mitchell describes how he works hard creating hits and launching careers but can find some peace while vacationing in Paris. Mitchell sings "I was a free man in Paris. I felt unfettered and alive. Nobody calling me up for favors. No one's future to decide." Reception ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' described it as having a "good mix of acoustic and electric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Help Me (Joni Mitchell Song)
"Help Me" is a love song written, produced, and performed by Joni Mitchell and released on her 1974 album ''Court and Spark''. The song was recorded with jazz band Tom Scott's L.A. Express as the backing band. "Help Me" was Mitchell's biggest hit single, her only Top 10 hit. It peaked at #7 in June 1974 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and it hit #1 on the easy listening chart. Lyrics and music ''Billboard'' described the lyrics as Mitchell singing of "needing help to feel good." In the lyrics, the singer makes a plea for help that, in later lines, seems a bit of a dichotomy. She knows she's falling in love with "a rambler and a gambler and a sweet-talking ladies' man." But apparently, she has no intention to break things off, even though the last line of each chorus cynically says "We love our loving, but not like we love our freedom." This can be applied to both the singer and her object of affection, a reflection on 1970s outlooks on the challenges of a relationship without ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Court And Spark
''Court and Spark'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Released in January 1974, it infuses the folk rock style of her previous albums with jazz elements. It was an immediate commercial and critical success—and remains her most successful album. It reached No. 2 in the United States and No. 1 in Canada and eventually received a double platinum certification by the RIAA, the highest of Mitchell's career. It also reached the Top 20 in the UK and was voted the best album of the year for 1974 in ''The Village Voice'' Pazz & Jop Critics Poll. In 2020, it was ranked at number 110 in ''Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Background Mitchell did not release a new album in 1973, the first year she had not done so in her professional career. Her previous offering, ''For the Roses'', was released in November 1972 to critical and commercial success, and Mitchell decided to spend the whole of the next year writing and recording a new album t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raised On Robbery
"Raised on Robbery" is a song written by Joni Mitchell. It was the lead single from her 1974 album ''Court and Spark''. Lyrics and music The lyrics are about a prostitute who tries to pick up a man sitting alone in a hotel. The prostitute tells him about her life, until at the end of the song the man leaves. ''Los Angeles Times'' music critic Robert Hilburn explains that although the lyrics are provocative, they are "camouflaged enough" for AM radio, for example by using a cooking metaphor. "Raised on Robbery" has a Strophic form, strophic structure with a refrain at the end of each verse and a four-line introduction section to describe the setting and characters. The music is more commercial than much of the music Mitchell performed before releasing this song, and Allmusic critic William Ruhlmann describes it as "an outright rock tune," although retaining the acoustic guitar work that Mitchell was known for. Robbie Robertson of the Band plays electric guitar on the song to enh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
For The Roses
''For the Roses'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. It was released in November 1972, between her two biggest commercial and critical successes—''Blue'' and ''Court and Spark''. In 2007 it was one of 25 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. ''For the Roses'' is perhaps best known for the hit single " You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio", which Mitchell wrote sarcastically out of a record company request for a radio-friendly song. The single was a success, peaking at number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, becoming Mitchell's first top 40 hit released under her own name (as a songwriter, several other performers had had hits with songs that she had written). "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire", a menacing and jazzy portrait of her then lover James Taylor's heroin addiction, which was also released as a single, backed with "Blonde in the Bleachers" and the Beethoven-inspired "Judgmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio
"You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio" is a song written and originally recorded by Canadian singer songwriter Joni Mitchell. It was released on her fifth studio album entitled '' For the Roses'' and was issued as a single as well. Background Joni Mitchell originally wrote the song in response to her record label's desire for her to write a hit song. The song was recorded in preparation for Mitchell's then-upcoming fifth studio album in Hollywood, California at A&M Studios. Although Graham Nash, David Crosby, and Neil Young all contributed to the recording session for the song, only the harmonica piece performed by Graham Nash was included on the official release. "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio" was released as a single in November 1972 via Asylum Records. The song became Mitchell's first top-ten hit in Canada, reaching the tenth position on the ''RPM'' Top Singles chart. Additionally, the single became her first top-forty hit in the United States, reaching number twenty-five on the '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
