Singer Joni Mitchell turns 75: Some things to know

Joni Mitchell, center, has excelled at rock, pop, jazz and folk during her musical career.

Credit: Frederick M. Brown

Credit: Frederick M. Brown

Joni Mitchell, center, has excelled at rock, pop, jazz and folk during her musical career.

Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, who turned 75 on Wednesday, has used a rare blend of rock, folk, pop and jazz to create an eclectic catalog of work.

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Here are some fun facts about the singer:

Mitchell has written hits for herself -- "Help Me," "Free Man in Paris," "Big Yellow Taxi" -- and has penned big-selling songs for others. "Help Me" reached No. 7 on the pop charts in June 1974 and was her highest-charting single on the Top 40. The song also went to No. 1 on the easy-listening charts, Rolling Stone reported. The album "Court and Spark" peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard charts and remained there for four weeks.

“Both Sides Now” was a hit for Judy Collins and was featured in the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young covered Mitchell’s song, “Woodstock,” and while the song was a hit for the quartet, Mitchell did not attend the music festival in upstate New York in 1969.

Mitchell was nominated for 16 Grammy Awards and won eight -- one was a lifetime achievement award that she received in 2002. She won her first Grammy in 1970 for best folk performance or recording for “Clouds.”

According to her website, Mitchell was born Roberta Joan Anderson on Nov. 7, 1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada. Her father, William Anderson, was a grocer, and her mother. Myrtle McKee Anderson, was a teacher.

Mitchell was married and divorced twice. She was married to Chuck Mitchell from 1965 to 1967, and to Larry Klein from 1982 to 1994.

Mitchell has one child, with Brad MacMath, her boyfriend from Calgary. Kelly Dale Anderson was born in February 1965 and was put up for adoption. She was renamed Kilauren Gibb, CNN reported. The girl's identity was kept private until 1993, and Mitchell was reunited with her daughter in March 1997.

Mitchell contracted polio as a 9-year-old, according to her website.

She attended the Alberta College of Art in Calgary for two years (1963-1964).

Mitchell was hospitalized in March 2015, and in June it was revealed she had suffered from a brain aneurysm, CNN reported.

Mitchell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in May 1997.