Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell has been the subject of controversy for her use of blackface since the mid-1970s.
Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell has been the subject of controversy for her use of blackface since the mid-1970s.
Mitchell was first inspired to experiment with blackface during the Rolling Thunder Revue tour, in which she spoke to Hurricane Carter on the phone and perceived him as "a bad person... a violent person and an opportunist." When asked to introduce Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden by Joan Baez, Mitchell jokingly suggested referring to both Ali and Carter as "jive-ass niggers" and considered going out in blackface. [1] Later, her dentist told her she had "teeth like a Negro male." [2] After seeing a black man in the street, she then went to a 1976 Halloween party in blackface as a character she named "Art Nouveau":
I was walking down Hollywood Boulevard, in search of a costume for a Halloween party when I saw this black guy with a beautiful spirit walking with a bop... As he went by me he turned around and said, "Ummmm, mmm... looking good sister, lookin' good!" Well I just felt so good after he said that. It was as if this spirit went into me. So I started walking like him. I bought a black wig, I bought sideburns, a moustache. I bought some pancake makeup. It was like 'I'm goin' as him!' [3]
Mitchell later claimed she had successfully passed as a man on that night, and had even been asked if she was at the right party.[ citation needed ]
Among other visual elements – including Mitchell in a black dress with top hat, a young Mitchell in Native American garb and Mickey Mouse balloons – Mitchell's 1977 album cover for Don Juan's Reckless Daughter featured her in blackface with a pimp outfit and afro wig. [4] In the inner sleeve, she appears in blackface again with a speech bubble reading "Mooslems, Mooooslems! Heh, Heh, Heh." This reference to Muslims echoes the line "While Muslims stick up Washington" in the song "Otis and Marlena", which itself refers to the 1977 Washington, D.C., attack and hostage taking that involved the Black Muslim Hanafi Movement. [5]
The photos were taken by Norman Seeff. Outtakes from the shoot were published in 2018 in the hardcover coffee table book Joni: The Joni Mitchell Sessions. [6] Seeff said that her decision "caused a lot of consternation." [7] [8] "It was great revenge", said Mitchell. "That was all to get (Seeff's) ass. To freak him out." [9] She later claimed she was not recognised by several people on the shoot, who came up to her and asked "Can I help you?" [10]
The 1980 concert film Shadows and Light cuts to footage of Mitchell in blackface during the last verse of "Furry Sings the Blues", a song about her meeting with Furry Lewis.
The 1982 film Love consisted of six short vignettes written and directed by women, including "The Cat in the Black Mouse Socks", a story in which Mitchell wears blackface to a party. [11]
In 1988, Mitchell released the song "The Beat of Black Wings" on her album Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm . The song tells the story of "Killer Kyle", a traumatised soldier she once met in a bar who had just returned from the Vietnam War. In the song's music video, Joni played the soldier herself and once again wore blackface. [12]
Mitchell's use of blackface has been criticised[ specify ] as racist. [13]
Eric Lott stated that Mitchell "thought she inh[a]bited blackness... That's why she didn't see a problem with her wearing blackface or using the N-word." [14]
Scholar Miles Parks Grier criticised Mitchell biographers for their inadequate handling of the topic, writing that:
Mitchell in blackface drag acquires a reputation for artistic daring and psychological complexity by impersonating a black pimp figure who accrues neither.... If race and gender cannot be discussed apart, neither can they be rendered equivalent or parallel. Gender may not always be the fundamental problem or prison. Indeed, the experience of gender confinement as an isolated force may be a mixed blessing of membership in a superior racial caste. [15]
Charles Mingus reportedly became "curious" about Mitchell after seeing the cover, leading to their collaboration on her subsequent 1979 album Mingus . [16] Chaka Khan, who sang backing vocals on Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, would later say that she "loved" the album cover: "(Mitchell's) into color. She’s a world of person, and she lived that, she sang that, she is that. I am, too. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s a way to go." [17]
Mitchell has consistently defended her use of blackface. For many years, she insisted that the opening line of her autobiography would one day be "I was the only black man at the party." [18]
In 1988, she referred to "(her) blackness" in an interview with Mojo . [19]
In 1994, she told the LA Weekly "I write like a black poet. I frequently write from a black perspective." [20]
In 2015, she told The Cut that she tended to "nod like a brother" when she saw black men in the street, adding "I really feel an affinity because I have experienced being a black guy on several occasions." [21]
In 2017, when interviewed by biographer David Yaffe, Mitchell again defended her use of blackface and also that of Al Jolson, calling him "a Jew in blackface (who's) always getting the better end of the deal... I got away with it … I got the greatest reviews for that record in black magazines. They saw the brother, they reviewed it, and they got it." Yaffe added that it was unclear which "black magazines" Mitchell was referring to. [22]
On 29 April 2024, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter was given a new album cover on music streaming services. The new cover features a photo of Mitchell’s face seemingly inside the open mouth of a wolflike dog, an outtake from the 1985 photo sessions for the later album Dog Eat Dog . A subsequent box set, The Asylum Albums, and standalone physical reissue also use the new cover. [23] [24] No announcement was made about the change nor any official reason given, and Mitchell has not commented on the matter. [25]
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. She has received many accolades, including 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."
