BBC Radio 4 announces new programmes to celebrate Joni Mitchell’s 80th birthday
BBC Radio 4 have announced details of two new programmes to celebrate Joni Mitchell‘s upcoming 80th birthday.
The legendary singer-songwriter is set to reach the landmark age on November 7th, and in the week building up to her birthday, BBC Radio 4 will pay tribute to Mitchell. The first programme is the release of the new music biography series Legend: The Joni Mitchell Story, presented by American musician Jessca Hoop, and promises to chart the career of Mitchell throughout six episodes.
The series, which launches on November 2nd, contains contributions from artists who have been involved in Mitchell’s journey such as Larry Klein and Graham Nash. Additionally, Ann Powers, David Yaffe, Lindsay Zoladz, Kate Mossman, Barney Hoskyns, Miles Grier and Jenn Pelly also all appear in the broadcasts.
A press statement for the series reads: “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.”
It continues: “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 the past year: ‘like seeing, in the wild, a rare bird long feared extinct’.”
Additionally, on November 4th, BBC Radio 4 will broadcast Joni Mitchell: Verbatim, comprising of archive material. The programme promises to feature previously unheard interviews, studio out takes, rare demo recordings and her very first radio interview recorded in 1964. Both series will also be available to listen to on BBC Sounds.
Watch footage below of Joni Mitchell performing ‘California’ at the BBC in 1970.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.