I'm 67 years old and have been listening to Blue for 50 years . I still can't get through the entire CD without tearing up, different reasons as the years tick by.....

I'm 24 years old, for the last 5 years Joni has provided a constant soundtrack to my life. I am forever grateful for the way that Joni's music has made me feel, think, and love. Joni has a permanent handprint on my heart!

a friend asked me one day in 1986, when we were talking about music: "Have you listened to Joni?" I said I had heard a few songs on the radio. She said, "You have to listen to ALL of it. A LOT!" So that day I happened to go to Turtles Records in Athens GA and in the bargain bin was a $5 cassette with two albums in one: Clouds and Blue. When I went to bed I put it on, then I turned it over, then I turned it over... and didn't sleep til 6am. My new life had begun!

I saw Joni at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium during her Court and Spark tour in 1974. Sacramento had just passed an ordinance prohibiting smoking in public buildings. When Joni reentered the stage for the second part of the show, she smiled, defiantly holding up a lit joint. A few of us in the audience were smoking as well, but we were discreet, and security condoned it. She performed songs with just piano, guitar, or dulcimer, and with Tom Scott and the LA Express. How lucky I was to have had a 3rd row seat!

The greatest singer-songwriter ever.

Having made a baby with my high school sweetheart and being forced to give her up for adoption, I knew just what Joni was singing about. Years later, when I re-connected with my former girlfriend (who had moved to California), the album was new and we started to discuss it. She said, "Blue" and I responded with , "Little Green." Nothing else had to be said. We both knew what was in our hearts and minds. My daughter and I have long re-connected and it's one of the very best things in my life.

The music of my teenage heart that grows more magical and pertinent with age.

How can you love someone you've never met? Blue did that to me .

Have known this album by heart since 1971. It is a close and dear old friend to me. Blessings and love to Joni Mitchell, always!

There will never be a best Joni Mitchell album. They are all perfect but this one is incredibly special.

I bought this Album when it came out in 1971, I was 22 years old. It changed my life forever. I owe her so much.

The purest voice, music and soul. Bright clear light pouring into every listener's ears.

Singing with Joni wakes my tired, old voice up. Feels like a heart massage too 🥰

Took a seminar in undergrad on American Singer-Songwriters. Joni was one of the artists we studied. Life’s never been the same since.

Loved Blue at 17 but didn't understand it for another 20 years, and now 50 years later it feels like an old friend -- and I'm still learning from it. What was too dense and odd and unresolved back then sustain it now, like revisiting Shakespeare, but of our time. Different moments make me cry each time: just the intro, taking me back then as I was just beginning my romantic love journey, to James' supportive guitar underpinnings, to her O Canada howl, and now this time, at the other end of love, the child's shell-sound becoming, in her telling, a sigh. I've hitchhiked and camped on her Matala beach, surfed and nursed my wounds from her crashing waves of successive lovers, and laughed at her child-like joy in friendly love, but what comes through most from these spare arrangements spotlighting her voice is the solitude, no, the aloneness within even real love. If you hold onto yourself, you can never really merge, and she shared that truth with us with her blues. Thanks for the honesty, Joni!

Coincidence or divine alignment? Today, on the 50th anniversary of Joni Mitchell’s landmark album Blue, the first blueberry of the bunch in my backyard turned blue.I could drink of case of them and of Joni's music! 🤭👍🤙🫐

"River" is absolutely beautiful.

I saw her twice back in the day and she was hypnotic! Even the the way she moved was unique. Yes, I'm a "Lucky Girl"!

My mom shared her with me. I am here listening because of her

"There's comfort in melancholy, when there's no need to explain..." Joni wrote the soundtrack to my life.

I learned harmony at an early age listening to Joni. She has always been one of my favorites and most inspirational.

I have Elton John to thank for introducing me to her. I was a young teeny bopper and loved his music. I read an article where he said two artists he loved were Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne. I immediately bought "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" and "The Pretender." At thirteen, I was hooked on the sounds of Laurel Canyon thanks to EJ, and Joni reigns supreme.

Loved this tribute in honor of Joni Mitchell 💙 She had a timeless depth that showcased in her artistry. Her songs were soul poetry!

I could drink a case of 💙, but can we talk about the self-portraits as Vincent van Gogh and Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring? The mixed media cover art? Joni the painter, sketcher, photographer... they go hand in glove with the music. 🎨

"The Last Time I Saw Richard": Joni has said this came from a late night conversation with Greenwich Village folksinger Patrick Sky (not her ex-husband as had been presumed.) Patrick, like "Richard", married a figure skater. He then moved to Asheville and became a well-known traditional Irish musician luthier along with his wife Cathy. He died last month.

brings back so many memories of listening to this with friends on campus in the late 70's. lots of cigarettes, wine, and tears. those were certainly good times...

