In a new star-studded video - created for Brandi Carlile's recent Blue tribute at LA's Disney Hall - a wide range of famous faces (from Oscar-winners like Reese Witherspoon to music industry power-players like Clive Davis) shared some of their favorite Joni Mitchell lyrics.
Sheryl Crow sang a line from "Amelia" whereas Elton John chose to recite a piece of "My Best To You." Roseanne Cash opted to speak lyrics from "Night Ride Home," wheres Dave Grohl chose "Go Tell the Drummer Man" and Carole King spoke a few lines from "For Free."
"Joni Mitchell has a way of writing a song that is so wise and so child-like at the same time. And you know she is telling the truth because truth is that simple to understand," says Brittany Howard at one point.
Later, Bonnie Raitt adds, "For me as a young woman I fell in love with Joni's music the first time I heard it, but that album Blue was the one that really cut me the deepest. And I was just entering into adulthood and the world of sex, drugs and rock and roll and broken hearts and the whole layout of being in LA and starting in the music business. So that song, 'Everybody's saying that hell's the hippest way to go. Well, I don't think so, but I'm going to take a good look around it though.' That's the one that spoke to me the most."
Watch the whole video on NPR.com here.
