Folk Fight! Joni Mitchell Calls Bob Dylan a 'Fake'

By Marc Schneider Posted Apr 23rd 2010 09:37AM

Joni Mitchell Calls Bob Dylan a Plagiarist

Joni Mitchell rarely gives interviews, but when she does, watch out rock legends! The singer-songwriter launched into an unprovoked 31-word take-down of fellow icon Bob Dylan in the LA Times this week, calling him the insult of all insults among songwriters: plagiarist.

The interview was well underway when Dylan's name came up during talk about the creation of personas in music. The banter set Mitchell off, and she said, "Bob is not authentic at all. He's a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake."

Oh, but the 'Blue' singer wasn't finished with the real-life Robert Zimmerman: "Everything about Bob is a deception. We are like night and day, he and I."

Following this comment, the interviewer quickly moves on without asking Mitchell to expand on her distaste for Dylan. Of course, any follow-up chatter may have been halted by a publicist.

Mitchell and Dylan have toured together in the past, as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue back in the mid-1970s and again in 1998, when she co-headlined a tour with Dylan and Van Morrison.

It's unclear what has come between them in the 12 years since they last worked together.

Dylan wasn't the only singer to get a thwacking from Mitchell, though. She says Madonna's rise to stardom in the 1980s led to a negative turn in society. "Americans have decided to be stupid and shallow since 1980. Madonna is like Nero; she marks the turning point."

Joni Covers the Music of Bob Dylan:

Tags: bob dylan, joni mitchell

Comments

(76)

Friday 23 April

By srsnakes

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Joni, well said. We live in a nation of idiots.

By anni

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Or better yet, SNAKES, why don't YOU lead us to a place of non-idiots.

By RC

The funny thing about this story is Bob Dylan would be the first to agree with it ... He has always said I am not the person or rebel everyone has made me out to be ...

By Mr. Leo

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They both need a long hot shower with LOTS of soap.

By Kit9

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Joni Mitchell is a rude Hag!

By Michelle Makariak

Why are you dragging poor Tom Petty into this? I mean, if you're writing about Joni's saying about Bob Dylan, wouldn't it be better to have a picture of HIM up there?

By Chris

That IS a picture of Bob Dylan, Moron!

Michelle, that was funny. He does kinda look like Petty. When did Dylan go BLONDE? It does look better, but anything was an improvement.

By cathy

Who would ever fake THAT voice is beyond me. It's like fingernails on a blackboard.

By R.

Amen, to everything said. And one of the reasons Mitchell's darkly lovely 'paved paradise and put up a parking lot' genius creativity timelessly explains truly why we are now facing a truly hideous political and culture disaster... Dylan has nothin' on this lady. The best of the best.

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"Paved Paradise" is certainly not f'in genius!!! Mitchell would even say it was a sophomoric effort. Dylan's own lack of a career past Vietnam War folk songs, is just that. NOTHING. Cannot believe Mitchell would cover anything that came out of his mouth. Both are pretty much over, give me Springsteen and Petty, not this old, boring, non-relevant, coffee house music.

By Patrick

Meanwhile she performs concerts where people including her park their cars in PARKING LOTS....Thus creating the demand for PARKING LOTS!!! HELLLLLOOOOO

Sunday 29 May

By gideonbrown102

Bod Dylan is a genius and far more relevant than this washed up hag. She had one or two good bubble gum pop songs, although I was a fan of some of her later stuff, I had no idea what a narcisistic fool she was. Not even in the same creative orbit as Bob Dylan.

By Lefty Phillips

Ahh, Joni Mitchell, the original Starf*cker. There's a very good reason that people like Jackson Browne and Bob Dylan are still selling records, and she's not. Those guys have actual talent. All she can do is make snide remarks about them and hope that people take her seriously...

By amrino

Dylan- is what he is. No more, no less. Sad part is- Joni is right. Probably half the reason Dylan is such a public chameleon, self-important DUD- who prefers to hide out. The rest of us aren't up to his 'level'. What a great way to treat his fellow humans. What a shame.

By Lou

Mitchell's use of the term "fake" is somewhat ironic. Anyone over 55 (you don't have to admit it)may remember the late cartoonist Al Capp's portrayal of her in "L'il Abner" as "Joanie Phonie".

By fredpa

Yeah. Whenever I wanted the real skinny on anything I always went to Al Capp.

By littleroundhead

That was Joan Baez, Lou. Do your research, please.

By Rick

Um ... Capp was referring to Joan Baez there -- not Joni Mitchell.

Saturday 24 April

By MEL

Check your memory - that was not Joni Mitchell, that was Joan Baez in the lil abner trash-strip - sheesh! get it straight!

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