I came across Joni's music last week and absolutely fell in love. I keep wondering, how could I take so long to be aware of her? Now I was about to search a good ole folk Playlist to be my companion during my readings and then this video appears, what a wonderful surprise! 😊😊😊

I enjoy singing 'All I want'; only took 6 months to be able to sing every note 🥲☺😁 The whole album is a masterpiece

Thank you Joni - this is the soundtrack to my heart - with love and gratitude - - seeing you live in concert still fills me with such joy --

My favorite singer/ songwriter….she came to me through my older sisters I stole their albums…I loved reading the lyrics and looking at her artwork and then secretly returning the albums to their proper place What beautiful soul memories. Thank you Joni for shining the mirrors on our hearts.🌻💕🌻.

Such an outpouring of love and affection for one of the truly great artists of our time.

Omg. Ann Powers and Brandi Carlile on Joni. What a stupendous treat this is! Thank you, spectacular ladies!

Loved Brandi's book! Blue is amazing. Thanks for celebrating!

Never heard of this artist before...what a beautiful and honest voice!!!💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿

Beautifully done. What a thoughtful interview and insight into the meaning of several songs from this iconic album. Thank you for this.

Brandi Carlile is a musical force to be reckon with! Such sensitivity & emotional intensity, and what a powerful voice! 🖤

It was a very stressed and dark period in America and Indonesia because of the Vietnam war! Canada was where many went to avoid the draft Carey was a vet. How do you make art in such a crazy time. She made a classic zeitgeist album. The album is so genuine! So honest How do you love when the world is in such a mess? How could they not know what "sunset pig" is? I'm from Cailf. and I never had a doubt. Weird. Love her. She was the guiding light.

Thank you for this, NPR & Brandi C! Heart-touched from so much beauty in every song... the same heart- touching feeling while staying in "her" former home in the Canyon not so long ago. Creative space and magic there for sure. Thank you, Joni Mitchell, for sharing your gifts with all of us. 💖

imagine if joni came in and talked to us💙

One of my favorite albums that got me through troublesome teenage years.🙏

My mom and I saw Brandi perform Blue live and it was amazing. When Joni came out, the entire audience went crazy! Such an amazing night.

A heart rending work of staggeringly note perfect genius that will never fade.

Wow! A classic woman, singer, humanitarian and song writer.

Dear NPR, thank you for what you do.

I didn’t come to appreciate Joni Mitchell until I was in my 30’s with two small children. But, (like Zadie Smith) I am passionate about her and so are those once small children of mine

That was such an inspirational egregore. Listening to this album in its entirety is truly a blessing for the heart, mind and spirit. 💙💙💙

Sin duda uno de mis discos favoritlos, love you Jonie Mitchell

OMG this is insane!!! Joni!

Thanks for sharing this anniversary, all!

Listening to Blue added an entire new dimension to my reality as a young man/musician and it still feels as magical as the first listen.

Whoa!! This will be amazing.

Most of us wish we had a river to skate away on or a painting to go into.

I so wanted to attend Brandi’s Blue performance in LA but the tickets were gone in a blink and I live on the other side of the country, plus it was on a Thursday night (if I remember correctly). I so wish Brandi had made a video of it so people like me could enjoy it after-the-fact! Great Listening Party! Thank you.

I bought the single "Carey" for 25 cents as a kid. But I didn't hear the entire album until I was in my 20's. I'm still listening/loving it at 62.5.

Poet…Performer….Person.

I listened to this album in my 20s but I'm realizing that I had REALLY listened to it (and taken notes), my life would be different now. “Oh I love you when I forget about me.”

My biggest inspiration in this life 💙 Thank you Joni

Love her songs since the 70th until today ( and tomorrow :)

Little Green kills me every time I’m not crying you’re crying 😢😭😭

Monumental piece of music

With MP3's, I've switched to 'radio-style', for my music. I rarely listen to an album - but this sounds so good. Thanks! Her voice is so sweet and pure, and boundless - like her lyrics.

Sorry to have missed this LIVE (I was stuck in traffic on 101 near downtown) but thank goodness for KZfaq

I 💙 Joni Mitchell Blue!!!

Beautiful!💖 Thank you 🙏🏼

One of the greatest albums of all time

"Will you take me as I am?"

The Last Time I Saw Richard has always been my favorite song. It just feels so real.

I understood "Sunset pig" for the first time as I listened today. I'm 70. omg And wow did my listening bring me back and also bring me in deep.

"Come and light the candle in this heart of mine". I've never heard it put quite like that. Right On Joni!

Every album Brandi has made has been my Blue!!!

A case of you is about feeling alone in a relationship. It's about her emotionally unavailable partner and her heart wanting to tear away and she's making up her mind about it but it's hard. It's like I can't live with or without you.

