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Who Were Joni Mitchell’s Husbands? Details on the Grammy Winner’s Love Life and Exes
Joni Mitchell’s knack for storytelling helped her explode into the world of folk and rock music in the late ‘60s, but many of her songs were grounded in real-life experiences. While the singer is no longer married today, she has two ex-husbands from her past. Who were Joni’s husbands and what is the singer’s relationship status in 2024?
Who Was Joni Mitchell’s 1st Husband?
Joni met her first husband, Chuck Mitchell, when she performed at a folk club in Toronto, Canada, called Penny Farthing in February 1965. Chuck, whose full name was Charles Scott Mitchell, was a folk singer from New York and he was impressed with Joni’s performance. Afterward, he told the “Big Yellow Taxi” singer that they could find steady work in coffee houses in America. The two headed for the States in April of the same year and began playing music together. In June 1965, Joni and Chuck were officially married.
“I was emotionally weak with a lot of things pulling me in all sorts of directions and this was a strong pull, and something of a solution,” Joni said in the American Masters profile, Joni Mitchell: A Woman of Heart and Mind. “So we married, for all the wrong reasons. I made my dress and bridesmaid’s dresses. We had no money, I barely knew any of these people. I walked down the aisle brandishing my daisies thinking, ‘I can get out of this.'”
True to her word, Joni did get out of the marriage and she and Chuck divorced in 1967. However, instead of returning to Canada, the Grammy winner moved to New York City and began working on her solo career.
Who Was Joni Mitchell’s 2nd Husband?
Over the next several years, Joni’s career flourished as she recorded several albums ranging from folk music to rock. In 1981, Joni’s friend, David Geffen, signed her to his new label Geffen Records and she began working on her pop album titled Wild Things Run Fast. It was during this time that Joni met Larry Klein. The two went on to marry in 1982.
Larry worked as a sound engineer and played the bass guitar. His experience in the music industry eventually led to Larry coproducing Joni’s album Turbulent Indigo in 1994. However, the album’s success also coincidentally marked the end of Joni and Larry’s marriage as they divorced the same year.
Who Has Joni Mitchell Dated?
While Joni only walked down the aisle twice in her lifetime, she has an impressive list of celebrity exes. The “Both Sides Now” singer has dated Leonard Cohen, David Crosby from Crosby, Stills and Nash, guitarist Wayne Perkins and songwriter J.D. Souther.
