LAS VEGAS (AFP) - Music legends and hitmakers turned out on Friday (April 1) to honor Joni Mitchell - who performed on stage for the first time in many years - at a charity gala ahead of the Grammys, featuring moving tributes and Had attractive eyes.
Michelle, 78, donned a sequined kimono-style robe, bejeweled black beret and bright red nails at the MusiCares show, where this year's major Grammy nominee John Batiste along with artists including Herbie Hancock, Cindy Lauper, Angelique Kidjo and Stephen Stills paid tribute Donated. For his huge over.
"It's been quite a year," the singer-songwriter, known for her distinctive contralto and open-tuned guitar, told reporters on the red carpet.
In December, she was among those attending the Kennedy Center Honors Gala, one of America's most prestigious arts awards.
The evening marked a rare public appearance for the trailblazing Michelle, who suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015 that left her temporarily unable to speak, followed by extensive physical therapy.
But on Friday, she was glowing, telling reporters that she has artistic ideas while focusing on improving her health.
The influential artist who inspired everyone from singer Neil Diamond to Prince is perhaps best known for his 1971 personal album Blue, which takes a deep dive into emotional pain.
Last summer, Blue charted at number 1 on iTunes as it approached its 50th anniversary — outperforming even pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo's Sour.
Voicing his own amazement at the milestone, Mitchell explained the enduring popularity and recent resurgence of his album: "Maybe people want to go a little deeper."
And when asked by reporters how she was feeling in terms of health, she said "very well", adding that she was "improving".
'Touches the world'
Jazz great Hancock – who released a tribute album to Mitchell in 2007, titled River: The Joni Letters – praised his longtime friend's artistic courage.
"She exudes her soul, but she does it in such a poetic way," Hancock, 81, told AFP on the red carpet.
He credits Mitchell—widely considered one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century—with teaching him "how to listen to song".
"Some people - and I'm one of them - when we listen to music, we hear the harmony and the texture of the music, and the lyrics sound like fuzzy ones," he continued.
Yet Mitchell's "poetry" still influences him, with Hancock saying: "No one writes a song quite like Joni."
"She has given us all the courage to speak the truth," said artist Billy Porter, who paid tribute to Michelle by singing both of her beloved sides now on stage.
"To use our art to grow, to use our art to heal. To set some other people free—he is powerful in that way."
The star-studded gala is an annual tradition of MusiCares, the charitable arm of the Recording Academy, which raises money to help musicians in need ahead of the Grammy Awards.
This year's festival also featured an impressive remote performance of Graham Nash's A Case of You of folk supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, a band Mitchell both deeply influenced and shared a rich working relationship with.
She also dated both David Crosby and Nash, and the latter break-up mined inspiration on several songs, including the seminal blue, Touching a Case of You.
Neil Young appeared in a video message sending Michelle "lots of love", while Stephen Stills attended the ceremony in Las Vegas and praised Michelle as "one of the great artists in this world".
"When we were kids, we had a good time figuring out the tunings he used. Crosby was the best at it," he told AFP.
Crosby produced his first album, Song to a Seagull.
Stills played guitar as Brandi Carlyle put on a spectacular Woodstock performance during the evening, leaving many in the room, especially Mitchell, in tears.
"I can retire now, and just let other people do it," she joked as she accepted her award. "Everyone was fantastic."
"did you enjoy it?" Before joining the cast of the night to sing The Circle Game and Big Yellow Taxi, she asked the audience to applaud.
Stills summarized the mood: "God bless you, Joni Mitchell, to be in our lives."