Blue is just an amazing album. While not my favourite Joni album I think when you have such a run of stellar albums as Joni has had it can seem a bit superfluous to name one as the best of them all. My fave is LOTC but it doesn’t matter which is “best”. But Blue. My uncle died earlier this year. I don’t think Joni was on his musical radar but the song California encompasses enough of him to make it an essential play at his funeral. I grew up wanting to visit California and when i did it didn’t disappoint. And one night many many years ago Tori Amos sang A Case of You to me. What an Intense, visceral night that was. Ah Joni, you’re one of a kind.

Carey--this song may take you back a ways - say, about 50 years. That's Joni Mitchell, back when her voice was high and light. It's "a helium voice," as she describes it in an interview with NPR's Morning Edition. Now 77, Mitchell was in her 20s when she wrote "Carey" for her 1971 album Blue. Since then, fans have often wondered what it's about. Who is "Carey"? A friend of Mitchell's? A muse? Is he even real? He is. Cary Raditz is a 75-year-old investment analyst who lives in the Washington, D.C., area. Back in his 20s, he was living in Matala, a little village on the island of Crete, which is where he met and befriended the singer-songwriter - though he didn't like her at first. "I resented her, because a lot of my friends were turning into absolute fools and fawning over Joni Mitchell," Raditz says. "So she was disturbing the tranquility of this little place." The two had their first run-in at the Delphini, the "taverna" where Raditz worked. He was serving tables and she was a customer. "She picked up all her trash from the table, a handful of it, and came over to me," Raditz says. "She cleaned her table! And I just looked at it - and, you know, there are shards of broken glass and plates on the floor from [a party] last night. I just took it and threw it on the floor. ... She caught me in a weak moment, and then we became friends after that." Joni Mitchell wrote the song "Carey" while living in Matala, Crete. Mitchell gave Raditz the song as a present on his 24th birthday. "It was a goodbye song," he says. "There was a little bit of a sadness about that. But she was always leaving, and she'd change her mind, and we'd find something else to do or go traveling." How does Raditz hear the song now? "Like all poetry, it tends to grow within you. And it tends to take on your own personal meanings and shadings and tones, and other memories that become associated with it."

Goosebumps !

Thank you for sharing your story about the "Sunset pig". When I moved here (inspired by this and several other songs about California), I thought that it was a pig at restaurant in Hollywood Pig & Whistle, but then I had the same realization as you - police officers were labeled "pigs" at the time this was written.

This will be incredible I can't wait

Love, love Brandi’s cover of A Case of You. Want to hear what this song means to her and Catherine:) AND will we hear it at Forest Hill stadium in July?!

Case of you and down to you two best records ever written genius doesn't cover it

Thank you for this.

wore out original LP !!! Love Joni!!~!

Ann Powers has been one of my favorite culture writers.

Yes, to not be consumed within the love of my partner doesn't mean that I don't love her, it means that I love myself too. There's room in my heart for both of us 💜🙏🏼

There's nothing more heavenly than to alternate between Blue & CSNY's Deja Vu.... ahhh. Anyway, I wish I could have been Disney Hall for Brandi's BLUE performance. I wonder if that performance will be released at some point? Thank you Ann and Brandi for today's tribute. AND the incomparable Joni, thank you for 18,250 todays! 💙❤💙

4:35 The album starts. No disrespect for the opening remarks, but I will play this video many times, so....

If only Joni’s song “Borderline” were a part of everyone’s consciousness what a beautiful world this would be and free of divisiveness. If only…😞

How many people remember when they first put the needle down on this record? I was 15, in love with her first three albums, and I was shocked at what I heard on Blue. I didn’t get it at first.

Yayyy Joni Mitchell!!!

I had a vinyl copy of Blue and, just recently, loaned it to a 20 year old women. I told her she’ll have to listen to it over and over again to really get it. Needless to say I never got the record back from her. I suspect she got it.

Beautiful

can't wait! a celebration of our sister goddess!

I love her and anyone I introduce her to...they also love her too!!!!

Last Time I Saw Richard was the b-side on the Carey 45.

This is a nice LP. She's a good lass.

Blue blew me away !

On this album, Joni had some of the most gorgeous piano arrangements I've ever heard. Especially in songs like River, Little Green, My Old Man, and The Last Time I Saw Richard. There are SO many reasons why River is my favorite song. I think when it comes to music theory, I enjoy hearing her quote Jingle Bells at the end, and she uses an interesting chord structure where she goes from G Major-F Major-d minor

Sublime!

I love ya Joni!😘

Not taking anything away from Blue, but it isn't even Joni Mitchell's best album. I think that honor goes to "Hejira".

Best album ever❤️

Fantastic!