Hi all Whilst still relatively new to this list, I wondered and discussed with Bob whether there had been much discussion on the 1968 meeting between Jimi Hendrix and Joni. Having been a long time fanatic of all things Hendrix, I wondered if somehow Joni's view of their meeting was ever discussed or portrayed here. Everything I've ever heard on the subject has been from the Jimi perspective. I have edited an article that was posted to the Hendrix list that was said to have come from the Ottawa Citizen. BTW, sorry if this is old news.
When this article was posted on a Jimi Hendrix mailing list, one of the subscribers had this to say: "I told Joni about that newspaper article that was reprinted yesterday. (The one about Jimi's first meeting with Joni and how he taped her coffeehouse set and how Paul Allen now has the tape.) Joni knew that Jimi had taped the show (he asked her permission first). She thinks he was also taping their partying and jamming after the show. But this is the first news that the tape has been located. She would like to hear it. I imagine there aren't a lot of people that can get Paul Allen to take their phone calls, but I bet he'll take hers." In response to this post were numerous posts of people asking this person to tell Joni they loved her. Now the article. Oh what a night! March 19, 1968. Jimi and Joni Come Together The Ottawa Citizen Only Joni Mitchell knows what happened after she and Jimi Hendrix left the party in Vanier that long ago night. But maybe it's all just a purple haze. What a night that was. Jimi Hendrix arrived in Ottawa for two sold-out concerts at the Capital Theatre and Joni Mitchell was playing at L'Hibou on Sussex Drive. They stayed at the Chateau Laurier. Hendrix kept a diary when he was touring and, although the entries were often brief, the thoughts were clear, revealing and sensitive: "Beautiful hotel, Strange people, millions of girls " And Joni Mitchell, coincidentally in town the same night, was "a fantastic girl with heaven words." ...Hendrix took his own portable reel-to-reel recording equipment wherever he went. The Experience Music Project has more than 200 hours of tape he recorded on his travels. Somewhere among them is a recording of Joni Mitchell performing at L'Hibou. ....After his shows, and before the party, Hendrix arrived at L'Hibou coffee house. "He was crouched at the side of the stage," remembers Glatt. "He was wearing headphones and adjusting his tape recorder while he was recording Joni's show." The party, which raged into the early hours, was at the Motel Deville in Vanier, site of one of the city's first discos. Between the invited guests and hangers- on, there were about 30 people there. Veteran Ottawa musician Bill Hawkins was there. He sang one of his new songs for Hendrix and MitchelI while the three of them sat cross-legged in a corner of the party room. "It was a song called Scorpio," remembers Hawkins. "I wrote songs for every zodiac sign. Jimi asked me why and I told him it was a good way to pick up girls. I was trying desperately to hustle Joni and had been trying for years. That night she looked so radiant and was smiling a lot. She was always a little full of herself, but why not? "Anyway, Jimi thought this idea of the songs was really funny and he laughed out loud when I told him. He laughed even louder when I told him it wasn't working on Joni. He was a little tired that night but he said the gig had gone well. He was friendly, affectionate and bent over backwards to be nice to people. ...Glatt understands why Hendrix would write "strange people" in his diary that night. "There wasn't much going on in Ottawa in those days," he said. "It was just starting to evolve with an early rock and folk scene. We didn't have much in the way of restaurants and people weren't even allowed to stand up in a bar if they were drinking. The community was very cloistered and under exposed." Only Joni Mitchell knows what happened after she and Hendrix left the party. In the morning, he kissed her goodbye and headed to northern New York, another concert, another party and more girls. And here, the old cliche "the rest is history" can never be more appropriate. Jimi Hendrix would have been 56 years old next month (Nov. 27). He died in London of an apparent accidental drug overdose on Sept. 18, 1970, during his third European tour. Joni Mitchell, in town next Friday to perform with Sixties icon Bob Dylan, met Jimi Hendrix after he performed in Ottawa 31 years ago. Chris Cobb pieces together the story of that night. Hendrix, then 25, and 24-year-old Joni partied together after his concert at a motel in Vanier. They parted the next morning with a kiss. ...Excerpt From Jimi Hendrix Diary March 19 Arrived in Ottawa. Beautiful hotel. Strange people, Beautiful dinner. Talks with Joni Mitchell on the phone. I think I'll record her tonight with my excellent tape recorder (knock on wood). Hmmm, can't find any wood everything's plastic. Beautiful view. Marvelous sound on first show. Good on second. Good recording. Went down to little club to see Joni, fantastic girl with heaven words. We all got to party. OK, millions of girls. Listen to tape and smoked up at hotel. March 20 We left Ottawa City today. I kissed Joni goodbye, slept in the car awhile. Stopped at a highway diner. The real thing. I mean a real one just like in the movies. Mitch and I discuss our plans for movie. Slight disagreement here and there but it will soon be straighten out. Went to a very bad, bad, bad tasting restaurant. Thugs follow us. They probably was scared, couldn't figure us out. Me with my Indian hat and Mexican moustache, Mitch with his fairy tale jacket and Noel with his leopard band hat and accent. G'nite all.
