As a composer, Joni has few peers and one of the results of her body of work is that her songs have been performed and recorded by musicians around the world, spanning the decades, and encompassing a variety of musical genres. Whether it be the melodies, the lyrics or simply the significance and reputation of her artistry, thousands of artists have given us their interpretations of Joni's songs; it could, in fact, be argued that covers first brought her to the public eye, with Judy Collins, Tom Rush and many others discovering early on the beauty and power of her music and releasing their recordings in advance of Joni's own albums. Many of her songs have become modern-day standards, and as such this collection continues and will continue to expand.
In addition to her own compositions, Joni re-introduced several songs to generations of music lovers, her recordings of Twisted and You're So Square, Baby I Don't Care put her distinctive stamp on those songs and as such are also included here, as are her historic collaborations with Charles Mingus, providing that the artist's interpretation includes Joni's lyric as a component of their recording.
So far, we've found 8238 covers of 173 of Joni's songs done by 6007 different artists! This effort is the product of many individuals, and assistance and contribution by any and all is welcome. Do you know of a recording that we've missed? Please send us an email.
The Joni Undercover Project is managed by Bob Muller.