Legend: The Joni Mitchell Story

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Factual: Life Stories

The extraordinary life of Joni Mitchell, a pioneer whose songs changed music forever.

Joni Mitchell's songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever. Jesca Hoop explores her extraordinary story to reveal the life behind the legend.

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Legend: The Joni Mitchell Story: 4. Refuge of the Roads

4. Refuge of the Roads

The Joni Mitchell Story

BBC Radio 4 - Legend, The Joni Mitchell Story, 4. Refuge of the Roads

Joni is restless. This is a time of touring, road trips and musical experimentation.

It's 1976 and Joni is on a solo road trip. In the rear view mirror: Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue, the cancellation of a tour, and a breakup with drummer John Guerin.

Joni Mitchell’s songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever. Jesca Hoop explores her extraordinary story to reveal the life behind the legend.

In episode four we follow Joni from 1974 through to 1978. In 1974 Court and Spark is released to huge acclaim but already Joni is heading in new directions musically. This is the era of The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Hejira and Don Juan's Reckless Daughter. Through '74 and '75 she tours extensively and joins Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue. Her creative restlessness and refusal to be put in a box take her in new directions, but also into controversial territory. 

“I’ve always been a creature of change” – Joni Mitchell

Through archive, fresh interviews, narration, immersive sound design and an original score, we trace the story of an extraordinary life and explore what makes Joni Mitchell a singular artist: the genius of her lyrics; her incredible talent as guitarist, painter and producer; and her restless drive for innovation.

In Legend, we follow Joni from her ‘flatlander’ childhood on the Canadian prairies, through the folk clubs of Toronto and Detroit, to a redwood cottage in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon, to a cave in Crete, to a deserted desert highway, to recording studios and stages around the world. From her earliest home recordings to masterpieces like Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira, we explore some of the stories behind her best-loved songs and celebrate her remarkable return to live performance in 2023: “like seeing, in the wild, a rare bird long feared extinct” (Lindsay Zoladz). 

Our guide through the series is the California-born, Manchester-based musician, Jesca Hoop. Jesca speaks to musicians like Blake Mills, Allison Russell, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, who have played alongside Joni, and we hear tributes from those, like musician John Grant, who have been inspired and influenced by her music. We also hear from Joni's friends, including Larry Klein and Graham Nash; and from music critics and biographers, including Ann Powers, David Yaffe, Lindsay Zoladz, Kate Mossman, Barney Hoskyns, Miles Grier and Jenn Pelly.

The Joni Mitchell Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producers: Mair Bosworth and Eliza Lomas
Production Coordinator: Andrew Lewis
Editor: Chris Ledgard
Story Editor: Emma Harding
Story Consultant: John Yorke
Sound Design and Original Music: Hannis Brown
Studio Engineers: Ilse Lademann and Michael Harrison
Commissioning Editor: Daniel Clarke

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Joni Mitchell’s songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever. Jesca Hoop explores her extraordinary story to reveal the life behind the legend.

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