It started with a hotel: the Chelsea Hotel in New York City, where Joni Mitchell was staying and, one bright morning, felt as if "the sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses." Those impressions inspired "Chelsea Morning," the song that gave Chelsea Clinton her name.

But to Chelsea's parents, "Chelsea Morning" is a Judy Collins song. The Collins version came out in the summer of 1969 as a single, and was a modest hit. It had also appeared a few months earlier on Ms. Mitchell's second album, "Clouds." Thus began a controversy that played a role in the Clinton campaign similar to Socks the Cat's run-in with photographers.

In the late 1960's, Ms. Collins was the bigger star. There was still a gap between popularizers or interpreters, like Ms. Collins, and the songwriters, like Ms. Mitchell, who were known mainly to more dedicated fans. Ms. Collins already had a Top 10 hit with another Mitchell song, "Both Sides Now," which she introduced in 1967, two years before Ms. Mitchell's version appeared on "Clouds." Later, Ms. Mitchell's versions of her songs would reach the radio.

So to Bill and Hillary Clinton, "Chelsea Morning" may remain the work of Judy Collins, who is among the performers participating in the inaugural week's events. But to rock fans with hindsight, Joni Mitchell gets the credit.