When Lana Del Rey auditioned for Joan Baez: “They don’t deserve you”
“I’ve been coverin’ Joni, and I’m dancin’ with Joan,” Lana Del Rey sings on ‘Dance Till We Die’. On the Chemtrails Over the Country Club album track, she recounts memories made with her idols like Stevie Nicks and Courtney Love, but at the heart of it sits a story of respect, kinship and a special friendship forged only after Del Rey proved her worth to Joan Baez, who’s scepticism was put to bed the second the modern singer opened her mouth in a kind of unofficial audition.
Del Rey has never been shy about her influences and inspirations. Across her discography, she routinely references songs she loves by artists she admires, from Lou Reed to Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan to Snoop Dogg. The singer has covered the songs she loves, too, turning her voice to tracks by Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Nancy Sinatra and more. Del Rey places herself in their lineage, borrowing from musical history for both instrumental guidance and lyrical content.
Baez has been there since the start. One of her earliest unreleased demos, performed way back in 2006, was called ‘Joan and Bobby’, inspired by the relationship between Baez and Dylan. In between the storytelling lyrics, it also speaks to the lessons Baez taught her through her songs. Decades on, when Del Rey was a bonafide star hanging out with her idol, that teacher role endured as she sings on ‘Dance Till We Die’, “It’s kinda hard to find love / When you’re used to rollin’ like a rollin’ stone.”
But while Del Rey’s other idols, like Nicks or Love, have invited her into their lives, Baez was a harder one to crack. Instead, when Del Rey wanted to sing with her, she was forced to go on a kind of road trip mission to find her first and then to audition.
“In 2019, Lana, whom I’d heard about from my granddaughter, Jasmine, invited me to sing with her in Berkeley. I said, ‘Why? Your audience could be my great-grandchildren’”, Baez recalled to The New York Times. Instantly humbling herself in front of her idol, Del Rey replied, “They don’t deserve you.”
From their earliest interactions, Del Rey made no secret of her deep admiration for Baez, just as how Baez made no secret of her indifference. By this point, Baez had retired. She’d stopped singing or doing gigs and had retreated to a quiet life. When Del Rey came calling, wanting her to get up on stage at her Berkley gig to sing ‘Diamonds and Rust’, the 1960s folk legend made her work for it.
“She told me she lived an hour south of San Francisco and that if I could not only find her but also sing the song’s high harmonies on the spot, she’d do it,” Del Rey recalled of the challenge that she accepted, adding, “I was given a vague map to get to a house distinguishable only by its colour and the chickens running in the yard.” Even when she found the house, and even with all her accolades and albums already under her belt, Del Rey found Baez to be a tough judge; “At one point during my audition, she stopped me with a steely look to let me know I didn’t get it right.” But she’d clearly impressed as Del Rey continued, “By the end, she said, ‘OK, that’s good. I’ll sing with you.’”
So, on October 6th, 2019, Baez came out of retirement and stepped on stage with Del Rey to sing together, and then they went out dancing. From that moment on, a beautiful friendship was fostered that proved just as important to both. From Del Rey, Baez was encouraged to take more chances. From Baez, Del Rey learnt to be more careful, telling the magazine, “I think the secret to real success is to make sure you’re always emotionally intact. I learned that from Joan.”
But even now, they’re friends, which hasn’t put aside Del Rey’s deep admiration for Baez or the fact that she remains a lifelong idol of hers. She recalled tenderly, “I recently said to her, ‘I just want you to know that I’m keenly aware that, in this lifetime or any other, I have no right to be standing shoulder to shoulder with you.’ And she replied, ‘Oh, shut up.’”
