Annie Lennox on Paying Homage to Joni Mitchell in PBS ‘Gershwin Prize’ Special

By editorial board on April 1, 2023

 Annie Lennox performed at the tribute to Mitchell just months after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Eurythmics.

On Friday (March 31), the Joni Mitchell  The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song tribute concert special was aired  on PBS. And include performances by James Taylor, Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox, Herbie Hancock, Cyndi Lauper, Marcus Mumford, Graham Nash, Diana Krall, Angelique Kidjo and Ledisi.

Variety spoke with Lennox about her love for Mitchell, what knocked her out among the performances, and why she added a bit of “Why” at the end of her own. (Following Friday night’s TV premiere, the Gershwin Prize special is available for streaming on PBS.org and on the PBS app.)

In performing “Both Sides Now” for this tribute and telecast, did you have to rehearse the song a lot, or did it come somewhat naturally to you from all the years of listening?

It’s both, actually. I did a lot of preparation, because it’s a funny thing when you’re singing someone else’s song, and someone whose work and artistry you’ve just simply adored for such a long time. You have to make it yours, and the only way to do that is to kind of imbibe it over and over and over. So I did a lot of practicing and a lot of thinking about it every day for a long time. Joni’s songs, to really learn them, you have to dig deep.

 

The Gershwin Prize looks to the influence that the artist that they’re honoring has had. And when you think about Joni Mitchell’s influence, it runs so far and so deep, and I think it’s really pretty untouchable. I don’t think there’s any other female artist — or even male artist, let’s face it; let’s take gender out of it — that has had such a body of work that is so profound, so exquisite, so poetic, so lyrical, so evocative, philosophical, painful, melodic. There’s just so many aspects to it, and there’s no end to it. The deeper in you go, the more there is to discover.

 

DISCLAIMER: the images used by Videomuzic are for the purpose of criticism and exercise of the right to report news, in low quality, in compliance with the provisions of the law on copyright, used exclusively for the information content.
DISCLAIMER: Videomuzic usa le immagini per finalità di critica ed esercizio del diritto di cronaca in modalità degradata conforme alle prescrizioni della legge sul diritto d'autore utilizzate ad esclusivo corredo dei contenuti informativi.
Copyright © 2022 Videomuzic | Rome. ITA | Pictures, videos remain the property of the copyright owner, Any copyright owner who wants removed should contact us..
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram