Joni Mitchell Blasted Bob Dylan's Musicianship — But Decades Earlier, Gave Him Her Best Compliment

Two of the most influential people to capture the poetic soul of folk rock are Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, but Mitchell made some pretty harsh accusations about Dylan in 2010, even as she acknowledged his early work made her realize she could be a singer-songwriter. 

Mitchell and Dylan first met in 1969, a year after the release of Mitchell's debut album, "Song to a Seagull." By then, Dylan had been making hits that served as cultural touchstones for seven years since his self-titled debut release in 1962. In 1969, both artists were featured on "The Johnny Cash Show," and then hung out a little at a party at Cash's house after the show. Running in similar circles, Mitchell told Rolling Stone in 1979 that they'd see each other here or there, and she "always had an affection for him." The two never dated, nor were they particularly friendly, but they had a similar fan base and were both revered, in part, for their lyrical prowess. Mitchell even credited Dylan with being the artist who made her realize she could turn her poems into songs. 

"I wrote poetry and I painted all my life," she told Rolling Stone. "I always wanted to play music and dabbled with it, but I never thought of putting them all together. It never occurred to me. It wasn't until Dylan began to write poetic songs that it occurred to me you could actually sing those poems." But while she admits he gave her the lightbulb moment that sparked her ambition to make her own music, she doesn't seem to think much of him as a musician. 

Joni Mitchell's low opinion of Bob Dylan's musical talent was made plain in a 2010 interview with the LA Times, when she said, "Bob is not authentic at all. He's a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake. Everything about Bob is a deception. We are like night and day, he and I." So, her affection for him seemed to have waned. Maybe it was the memories of him being elusive when she joined him for the second half of his Rolling Thunder Revue Tour in 1975, or when he fell asleep (or pretended to) during a listening party for her 1974 album "Court and Spark." Or perhaps, over time, she just learned more about him and changed her views. 

Still, she did try to backpedal the comment, saying in a televised CBC interview that the LA Times reporter was a "moron" who took her out of context. To elaborate on her feelings about Dylan, she said, "I like a lot of Bob songs. Musically he's not very gifted. He's borrowed his voice from old hillbillies. He's got a lot of borrowed things. He's not a great guitar player. He's invented a character to deliver his songs ... it's a mask of sorts."

We aren't sure that's much better, but Mitchell told Clive Davis — who was behind several legendary rock acts — in 2021 (via NME) that she thinks authenticity is very important, yet "it scared the singer-songwriters around me; the men seemed to be nervous about it, almost like Dylan plugging in and going electric. Like, 'Does this mean we have to do this now?' But over time, I think it did make an influence. It encouraged people to write more from their own experience." Meanwhile, her song "Both Sides Now" is one of the most covered songs in folk rock history. Clearly, we can't all be Joni Mitchell.