Song to a Seagull

Watercolors and album cover created by Joni

Roberta Joan Mitchell (AKA Joni Mitchell) was born November 7th 1943 in Fort Macleod, Canada. Her parents were Myrtle Marguerite (née McKee) and William Andrew Anderson. She got Polio when she was 9 years old and also started smoking. When she was 11 she moved to Saskatoon which she considers as her home.  She struggled at school and was only good in painting but under the influence from teacher Arthur Kratzmann who stimulated her to start writing poetry. Mitchell wanted to play guitar but her mother disapproved it because she associated it with country music. So she started with a Ukelele and learned it herself from a Pete Seger Songbook. She had to improvise because her left hand was weakened as a result of the Polio. She became interested in Folk and Jazz music. She finished Aden Bowman Collegiate high school and took art classes at the Saskatoon Technical Collegiate with abstract expressionist painter Henry Bonli. She dropped out of school after a year at age 20, due to an unexpected pregnancy and continued to perform music in night clubs.

Joni in 1964

In 1964 her career started while performing at many places and made appearances on local TV and radio shows in Calgary. She left to Toronto to become a folk singer. She wrote her first song "Day After Day", on the three-day train ride to Toronto. She stopped at the Mariposa Folk Festival to see American folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie. Just a year later Joni performed herself at the Mariposa Folk Festival. Buffy Sainte-Marie later covered songs from Joni. At the time she hardly could pay her rent and couldn't afford to pay union fees to perform at folk clubs. She worked in the women's wear section of a downtown department store to pay the rent. She kept writing her own songs because many local artist wouldn't allow other to perform their songs unless they pay royalties. She gave birth to a girl in February 1965. Unable to provide for her daughter, Kelly Dale Anderson, she placed her for adoption. The existence of Mitchell's daughter was not publicly known until 1993. Finally Mitchell and her daughter met in 1997. In March and April she found work at the Penny Farthing, a folk club in Toronto. There she met folk singer Charles Scott "Chuck" Mitchell who said he could get her steady work at coffee houses in the United States.

Joni and Chuck Mitchell in 1967

Mitchell left Canada for the first time in late April 1965. In June 1965 she married Chuck at took his surname. They performed together at coffee houses. Folk singer Oscar Brand featured her several times on his CBC television program Let's Sing Out in 1965 and 1966. In early 1967 Joni and Chuck divorced. Joni continued her solo career and moved to New York. 

Single cover "Night In The City"

Folk artist Tom Rush met her and decided to offer Joni's "Urge for Going" to Judy Collins but she was not interested. So Tom recorded the song himself. Country singer George Hamilton IV heard Tom Rush performing it and recorded a hit country version. Buffy Sainte-Marie recorded "The Circle Game",  Dave Van Ronk recorded "Both Sides Now". Finally Judy Collins also recorded songs from Joni: "Both Sides Now", "Michael from Mountains" and "Chelsea Morning". At that time she was a well known song writer but she hoped to release music herself. 

Joni with David Crosby

When Joni performed at Gaslight South, a club in Coconut Grove, Florida David Crosby walked in and he was surprised by her great performance. She accompanied him back to Los Angeles, where he set about introducing her and her music to his friends. She was then signed to the Warners-affiliated Reprise label. David Crosby produced her first album titled "Song To A Seagull" released in 1968. She decided not to record one of the songs which were recorded already by other artists. The album was dedicated to her Grade 7 English teacher, "Mr. Kratzmann, who taught me to love words". The first copies of the album were untitled because of the fact that the cover was printed incorrectly at the place where the title is formed by the flying birds. The album was split into 2 parts: Part 1 – "I Came to the City", and Part 2 – "Out of the City and Down to the Seaside". On her next albums she also would record the songs covered by other artists before her first album was released.

Original album cover

Song To A Seagull (1968)

I Had A King / Michael From Mountains / Night In The City / Marcie / Nathan La Franeer / Sisotowbell Lane / The Dawntreader / The Pirate Of Penance / Song To A Seagull / Cactus Tree

AUDIO/VIDEO

Night In The City

Michael From Mountains

I Had A King