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Joni Mitchell is having a resurgence. This past summer the legendary singer made a surprise appearance at the Newport Folk Festival, where she performed what some are calling a historical set of songs. Mitchell turns 79 on November 7th — in honor of her birthday, here are some things you may not know about her.
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Mitchell's first love was painting. She studied art in her native Canada at Calgary's Alberta College of Art. Of Mitchell's 19 albums, 12 of the covers are her own paintings and mainly self portraits.
Mitchell's first album, "Song to a Seagull", was dedicated to her high school English teacher, whom she credits with helping her to love writing lyrics.
Mitchell is said to have been an avid poker player. She apparently would play in poker games at the house of Glenn Frey, singer for The Eagles. Mitchell’s love for poker is even referenced in the song "Taming the Tiger" in which she sings, “every disc being a poker chip.”
It's well-known that Mitchell contracted polio at age 9, but some may not know how the disease affected her later in life. "My spine was twisted up like a train wreck. I couldn't walk. I was paralyzed. Forty years later, it comes back with a vengeance," Mitchell has been quoted as saying. Mitchell first started singing and performing for patients while she was recovering in the hospital as a child. It's also said that her polio-damaged left hand is what inspired her to use her trademark open guitar tunings.
In 2015, Mitchell suffered a brain aneurysm. It left her unable to temporarily walk and talk, but she's said her experience with Polio helped her deal with this new health scare. "“I always think that polio was a rehearsal for the rest of my life,” she is quoted as saying. “I’ve had to come back several times from things. And this last one was a real whopper. But, you know, I’m hobbling along but I’m doing all right!” Mitchell also has suffered with Morgellons disease, a condition where it feels like something is crawling on or stinging the skin.
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Joni was scheduled to perform at Woodstock, but her manager advised her not to attend because of traffic that might have kept her from getting to another appearance.
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In February 1965, Mitchell, then known as Joan Anderson, gave birth to a baby girl whose father was a Canadian artist. Mitchell was single and broke, and made the hard decision to give her daughter up for adoption. Mitchell was so secretive about it, her own family didn't even know she was pregnant. She reunited with her daughter in 1995 when rumors about her secret pregnancy started circulating.
Mitchell has always been a sole producer of her work, in a bid to make sure she retains control over her 17 original albums. Her last studio album, "Shine", was released in 2007.
Mitchell has been nominated for 17 Grammy Awards and won nine of them. Some of her wins include Best Folk Performance in 1970, Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) in 1975, and Best Pop Album in 1996. She also received the Kennedy Honors Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.
Joni Mitchell is one of only three Canadian songwriters to be given the Order of Canada, which is the country's second highest merit of honor. The other two are Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot.