Joni Mitchell Biography

Fast Facts

• Received the ASCAP Founders Award in 1999
• Was awarded the SFJAZZ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015
• Was named the recipient of the 1995 Billboard Century Award
• Interested in music at a young age, she started playing the baritone ukelele because she could not afford a guitar
• Studied at the Alberta College of Art, but left to become a performer
• Got her big break when guitarist David Crosby discovered her performing in a Florida club
• Singer and songwriter well known for using her own paintings as the cover of her albums
• Had her song "Both Sides Now" featured at the 2010 Olympics opening ceremony
• Dedicated her first album to her grade 7 teacher, who taught her to hone her writing skills