Joni Mitchell is certainly a songwriter with something to say. Her lyrics are deeply emotive and speak to our place in the world. However, she’s not just vocal in the recording studio, she’s been known to speak her mind elsewhere as well. Below, find three musicians that Mitchell dislikes. Do you agree with her stance on these music legends?
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3 Musicians Joni Mitchell Dislikes
1. John Lennon
John Lennon and Mitchell garnered fame at roughly the same era. Moreover, Lennon was inspired by her folk contemporary, Bob Dylan. While he heralded The Bard, he wasn’t too keen on Mitchell’s sound. When Mitchell caught wind of his negative comments to her, she hit him right back.
“That’s a class difficulty he had,” Mitchell once said. “He’s a working-class lad. I’m sure he had that same fight with George Martin because he was afraid that he was betraying his class. I know I’m going to get into hot water if I get into this but I have controversial opinions about him.”
“I watched this [English film], which was a roundup of the best musicians of the 20th century,” she continued. “As soon as it hit my era, the intelligence of it dropped considerably. When it came to me, this guy folded his arms and crossed his feet and said, ‘I never liked Joni Mitchell—she’s too twee.’ Well, that’s what John Lennon was like. It was that fear working-class people have of middle-class people.”
2. Madonna
Mitchell couldn’t be set further apart from Madonna. While Mitchell relied on her intimate vocals and deep lyricism, Madonna put on a grandiose show rife with sexual energy. While there is space enough for both artists to receive their flowers, Mitchell once slighted the younger singer calling her “a terrible role model.”
“That’s an interesting idea, but what’s the difference between her and a hard hooker, you know,” Mitchell once said of Madonna. “Who’s being exploited there? She’s reveling in herself, too. But she can take it. I guess that’s what it is. It’s just being able to take it, you know…There’s always been a market for it, but the danger is that she thinks she’s a role model. And it’s a terrible role model. It’s death to all things real.”
3. Bob Dylan
It’s common knowledge that Bob Dylan had fibbed a little bit about his life. His manufactured backstory added to his wayfaring persona. While it’s not unheard of for an artist to develop a mystique so to say, Mitchell found Dylan’s approach to be a little deceptive.
“Bob is not authentic at all,” Mitchell once said. “He’s a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake. Everything about Bob is a deception.”
(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
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