For Joni Mitchell, fame has always felt like an uncomfortable side-effect of her success. “I never really wanted to be a star,” the Canadian folk icon told renowned music executive Joe Smith for his 1988 book, Off the Record. “I didn’t like entering a room with all eyes on me.”

Even at 82, the Canadian folk singer still can’t seem to dodge the spotlight. Fresh off winning her 11th Grammy this year – which saw her earn a standing ovation at the ceremony’s pre-show – Mitchell was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Junos on Sunday night. 

“Joni’s music didn’t just provide the soundtrack to our lives – she shifted culture, inspired generations and redefined what songwriting could be,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said before presenting her with the award. 

In other words, she only has her immense talent to blame for her recent return to red carpets and award podiums – a five-decade career that includes landmark albums like Blue and Court and Spark and enduring songs such as A Case of You, Big Yellow Taxi and Both Sides Now.

Meanwhile, her influence on today’s music landscape is palpable. In fact, the latest crop of pop stars has been quite vocal about Mitchell’s impact on their work, including singer Harry Styles. The pop star, one of the many musicians who have attended jam sessions at Mitchell’s Los Angeles home – gatherings dubbed “Joni Jams” that have included fellow music heavyweights Elton John and Dolly Parton – says he once became so obsessed with her Blue album that he developed a fixation on her dulcimer, an instrument she introduced to mainstream rock ‘n’ roll audiences with the critically acclaimed release.

“I tracked down the lady who built Joni’s dulcimers in the ’60s,” he told Rolling Stone. “I went to her house and she gave me a little lesson – we sat around and played dulcimers.”

Among the older set, she has earned legendary status, not only for her outsized impact as one of the most revered singer-songwriters of her era but for her brave, later-life return to performing after suffering a debilitating brain aneurysm in 2015. 

“I came back from polio, so here I am again, and struggling back,” Mitchell told The Guardian during her recovery in 2020. “I couldn’t walk. I had to learn how again. I couldn’t talk. Polio didn’t grab me like that, but the aneurysm took away a lot more. But I mean, I’m a fighter. I’ve got Irish blood!”

That fighting spirit paved the way for her triumphant return to the stage at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival. The surprise 13-song set, which mirrored the intimacy of her star studded “Joni Jams”, saw Mitchell, then 78, perform from a throne-like chair surrounded by friends and fellow musicians – a format that would set the standard for future performances.

Proving that Newport wasn’t her curtain call, a year later she headlined her first concert in over two decades at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington, alongside Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox and Sarah McLachlan. And in 2024, at the age of 80, she won her 10th Grammy for Folk Album of the Year for a live album of her aforementioned Newport appearance, and even pulled up a throne to perform Both Sides Now at the ceremony.

“We had so much fun at that concert, and I think you can feel it on the record. It’s a very joyous record because of the people that I played with, and the spirit of the occasion was very high,” she said during her acceptance speech.

Her Juno recognition had a similar vibe, with the celebration including a Joni Jam-style performance that saw the folk legend sing along to her classics with McLachlan, Allison Russell, Jully Black, The Beaches and Alessia Cara.

For Mitchell’s part, the spotlight feels a little warmer this time around.

“I wore this dress because it says in Chinese: Happy, happy, happy, happy,” the 82-year-old music icon said during her acceptance speech, pointing to each of the green characters on her black velvet dress. “So I’m happy, happy, happy to be here.”

In light of her Juno honour, we mine Zoomer’s archives for stories that capture the Canadian folk legend’s lasting legacy, from moving personal tributes to reflections on her musical innovation and contributions as an under-appreciated style icon.

In Fashion: Joni Mitchell Always Ran Ahead of the Pack, in Song and in Style
“Can you sing about the pain of absence while still surrounded by luxurious things? Mitchell understands these tensions better than anyone. She likes beautiful clothes, and handsome men, as well as her liberty. Material things are not a prison, as her hippie peers might have argued. They’re the way we build a home for ourselves, no matter where we are.” –Writer Elizabeth Renzetti on Joni’s paradoxical nature

The Ballad of Joni & Malka: A Writer Recounts a Decades-Long Friendship with Joni Mitchell
“She swooped her long blond hair to cover her face, almost like she wanted to disappear and let the music be who she was. And when she sang, her music and verses formed a sort of kaleidoscope that splintered my perception, turned it round and round, then refocused to illuminate a reality I had not dared to see. The more she sang, the more her voice became my own.” –Malka Marom on the first time she saw her close friend perform

Song for Joni: Tracing a Life Inspired by the Music of Joni Mitchell
“She imbued in me the importance of living a self-examined life well before it felt like mine had even begun. But most importantly, Joni Mitchell schooled me in the power of empathy.” –Photographer Chris Chapman on Joni’s impact

In Her Own Words: 5 of Our Favourite Quotes From Canadian Icon Joni Mitchell
“I’m still searching for meaning and purpose. You know, people have a funny idea that success, (that) luxury is the end of the road. That’s not the end at all. As matter of fact many troubles begin there. They’re just of a different nature.” –Joni Mitchell