Mitchell
strikes a chord
New member of Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame says
success 'was just in my stars'
January
29, 2007
Greg Quill
entertainment columnist
Joni
Mitchell's shining moment last night was not when she mounted
the stage at Metro Toronto's John Bassett Theatre to be inducted
by renowned American jazz composer Herbie Hancock into the
Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Mitchell
seemed uneasy with the outpouring of adoration and applause
that followed James Taylor's sonorous rendition of Mitchell's
"Woodstock" and a raucous funk version of "Help
Me" by American R&B singer Chaka Khan. She cut short
her acceptance speech, quipping, "I'd better take my
award and get out of here."
She
thanked companions in the audience, "friends going back
to fourth grade, old friends, new friends, so many friends,"
and explained that her success as a composer and musician
was inspired by "a need to explore ... it was just in
my stars and there's nothing I can do about it."
But
last night's celebrations could have happily ended 30 minutes
earlier, at the conclusion of a campfire-like singalong of
her signature piece, "Big Yellow Taxi," led by Andrew
Craig, emcee and host of CBC Radio Two's In Performance.
Mitchell's
face lit up like a child's when 2,000 or more voices broke
into wholehearted song, roaring every word, with just minimal
rhythm strummed by band guitarist Kevin Breit. Seated in the
front row, the otherwise sedate inductee sang along too, at
the top of her voice, her head thrown back, smiling and radiant.
The
Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, now its fourth year, is
prone to such emotional episodes. The songs it celebrates,
written by Canadians going back 100 years and more, have the
power to strike a resonant chord in the hearts of listeners,
as several by Quebec songwriter Jean-Paul Ferland did last
night as well.
"Music
has no religion, no politics, no solitude," Ferland said,
after a riveting performance of his "Un peu plus haut,
un peu plus loin" by Isabelle Boulay. "Music is
just a noise, a wonderful noise, and I'm just grateful to
be a part of it."
Mitchell,
Ferland and Nova Scotia-born country music star Wilf Carter,
who died in 1996, were among four inductees in last night's
ceremony.Broadway and film score creator Raymond Egan, whose
big-band-era classic "How About You?" was given
a rousing treatment by Canadian crooner Michael Bublé,
was also inducted.
Among
several memorable performances of songs that entered the Hall
of Fame last night were Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman's
dramatic version of Mitchell's "Both Sides Now,"
which closed the show, and David Clayton-Thomas's opener,
a muscular revision of "Spinning Wheel," the million-selling
hit he wrote for Blood Sweat & Tears.
A
go-for-broke vocal duet featuring Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy and
Toronto singer-songwriter Oh Susannah reworking the 1960s
pop hit "You Were On My Mind," by Sylvia Tyson,
was another crowd-pleaser. Calgary songwriter Corb Lund almost
stole the show in its early stages with a country string band
boogie take on Carter's "There's A Love Knot In My Lariat,"
and Nova Scotia-born contemporary country music star
George Canyon almost brought down the house with a heartfelt
reading of Carter's "My Old Canadian Home."
The
ceremony and tribute concert airs today at 11 a.m. on CBC
Radio One and at 8 p.m. on CBC Radio Two. A one-hour TV special
will air March 5 on CBC.
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