In concert 1970 with the environmentalist "Big Yellow Taxi". Joni Mitchell, was born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta. She is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter. Her singing began in small nightclubs and busking on the streets of Toronto and in her native Western Canada. She subsequently became associated with the fast growing folk music scene of the mid-1960s in New York City. Later, while she was playing one night in "The Gaslight South", a club in Florida, David Crosby walked in and was immediately struck by her ability and her appeal as an artist. He took her back to Los Angeles, where he set about introducing her and her music to his friends. Mitchell achieved fame in the late 1960's and was considered a key part of the Southern California folk rock scene. Throughout the 1970's, she explored and combined the pop and jazz genres. She's amassed a body of work that is highly respected by both critics and fellow musicians.