Joni Mitchell says her music upset male artists in the 1970s
Many of Joni Mitchell's albums, including Blue and Ladies of the Canyon, are considered masterpieces
By Mark Savage
BBC Music Correspondent
Joni Mitchell has said her music did not get the recognition it deserved in the 1970s due to music industry sexism.
The musician, whose introspective, confessional songs became touchstones of the singer-songwriter genre, said she "took a lot of flak" at the time.
"People thought that it was too intimate," the 79-year-old said in a rare interview with Sir Elton John.
"I think it upset the male singer-songwriters. They'd go, 'Oh no. Do we have to bare our souls like this now?'"
She added: "I think it made people nervous."
The star said she was pleased that contemporary artists seemed better equipped to express the feelings of loss and sorrow that she explored on landmark albums like Ladies of the Canyon (1970) and Blue (1971).
"It took to this generation, they seem to be able to face those emotions more easily than my generation," she told Sir Elton in an interview for his Rocket Hour radio show on Apple Music.
It is one of the singer's first full-length interviews since recovering from a brain aneurysm in 2015, which temporarily left her unable to walk and talk.
The pair became friends during Mitchell's rehabilitation, when she hosted "Joni Jams" with fellow musicians in her California living room.
"Music has helped you so much," said Sir Elton, as he described her "incredible" recovery.