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Smiley Smile Stuff => General On Topic Discussions => Topic started by: BananaLouie on July 08, 2021, 06:24:56 AM



Title: Joni Mitchell/The Beach Boys
Post by: BananaLouie on July 08, 2021, 06:24:56 AM
I’m a huge Joni Mitchell fan and I was curious if there was any known interaction between her and the Beach Boys, any photos of them together, was Joni a fan and admirer of Brian as a songwriter or vice versa?  


Title: Re: Joni Mitchell/The Beach Boys
Post by: bossaroo on July 08, 2021, 11:59:58 AM
not that I know of, but I've been reading a lot about her album Blue which is celebrating its 50th anninversary this year. lots of praise for it being one of the first albums to be so personal and confessional, but I'd say Brian was doing that years earlier.


Title: Re: Joni Mitchell/The Beach Boys
Post by: Needleinthehay on July 08, 2021, 03:25:24 PM
They both played at the "roosevelt jam" in the 70s a big fesitval in new york along with CSNY and some other bands....no idea if they interacted...altho joni's close friend neil young of course mentions the beach boys on "long may you run"

heres an article where they are all interviewed separately about it
https://www.jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=797


Title: Re: Joni Mitchell/The Beach Boys
Post by: BananaLouie on July 09, 2021, 05:25:54 AM
Thanks guys

I recall reading in The Beach Boys In Concert book during a tour with possibly Buffalo Springfield or CSN&Y that Neil Young and Dennis got along especially well and hung out together.


Title: Re: Joni Mitchell/The Beach Boys
Post by: guitarfool2002 on July 09, 2021, 08:20:35 AM
If you look deeper into the Laurel Canyon crowd and scene, and who was living there in the 60's and 70's, you see how much these people knew each other and would hang out together. You just don't see press photos of them at nightclubs or premieres, so it's not as widely covered unless someone leaks a candid photo like those of Brian in the early 70's hanging out with members of the Hollywood Vampires and other friends. But there are walking tours of Laurel Canyon on YouTube where you see how close so many musicians were living to one another, and how relatively small that real estate really is.

The Beach Boys did tour with Stills and Young when they were in the Springfield, so there was interaction there and they obviously knew each other. Neil mentions Mike hanging with the Manson crowd in his bio. But overall you just have to piece together what was happening the 99.8% of their days which did not get press coverage and assume they crossed paths.

It's really hard to tell who hung out with each other and in what ways they did. I'm sure Joni and the other residents of the Canyon would cross paths, and the influence of the music among those musicians was obviously there, but without anecdotes or photo/film examples, we can only guess. But I do get the feeling the Beach Boys members overall seemed more like homebodies than the type to hit the scene regularly, or at least they knew how to do it and be less conspicuous doing so. Or they had their own circles of friends who they ran with. It's hard to say.


Title: Re: Joni Mitchell/The Beach Boys
Post by: Ian on July 09, 2021, 11:47:09 AM
We discussed in another thread that Joni was dating James Taylor in 1970 when Dennis acted opposite him in Two Lane Blacktop-so she and Dennis got to know each other for sure


Title: Re: Joni Mitchell/The Beach Boys
Post by: Emdeeh on July 11, 2021, 07:18:55 AM
Confirmed by Barbara Wilson in the latest (Surf’s Up) issue of ESQ.


Title: Re: Joni Mitchell/The Beach Boys
Post by: BananaLouie on July 11, 2021, 09:58:07 AM
Thanks folks

Another Joni Mitchell/Beach Boys connection is that Nazareth covered their songs. 😎