How Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock Misfortune Turned Into a CSNY Hit

In 1969, one of the most important concerts in music history transpired. That was Woodstock, and the show featured all of the biggest acts of the 60s. Which included the Grateful Dead, Santana, The Who, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, and CSNY. Though, there was one monumental musician who was missing, and no, it wasn’t Bob Dylan. Rather, it was Joni Mitchell, as she was unable to perform given that she had committed to appear The Dick Cavett Show during the festival.

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Upset from her inability to perform at the storied festival, Mitchell expressed her feelings in one of the best ways she knows how, by writing a song. So, thanks to her Woodstock misfortune, Mitchell wrote her tune, “Woodstock”, which was released on her 1970 album, Ladies of the Canyon.

While this was Joni Mitchell’s song, she wasn’t the first to release it. Selflessly, Mitchell gifted the song to CSNY, and before she released the single in April of 1970, the quartet released it days earlier in March of the same year. According to Graham Nash, this is how the band acquired the song and how Stephen Stills altered it to their liking.

Stephen Stills’ Rendition Made It Into a CSNY Staple

In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Graham Nash divulged how Stephen Stills and CSNY got the opportunity to record the song. He also divulged how Stills flipped the song on its head in order to transform the single from a Mitchell folk tune to a barn-burning CSNY single. Nash recalled Stills allegedly saying, “Joan, can I use that song?” Joni Mitchell agreed, and subsequently, Stephen Stills reportedly asked, “But can I change it?”

Evidently, Mitchell also agreed, and a CSNY classic was born. Also, per Nash’s comments, Mitchell was also a fan of the song. Nash told Stern, “I think [Joni Mitchell] did, because, I mean, you know, it took her song, which was like a dark-purply type of song, and turned it into a balls-out rock ‘n’ roll song.”

Stephen Stills did just that, and following its release, the single peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 3 on the Canadian charts. Though more importantly, it became one of CSNY’s greatest hits. Nevertheless, if it wasn’t for Joni Mitchell’s prior commitment, CSNY would have never gotten their hit song. How’s that for an example of the butterfly effect?

Photo by Steve Morley/Redferns