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In 2015, the legendary Joni Mitchell suffered a brain aneurism/stroke that left her unable to walk and perform.
Since then, she's suffered through a number of other physical problems, including Morgellons Disease, where unusual thread-like fibers appear under the skin, leaving the patient to feel that something is crawling, biting, or stinging all over. Some experts say it's a physical disease. Others say it's a type of psychosis.
Whatever it is and whatever physical/mental battles Joni has faced, the good news is that she has been working through them and constantly improving--so much so--she is set to return to the stage this June for her first concert in 20 years!
That little piece of good news has prompted me to dust off a "Great Song of 1972-73" that Joni released as a "flip of the bird" to her record company (Asylum). The powers that be felt her album "For the Roses" lacked a "hit," and wanted her to record something more "Radio Friendly."
And that's when she came up with "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio."
The song is nothing short of genius! It's sung from the perspective of a radio, explaining all the ways it can please listeners. The signal might not always come in clearly, but it knows what you want to hear. Of course, it's also a blatant metaphor for a person who is looking to please.
Joni also gets points for tailoring it to Radio DJ's. She purposely gave it a long instrumental open so DJ's could talk over it, and a long fade at the end so they could "back sell" and segue into the next song or commercial break. And the fact it was about RADIO was a hook that was like catnip to most radio programmers.
Sneaky, Joni, and very astute.
Finally, Joni had Graham Nash, David Crosby and Neil Young play on the track, although only Graham's harmonica was the only part that made the final cut.
The whole thing worked like a charm. The song became a BIG hit in her native Canada: #3 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. In the US, it also did very well: #13 on Billboard's matching chart.
"You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio" by Joni Mitchell is truly a "Great Song of 1972-73, and it's a welcome miracle that soon she'll back on stage to perform it...along with all of her other "Great Songs!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP1hEPRYBQs
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