Uploaded May 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago

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"I didn’t like the sound of people gasping at the mere mention of my name. It horrified me."
- Joni Mitchell in 1986, as told to Joe Smith

This interview is from the Joe Smith Collection at the Library of Congress and has never been heard before.

Hear the full, unedited interview with Joni @ blankonblank.org/joni

Roberta Joan Anderson sat down for a personal, reflective interview in November 1986. The interviewer, Joe Smith, was a longtime record executive who interviewed hundreds of music legends as part of his book, Off The Record. In this extended conversation with Joni we hear an artist come to grips with both her rise to fame and the price that she felt she paid for experimenting in her career and not seeking hits and fame alone.

More Joni
"I was young for my age. Not as naïve as they expected. I don’t know why I seem to bring that out in people."
"If you see yourself as a kingly type, then you need your serfs and your army and someone around you."
"I thought, ‘All things considered, I’d rather be dancing.’"
"I didn’t like the sound of people gasping at the mere mention of my name. It horrified me."

Get more Joni on our website including Joni's status as a style icon in her 70s, the magic at Laurel Canyon, the selection of her paintings and self-portraits, and her health problems.

blankonblank.org/joni

Subscribe for new episodes every other Tuesday (it's free):
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Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Animator: Patrick Smith
Audio Producer: Amy Drozdowska
Colorist: Diana Tantillo

Music You Heard
Joni Mitchell
@ 0:07 “Urge For Going”
@ 4:13 “Both Sides Now”

APM MUSIC
@ 0:30
Ken Anderson and Rebecca Ruth Hall “November Song”
@ 1:26
Rick Ruskin “King James Position”
@ 2:35
Vasco “Love In An Air Baloon”
@ 4:55
Silvain Vanot “Lullaby In Blue”

Photos
Paul C. Babin

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