| "Carey" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Joni Mitchell | ||||
| from the album Blue | ||||
| B-side | "This Flight Tonight" | |||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, soft rock [1] | |||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Joni Mitchell | |||
| Producer(s) | Joni Mitchell | |||
| Joni Mitchell singles chronology | ||||
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| Official Audio | ||||
| "Carey" on YouTube | ||||
"Carey" is a song from the 1971 Joni Mitchell album Blue . It was inspired by her time spent with Cary Raditz, living with a cave-dwelling hippie community at Matala, on the Greek island of Crete.
In early 1970, Mitchell's relationship with Graham Nash had recently ended, and she decided to fly to Greece for a break, with a female friend. Mitchell's European travels, which also encompassed France and Spain, were intended as a "time out" from her increasing fame and fortune in the music business. After a few days in Athens the two friends traveled to Crete, rented a car and drove to Matala on the south coast of the island. There, Mitchell met a red-haired cane-carrying American, Cary Raditz, [2] [3] who was working as a cook at the Mermaid café (now the site of the Petra & Votsalo restaurant). [4] She wrote the first version of "Carey" in Matala, for Raditz's 24th birthday. After about two months, she and Raditz traveled to Athens together, but Mitchell then flew alone to Paris, where she wrote "California", referring to Raditz as a "red, red rogue", and on returning to the U.S. completed "Carey" together with other songs for the Blue album. [2]
Although the song was sometimes rumoured to be about fellow singer-songwriter James Taylor, who plays guitar on some Blue tracks (although not on "Carey" itself) and with whom Mitchell had a brief affair, Mitchell stated publicly that the "Carey" in question was Cary Raditz. References to the village of Matala and the al fresco hippie lifestyle abound in the song lyrics. Mitchell frequently introduced live performances of "Carey" by recounting anecdotes about Raditz and their Cretan adventures. [5] [6]
In November 2014, The Wall Street Journal published interviews by Marc Myers with Mitchell [7] and Raditz, [8] [9] about the background to the song. Mitchell said that she "latched on to Cary because he seemed fierce and kept the crowd off my back... I enjoyed Cary's company, and his audacity....[h]e was a bit of a scoundrel." Raditz said that his "cane" had in fact been a discarded shepherd's crook, and commented: "I liked Joni a lot and didn't like losing her company. But on the road, you already know the friendships you develop are short-lived. That's built into the experience." [2]
While in Europe, Mitchell taught herself to play the Appalachian dulcimer, which was to become a feature of her musical output in the following years. Her dulcimer skills were first showcased on Blue and in particular the original recording of "Carey", which also features Stephen Stills on bass and acoustic guitar. "Carey" was released as a single, debuting at number 93 on the Billboard Chart on September 4, 1971 and lasting just one week; nevertheless, it remains one of Mitchell's most enduring and popular songs.
In 1971 Record World called it "a tune that others are sure to record." [10]
According to the liner notes: [11]
"Carey" appears on two Joni Mitchell greatest hits albums – Hits (1996) and Dreamland: The Very Best of Joni Mitchell (2004).
Mitchell herself performed a different interpretation of Carey on her 1974 live album Miles of Aisles . Backed by jazz band Tom Scott & The LA Express, and recorded at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, this reggae/ska version has been criticised by Stephen Davis in Rolling Stone , who went so far as to say that the song was "murdered". [12]
In 1972, actress Goldie Hawn recorded her version of the song for her album Goldie (Warner MS 2061). [13] Kiki Dee issued a live version of the song on her 1995 album Almost Naked. [14] At the televised 2000 tribute concert to Mitchell, held at the Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, the song was performed by Cyndi Lauper. [15]
At the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize concert in 2023 honoring Mitchell, [16] Carey was performed by Marcus Mumford as the opening number, with Raditz in attendance in the audience.
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [17] | 27 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 [18] | 93 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 [19] | 92 |
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her personal lyrics and unconventional compositions which grew to incorporate pop and jazz elements. Among her accolades are eleven 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, "Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century."
Matala is a village located 75 km south-west of Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Matala is part of the community of Pitsidia within the municipal unit of Tympaki, Faistos municipality, Heraklion regional unit.
