Early life Joni Mitchell

mitchell born roberta joan anderson on november 7, 1943, in fort macleod, alberta, canada, daughter of myrtle marguerite (mckee) , william andrew anderson. mother s ancestors scottish , irish; father norwegian family (and possibly had sami ancestors). mother teacher. father royal canadian air force flight lieutenant instructed new pilots @ rcaf station fort macleod, allied forces gathering learn fly during world war ii. during years, moved parents various bases in western canada. after war, father began working grocer, , work took family saskatchewan, towns of maidstone , north battleford. later sang small-town upbringing in several of songs, including song sharon .

in maidstone lived beside railroad track, mitchell waved @ train passed through each day. many of town s residents first nations people. mitchell seemed athletic rather academic, still responded mother s love of literature , father s love of music, , briefly studied classical piano.

at age nine, mitchell contracted polio in epidemic, , hospitalised weeks. no longer athletic, turned thoughts creative talent, , considered singing or dancing career first time. nine, smoker; denies claims smoking has affected voice. @ 11, moved family city of saskatoon, considers hometown. responded badly formal education, preferring freethinking outlook, , drawn art, pursuit regarded peripheral @ time. 1 unconventional teacher did manage make impact on her, stimulating write poetry, , first album includes dedication him. in twelfth grade, flunked out (though later picked studies) , hung out downtown rowdy set until deciding getting close criminal world.

at time, country music began eclipse rock, , mitchell wanted play guitar. mother disapproved of hillbilly associations, settled ukulele. taught herself guitar pete seeger songbook, polio had affected fingers, , had devise dozens of alternative tunings of own. improvised approach later helped break free of standard approaches harmony , structure in songwriting.

mitchell started singing friends @ bonfires around waskesiu lake. first paid performance on october 31, 1962, @ saskatoon club featured folk , jazz performers. @ 18, widened repertoire include own personal favorites Édith piaf , miles davis. though never performed jazz herself in days, , friends sought out gigs jazz musicians. mitchell said, jazz background began 1 of lambert, hendricks , ross albums. album, hottest new group in jazz, hard find in canada, says. saved , bought @ bootleg price. considered album beatles. learned every song off of it, , don t think there album anywhere – including own – on know every note , word of every song.

but art still chief passion @ stage, , when finished high school @ aden bowman collegiate in saskatoon, took art classes @ saskatoon technical collegiate abstract expressionist painter henry bonli, , left home attend alberta college of art in calgary 1963–64 school year. here felt disillusioned high priority given technical skill on free-class creativity, , felt out of step trend towards pure abstraction, , tendency move commercial art. after year, @ age 20, dropped out of school – decision displeased parents, remember great depression , valued education highly.

she had kept gigging folk musician on weekends, playing @ college , @ local hotel. around time took $15-a-week job in calgary coffeehouse, singing long tragic songs in minor key . sang @ hootenannies , made appearances on local tv , radio shows in calgary.

in 1964 @ age of 20, told mother intended folk singer in toronto, , left western canada first time in life, heading east ontario. on three-day train ride there, mitchell wrote first song, called day after day . stopped @ mariposa folk festival see buffy sainte-marie, saskatchewan-born cree folk singer had inspired her. year later, mitchell played mariposa, first gig major audience, , years later, sainte-marie herself covered work.