The Hissing of Summer Lawns is the seventh studio album by the Canadian-American singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in November 1975 on Asylum Records. It continues the jazz-influenced sound of Mitchell's previous album, Court and Spark, with more unconventional and experimental material. It features sampling, synthesizers such as the Moog and ARP, and contributions from acts including the jazz-rock groups the L.A. Express and the Jazz Crusaders and James Taylor, David Crosby, and Graham Nash.
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.
"Coyote" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell from her eighth album Hejira (1976). It was released as the album's lead single.
Hejira is the eighth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1976 on Asylum Records. Its material was written during a period of frequent travel in late 1975 and early 1976, and reflects Mitchell's experiences on the road during that time. It is characterized by lyrically dense, sprawling songs and musical backing by several jazz-oriented instrumentalists, most prominently fretless bass player Jaco Pastorius, guitarist Larry Carlton, and drummer John Guerin.
Don Juan's Reckless Daughter is a 1977 double album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Her ninth album, it is unusual for its experimental style, expanding even further on the jazz-influenced sound of Mitchell's previous recordings. Mitchell has stated that, close to completing her contract with Asylum Records, she allowed this album to be looser than anything she had done previously.
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.
Song to a Seagull is the debut studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Produced by David Crosby, the album was recorded in early 1968 at Sunset Sound and released in March 1968 by Reprise Records.
Shadows and Light is the second live album by Canadian musician Joni Mitchell. It was released in September 1980 through Asylum Records, her last release for the label. It was recorded in September 1979 at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, California.
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 move 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.
Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm is the 13th studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released on March 23, 1988, by Geffen Records. Her third release on the label, the album features duets with a number of artists such as Peter Gabriel on "My Secret Place", Willie Nelson on "Cool Water", Don Henley on "Snakes and Ladders", and Billy Idol and Tom Petty on the track "Dancin' Clown". Henley also performs backing vocals on "Lakota", and Wendy and Lisa perform backing vocals on "The Tea Leaf Prophecy ".
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.
"Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. One of the first recordings is by Judy Collins, whose version 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.
Songs of a Prairie Girl is the third in Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's series of compilations. Mitchell writes in the liner notes to the CD that the compilation is her contribution to Saskatchewan's Centennial Celebration and that the songs of the album reference Saskatchewan. Although Mitchell was born in neighboring Alberta, when she was eleven years old her family settled in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which Mitchell considers her hometown.
"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".
Shine is the 19th studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released on September 25, 2007, by Hear Music. It is Mitchell's first album of new material since Taming the Tiger (1998).
Norman Seeff is a photographer and filmmaker. Since moving to the United States in 1969, his work has been focused on the exploration of human creativity and the inner dynamics of the creative process.
Arthur Kratzmann (1925-2015) was an Australian teacher and later professor of education who spent most of his adult life working in Canada.
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.
The Asylum Albums (1976–1980) is a five-disc box set by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released on June 21, 2024, by Rhino Records. The set is the thirteenth overall release and third box set of remastered albums from the Joni Mitchell Archives, a planned series of releases featuring remastered and unreleased material from the singer's personal archives. Formatted in chronological order, the third volume of the remaster series includes the latter half of Mitchell's albums released on Asylum Records: Hejira (1976), Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977), Mingus (1979), and Shadows and Light (1980). The albums are presented with their original cover designs except for Don Juan which uses the revised cover image replacing the original controversial image.
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