"A Case of You" is a song by Joni Mitchell, from her 1971 album Blue.
"Little Green" is a song composed and performed by Joni Mitchell. It is the third track on her 1971 album Blue.
For the Roses is the fifth studio album by the 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.
Miles of Aisles is the first live album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1974 on Asylum Records. It is a double album documenting her concerts in support of the Court and Spark album with her backing band for the tour, the L.A. Express. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and became one of her biggest-selling records, certified a gold record by the RIAA.
Blue is the fourth studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released on June 22, 1971, by Reprise Records. Written and produced entirely by Mitchell, it was recorded in 1971 at A&M Studios in Hollywood, California. Created just after her breakup with Graham Nash and during an intense relationship with James Taylor, Blue explores various facets of relationships from love on "A Case of You" to insecurity on "This Flight Tonight". The songs feature simple accompaniments on piano, guitar and Appalachian dulcimer. The album peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart, number 9 on the Canadian RPM Albums Chart and number 15 on the Billboard 200.
Taming the Tiger is the sixteenth studio album by the Canadian musician Joni Mitchell. Released on September 29, 1998, through Reprise Records, it is the follow-up to the successful Turbulent Indigo (1994). The album was, at the time, widely believed to be her last of completely original material; this would be disproved with the release of Shine in 2007.
"Blue" is the title song from Joni Mitchell's 1971 album of the same name. The song is generally thought to be about James Taylor, with the line "Here is a song for you" being directed to Taylor. As Sheila Weller states in the biography Girls Like Us, "Its references to a drug addict's 'needles' and...proffering a seashell to her lover...make it fairly clear that 'Blue' is about James".
Since her debut album in 1968, Canadian musician Joni Mitchell has released 19 studio albums, most recently 2007's Shine. Her most commercially successful period was the early-mid 1970s, which included 1970's Ladies of the Canyon, 1971's Blue and 1974's Court and Spark, all three of which reached Platinum status in the US.
"This Flight Tonight" is a song originally by Joni Mitchell, from her 1971 album Blue. Scottish hard rock band Nazareth released the song as a single in 1973 that charted internationally.
Misses is a 1996 compilation album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. The selections, chosen by Mitchell herself, concentrate on her lesser known, more experimental work, including jazz influenced recordings from the late 1970s and electronic music from the 1980s. Mitchell also designed the album cover, which features her bending down in front of the camera. The album is a companion to Hits, issued on the same day. Mitchell agreed to a request from her record company to release a greatest hits album on the condition that she also be allowed to release Misses. There was also a plan to release a Misses 2, but the label rejected it when suggested by Mitchell.
"You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio" is a 1972 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.
"California" is a song written by Joni Mitchell that first appeared on her 1971 album Blue. It was also released as the second single from the album, as a follow-up to "Carey".
The Joni Mitchell Archives is an ongoing project to release previously unreleased recorded material by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. So far, each new release schedule consists of a box set collection, a compilation with material on the box set release, and a live album. The project is being overseen by Mitchell and Patrick Milligan, director of A&R for Rhino Records, the label through which the project's offerings are being released. The first release also received input from Neil Young, who had experience with the release of his own extensive archival series, and Mitchell and Young's late manager Elliot Roberts, who died during the process of planning the first box set, and to whom the release is dedicated.
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Joni Mitchell Archives – Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968–1971) is a five-disc box set by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released on November 12, 2021, by Rhino Records. The box set is the seventh overall release and second offering of unreleased material from the Joni Mitchell Archives, a planned series of releases containing remastered material from the singer's personal archives. Formatted in chronological order, the second volume of the series consists of the archived material that was recorded during Mitchell's tenure at Reprise Records, which includes the years between the release of her debut studio album, Song to a Seagull (1968) and her fourth studio album, Blue (1971).
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Joni Mitchell at Newport is a live album by singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released on July 28, 2023, by Rhino Records. The album contains her entire performance at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival on July 24, 2022. For the performance, Mitchell was joined by a group of musicians including Brandi Carlile, Wynonna Judd, and Marcus Mumford. It was her first public performance since suffering an aneurysm in 2015. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album in 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)| Studio albums |
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