Incomparable songstress and eternal flower child Joni Mitchell celebrates her 72nd birthday today, marking a more-than-seven-decade legacy of aspirational, ethereal cool that may be best represented - in physical form, at least - by her baby-blonde lengths. And while present-tense Mitchell can be found strumming her limblike guitar in Saint Laurent's Spring 2015 print campaign with parted blanched strands topped with a wide-brimmed black hat, the musician's first appearances centered on a set of full-face bangs and a pin-straight, waist-grazing mane that would come to define an era of music and culture.

Photographed for Vogue in 1968, Mitchell's approachable demeanor and fabled bone structure brought a whimsical element to her already otherworldly vocals - and while photographer Jack Robinson succeeded in keeping the focus on Mitchell's face, we are equally drawn to her face-framing hair. A duo of braids was embraced in 1970, worn simply - woven straight down, with bangs left to skim brows and lashes - and romantically, quickly wreathed with ends left long, a maudlin, fairy-tale take on the free-spirit ethos that detailed Mitchell's career.

Her status as an eternal flower child is perhaps best exemplified by a photograph taken outside her Laurel Canyon home, in which the songwriter plucks a mountain dulcimer, long lengths parted down the middle, her hair the exact same shade of sun-kissed baby blonde as the toddler who serves as her audience. A sunny day in 1974 also found Mitchell braiding wildflowers and leaves in her hair, her exaggerated floral crown and cheekbone-grazing bangs infusing her bohemian sensibilities with a trace of rock-star edge, a switch that culminated in the chic chop - tucked behind ears and accessorized with a tilted beret - that would remain her signature for years to come. In honor of her birthday, a look back at our favorite Joni Mitchell hair moments.