Reposted from @lordrarerock OH, SHE SINGS - Joni Mitchell mesmerizes one of the largest gatherings in human history with “California” at The Isle of Wight Festival (1970). The uber talented then 26-year old Joni Mitchell stood in front of nearly 600,000 people and delivered the performance of a lifetime. Mitchell’s 12-song set would prove a pivotal moment in the festival. Several times she beseeched the crowd to quieten down, gently at first, imploringly: “It really puts me uptight and I forget the words and I get nervous,” she told them three songs in. “It’s really a drag, and so I don’t know what to say. So just give me a little help, will you?” Later she grew steely. “Give us some respect,” she said plainly. Joni tamed the crowd with a moment of harmony. In this song, Mitchell sings of going home to her beloved California. She sings as though she’s been on a long journey - and indeed, she has. After a tough breakup with her longtime boyfriend Graham Nash, Mitchell hoofed her way across Europe. It was during that journey when Mitchell penned many of the songs on her Blue album. Blue is admittedly Mitchell’s most searingly personal album, considering her situation and lifestyle choices at the time. She’s always been an artist who allows her audience to live her life vicariously through her music, and in no case is that more evident than on this album. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are huge Joni Mitchell fans. The Led Zeppelin song “Going To California” is influenced by this track. Enjoy iiii]; )'