“I’m Sure He Had That Same Fight With George Martin”: Behind Joni Mitchell’s Terrible First Encounter With John Lennon

After John Lennon left The Beatles, his life took a drastic turn to a dark place. One historically prominent period that displays how his behavior changed is when he went on an 18-month bender in Los Angeles. This is known as the “Lost Weekend,” and it transpired because he and Yoko had separated and started having an affair with their mutual assistant, May Pang.

This period is when he met Joni Mitchell for the first time. Lennon had always been a fan of the folk world, and he admired Bob Dylan in particular. However, he didn’t really admire his female counterparts such as Joan Baez and, ultimately, Joni Mitchell. Despite their many similarities, Joni Mitchell and John Lennon did not hit it off. Consequently, the two wouldn’t really go on to have much of a professional or friendly relationship.

John Lennon Thought Mitchell’s Music Was Over-Educated

When Mitchell was recording and cutting her infamous album, Court and Spark, Lennon was right across the hall cutting and creating one of his own projects. That being so, Mitchell wanted to get Lennon’s opinion on her work. This decision would lead down a bad road and a not-so-kind conversation. A conversation that would lead Lennon to say that Mitchell’s album was a “product of over-education.”

Recalling the incident, Mitchell stated, “I was cutting Court and Spark; he was cutting across the hall, so I played him something from Court and Spark” and “[Lennon] said, ‘You want a hit, don’t you? Put some fiddles on it! Why do you always let other people have your hits for you, y’know,’” per Farout.

That one comment stated by Lennon seemingly stuck with Mitchell for quite some time, as she rehashed their initial hostile reaction years later in an interview with Maclean’s Magazine in 2014. In her interview, Mitchell divulged that she believes there was an innate hostility between them given their differing socio-economic backgrounds.

Mitchell stated specifically, “That’s a class difficulty he had. 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 [John Lennon.]”

Even though the two musicians seemingly didn’t enjoy each other’s company, they still seemingly respected one another. At the end of the day, not everyone can get along. And despite their star-studded status, Joni Mitchell and John Lennon are “everyone,” so they too fall victim to this human trait.

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