Show notes
Hello! Welcome to this preview episode of Big Yellow Podcast, a show about Joni Mitchell. My name is Allison Rapp and I’ll be your host as we explore the life and work of one of music’s most fascinating innovators.
It was Joni Mitchell who once wrote that "songs are like tattoos," indelible marks left not only on one's surface, but one's insides, too. Mitchell's music has made those kinds of marks on listeners since her recording debut in 1968. Her career, infiltrated at points by misogyny, misunderstanding and moments of deep, human pain, has become considered one of the purest creative endeavors ever made. From stalwart of the folk music movement to jazz composer, polio-survivor to painter, Mitchell has reinvented herself multiple times over, all while remaining true to her artistic cause.
Mitchell suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015, an event that forced her to relearn how to walk, talk and sing. But in 2022, Joni began her triumphant return to the public eye, appearing at the Newport Folk Festival for the first time since 1967. With the assistance and encouragement of singer-songwriters like Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox, Allison Russell and many more, Joni performed live again in 2023 at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington State (I was there!), and again at the 2024 Grammys, her first time ever performing at the prestigious ceremony. It was also Joni who wrote that we’re captive on the carousel of time, we can’t return, we can only look behind from where we came — now in her 80s, Joni is still proving that there is always a way to move forward.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself, too. I’m a longtime Joni fan, since childhood, and a committed journalist based in New York City. I’m currently an assistant editor with Ultimate Classic Rock, and I’ve interviewed the likes of Buffy Sainte-Marie, Roger McGuinn, Judy Collins, and a lot more. You can read my writing at allisonrapp22.com or follow me on twitter @allisonrapp22.
On the coming episodes of Big Yellow Podcast, I’ll speak with guests from all walks of life — authors, musicians, and fans, some of whom have spent personal time with Joni — to speak to the power of her life, work and lasting legacy.
But before that, you can subscribe to Big Yellow Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
You can also follow the show on social media: @bigyellowpod on Twitterand Instagram, as well as under the title Big Yellow Podcast on Facebook.
I hope you’ll join me in getting back to the garden, there’s a lot of stardust and golden up ahead. Thanks for listening.
* Allison
Get full access to Big Yellow Podcast at allisonrapp.substack.com/subscribe 
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