So, I have been listening to Dorothy Parker ALOT (and MY GOD, I forgot what a fabulous piece of work it is!!!). I was thinking about the whole Joni mitchell prince connection. That could be the only song of Prince's in which he actually quotes directly from another artist's lyrics. He must really admire her (which has been documented over and over) The lyrics being...
And it was Joni singing "Help me I think I'm falling"
Just wondering if anyone had any other input/stories/cool stuff about the two of them, his admiration for her, etc.

i've always wondered has p ever played help me live. that'd be , i think since he seems to like it (says so in the song).

purplepolitician said:

That would be great, really interesting for him to cover. Doubt it would ever happen though

Yeah... P played "A Case Of U" live in 83 at First Ave. And before that, he has the name "Joni" on the back of the Controversy album on one of the newspapers.

diana7777 said:

por que? he did a case of you, like bg said.

purplepolitician said:

Cool...I stand corrected, thanks

blackguitaristz said:

Although Joni's title of course was Case of You and not U. P did it again on One Nite Alone.

blackguitaristz said:

And that's another thing....should I purchase "1 nite alone"? Can't decide.

diana7777 said:

if you can find it cheap maybe. if not, it ain't all that really.

It is pricey. thanks.

Diana7777..It is nice to Have Prince...Live...There is something up close and fun about that cd...

Prince has never performed "Help me" live. The only Joni live covers he's done are "A case of you" (many times) and "Blue motel room" (twice in 1990).

He has quoted other artists lyrics in songs several times:

James Brown - "Mother popcorn" in "Gett off"
Lenny Kravitz - "Fly away" in "Man o' war (Remix)"
George Clinton - "Get satisfied" in "The exodus has begun"
Mos Def - "Hip hop" in "2045 radical man"

diana7777 said:

You can also get prince's version of "A case of u" on a Joni tribute CD. Definitely a cheaper way to get the song.

prince also wrote emotional dump 4 joni but she turned it down

L4OATheOriginal said:

You mean Emotional Pump surely?

He also covered her song 'Twisted' on the ONA tour.

Just my little addition: he said in an interview (early 80's) that Joni's 'hissing of summer lawns' was his favorite record ever.

Furthermore he played some Joni songs or an entire record as pre-show music in the O2 last summer. And of course Joni was asked about Prince in that R&R hall of fame tv-show thing.

Oh wait, I believe they actually met once or twice. I didn't think they vibed well together though.

diana7777 said:

there was an interview with prince back in '86 where he said listened to her growing up, that she showed him about color don't exactly know what he meant because i never heard any of her songs i assume she must be pretty good if he likes her

purplepolitician said:

is it really that bad? i don't have it yet i been looking around to see who has it cheap

Sander said:

Joni thinks Prince throws the best parties out there.

And it started HERE:



From Sleevographia

I think Joni once mentioned seeing a very young Prince sitting in the front row of one of her concerts, presumeably in MPLS, staring at her with his "Egyptian" eyes.
[Edited 2/28/08 14:31pm]

SilverlakePhil said:

I think that was an Interview Magazine interview, with some of the most beautiful pictures of Ms Mitchell I ever saw.

The One Night Alone CD is excellent. It is a must have for any serious fan. Only 1 weak song on it, the last one-Young and Beautiful, I think it is called. It is mellow and piano based so it doesn't fit in with everyones tastes but definitely get it if you can.

Back to 'Dorothy Parker' has anyone noticed that all the instruments (except for drum machine) are actually slightly off key or out of tune, not sure what the technical term would be. It took me years before I realised. It is one of my favourite songs and I was amazed when it dawned on me how he had recorded it. It still amazes me that a song where almost everything is out of tune can sound so good.

soulyacolia said:[quote]

L4OATheOriginal said:

"Twisted" was first released by Annie Ross in the early 1950's. Joni's version is a cover.

soulyacolia said:

thanks soulya ...damn keyboard

mayebelle81 said:

go get her greatest hits and greatest misses and trip out

and when he said about how she added color and space ..it meant knowing when 2 let the music speak and not his vocals and or adding instruments mixed low or high

HamsterHuey said:

read the liner notes on dirty mind ..that's where it was 1st acnkowledged about joni

L4OATheOriginal said:

Ooh, I forgot that one. Yer right.

If you listen to the vibe of the song 'So Blue', it's very similar to Joni's 'Blue Motel Room'. There's a line Joni's 'Coyote' where she sings about "dancing close and slow". Prince has a song called 'When we're dancing close and slow. Joni also has a song called 'Both Sides Now' with a lyric about "Ice Cream Castles in the air". I recall The Time's third album has that as a title. There's some heavy Mitchell influence in the guitar playing on 'Shy'. That song to me musically speaking, the perfect hybrid of Joni and Sly that only Prince could come up with. I also feel that the song 'Reflection'(one of my favorite Prince songs ever) has a distinct Joni Mitchell vibe all over it. There's no getting away from her. She's as much in Prince's musical DNA as Sly and James and Jimi or even Santana.

I may have mentioned this on here before, but I'll tell it again in case anyone missed it (particularly the non UK folks who may not have read through every thread regarding the London gigs last year)

On the 4th August, Joni's 'Hejira' album was played pretty much start to finish at the O2 before the opening act (Nikka Costa) came on. I was pleasantly surprised as that's my favorite Joni album.