Legendary Musician Joni Mitchell Has Been Hospitalised

April 1, 2015

Music icon Joni Mitchell has been hospitalised. Representatives for the 71-year old singer and songwriter have confirmed the news, after it was reported that the legendary musician was rushed to hospital earlier today when she was found unconscious in her Los Angeles home.

“Joni has been hospitalized. We are awaiting official word on her condition and will post it here as soon as we know,” a statement on Mitchell’s official website said.

According to TMZ, paramedics were called to Mitchell’s home this morning when she was found unconscious at around 2.30pm. According to unconfirmed reports, she was conscious and alert on route to the hospital. Mitchell’s representatives have not commented on her current condition.

Joni Mitchell is widely considered a leader in the folk world, known for such enduring classics as Big Yellow Taxi, Help Me, Woodstock and many more songs and albums that helped shape the sound of the 1960s and 1970s.

In her 2014 biography Mitchell said she decided to give up singing because “six decades of heavy smoking have finally robbed me of my voice”. Joni Mitchell’s most recent album, Shine, was released in 2007.

Mitchell has won eight Grammy Awards in her formidable career and inspired a whole generation of confessional singers and songwriters, many of whom have covered her songs throughout the years. She has produced or co-produced all of her work and was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in 1997.

In the last few years Mitchell made public her battle with the controversial Morgellons disease – a syndrome where sufferers believe and feel the sensation of parasite-like beings eating away at their skin. “I’m actually trying to get out of the music business to battle for Morgellons sufferers to receive the credibility that’s owed to them,” she told the LA Times in 2010.

UPDATE 01/04/15, 4:46pm: An update of Joni Mitchell’s condition has been provided on her official website. It reads:

“Joni was found unconscious in her home this afternoon. She regained consciousness on the ambulance ride to an L.A. area hospital. She is currently in intensive care undergoing tests and is awake and in good spirits. More updates to come as we hear them. Light a candle and sing a song, let’s all send good wishes her way.”

UPDATE 06/04/15, 8:30pm: Another statement on Joni Mitchell’s official website says she remains in hospital but “continues to improve and get stronger each day”. It is still unclear what the 71-year-old is being treated for.