• Best Original Holiday Songs That Fit an Artist's Style Perfectly: Mariah Carey, Joni Mitchell, Queen and More [LISTEN]

    I wonder if when Irving Berlin finished writing "White Christmas" he knew he had created a timeless classic. Holiday music has become its own little business, with artists often taking time out of their recording schedule to put together an album of covers and originals. It has become a bloated industry — every pop star and washed-up rock band has a holiday record. Sometimes they are really just mailing it in for a payday. Other times, though, they create something special. Mariah Carey, Tom Petty and Queen all have original Christmas tunes that fit right into their musical styles.You have to give props to those artists who dare to pen a Christmas tune. It is easy to just put a signature spin on something like "Blue Christmas" or "The Christmas Song." Those are already accepted by throngs of holiday shoppers who hear them every year. But what about Billy Squier thumping on "Christmas Is the Time to Say 'I Love You'"? Or Joni Mitchell's heartbreaking anthem "River"? You certainly hear those ones less than Frank Sinatra singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" while you are driving to work in December.These tunes are significantly younger than most holiday standards, so perhaps one day they will be thought of as classics. Until then, we will just call them good songs.

  • Idina Menzel Performs Joni Mitchell's 'River' on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' [WATCH]

    Idina Menzel put out a Christmas album titled "Holiday Wishes" in October. The singer takes on the usual standards like "White Christmas," "Silent Night" and "Baby It's Cold Outside," but her shining moment comes closer to the end of the album. Menzel decided to include a breathtaking version of Joni Mitchell's Christmas-themed classic "River." Her performance of the tune on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" blew viewers away.Yes, we know you can sing, Idina. We have all heard "Let It Go" a million times, but this performance is devastatingly beautiful. Menzel lends her Broadway pipes and pop sensibilities to Mitchell's tune and lets the songwriter's words do the rest."I wish I had a river so long / I would teach my feet to fly / Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on / I made my baby say goodbye," she sings in the video below. Check it out."River" is off Mitchell's 1971 release "Blue." It is regarded as one of the folk artist's best pieces.

  • Joni Mitchell Halts Biopic About Her Career Starring Taylor Swift

    If you were looking forward to that Joni Mitchell/Carole King/Carly Simon biopic "Girls Like Us," then today, Nov. 25, you are out of luck. In an interview with "The Sunday Times," via "NME," Joni Mitchell revealed that she has pulled the plug on the project, citing the casting of Taylor Swift as one of the primary reasons."I squelched that!" Mitchell admitted. "I said to the producer, 'All you've got is a girl with high cheekbones.' It's just a lot of gossip, you don't have the great scenes.""There's a lot of nonsense about me in books," Mitchell went on to say, "assumptions, assumptions, assumptions."The now-halted film was based on the book "Girls Like Us" by Sheila Weller, which followed the rise of Mitchell and her singer-songwriter contemporaries Carly Simon and Carole King during the 1970s. Swift was cast as Mitchell back in 2012, with "Mad Men's" Jessica Pare cast as Simon and "The Newsroom's" Alison Pill cast as King.

  • Joni Mitchell Announces Box Set 'Love Has Many Faces,' Includes 53 Remastered Songs

    Though legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell has retired from music, with her last album "Shine" released in 2007, Consequence of Sound reports she has announced the release of a career-spanning box set titled "Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, a Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced." The box set collects 53 remastered tracks over four discs, personally chosen by Mitchell, and is set for release Nov. 17.

  • 7 Incredible Guitarists Who Are Also Great Singers: Prince, Joni Mitchell, And More

    When you read a list of the greatest guitarists of all time, it typically includes names like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Jack White, people who can sing but aren't usually renowned for their singing voices. However, these seven musicians have mastered both singing and guitar playing, when just one of those would have served them well enough. Here are seven incredible guitarists are also great singers.
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