The Marvin Gaye song that endlessly inspired Joni Mitchell: “I kept the needle on this track”
If you’ve spent much time perusing the many articles written on the extraordinary talents of Joni Mitchell, you’ll already be well aware that there is very little in her music and her songwriting that is easily dislikable.
One of the truly iconic folk singers of her generation, arguably surpassing the talent of Bob Dylan with the potency of her catalogue, Mitchell’s sonic structures feel both universal and wholly unique. She made being “confessional” a par for the course and delivered far more in terms of musical dexterity than she is ever praised for. Mitchell is a singular talent, but she relied upon the influence of others.
“I thrive on change,” the singer once proclaimed. “That’s probably why my chord changes are weird, because chords depict emotions. They’ll be going along on one key, and I’ll drop off a cliff, and suddenly they will go into a whole other key signature. That will drive some people crazy, but that’s how my life is.” Her confessional songwriting set Mitchell apart from the crowd during the boom of pop music in the 1960s and ’70s, but while her sound feels completely unique, in truth, it takes inspiration from a plethora of places. She was inspired by folk, pop, rock and jazz. But one place not so regularly aligned with Mitchell is the bump of Motown.
A Queen in the folk world, Mitchell really gained fame for her ability to effortlessly sew genre, style and sentiment together into a tapestry of beguiling songs that will continue to enrich your soul forevermore. If there’s a singer-songwriter with more devotion to her craft, then we haven’t met them yet. Contemporaries such as Neil Young and Bob Dylan certainly had their place in Mitchell’s development, but where she found her most useful resources of inspiration were in the recesses of left field.
Whether it is her 1978 album Mingus, where she paid tribute to the magic of jazz musician Charles Mingus or her work with Herbie Hancock, Mitchell has found influence in some unlikely spots. Another, perhaps more unassuming place of inspiration for Mitchell, came from the iconic figure of Marvin Gaye and his song ‘Trouble Man’.
Speaking as part of her 2006 CD release Music That Matters to Her, Mitchell picked out the song as something that was “so influential to my music”, and it ranks as one of the soul singer’s best. Released in 1972, the track became one of Gaye’s signature sounds and worked as the titular song for the blaxploitation film of the same name. Gaye went on to call the track one of the most honest songs he had ever written, which may be what Mitchell connected with, in the first place.
In 2006, she said of the song: “I had this song on an album, and I kept the needle on this track – playing it over and over. It was so influential to my music and my singing. It excites me from the downbeat – the way the drums roll in – the suspense – the approaching storm of it.” It’s a classic song that can be easily seen as an extension of Mitchell’s confessional, characterful and courageous ethos.
Originally written for the soul cinema classic Trouble Man, the track has far outlived the picture. Removed from Gaye’s Motown roots, the song was dark and bluesy. It felt like a deliberate move away from what the world knew about Gaye; this was likely a point of inspiration for Mitchell. Never keen to settle into a groove, the Canadian singer has always challenged herself to move forward and her audience to stick with her.
Gaye takes on the duty of drums and piano on the record, often referring to it as some of his most honest recordings. This honesty was what nestled in the wonderment of Mitchell, who, above all else, has always been honest. It goes to show that inspiration doesn’t always need to come from the most obvious places.
