Mitchell's only success in the UK was with the quasi-novelty No. 11 hit "Big Yellow Taxi" in 1970. In a 1996 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mitchell explained: "I wrote ['Chelsea Morning'] in Philadelphia after some girls who worked in this club where I was playing found all this coloured slag glass in an alley. We collected a lot of it and built these glass mobiles with copper wire and coat hangers.
"I took mine back to New York and put them in my window on West 16th Street in the Chelsea District. The sun would hit the mobile and send these moving colours all around the room. As a young girl, I found that to be a thing of beauty. There's even a reference to the mobile in the song. It was a very young and lovely time... before I had a record deal. I think it's a very sweet song, but I don't think of it as part of my best work.
"To me, most of those early songs seem like the work of an ingenue." As mentioned, folk singer Judy Collins also covered this song - in fact, Bill and Hillary Clinton named their daughter after this song, and Collins performed this, along with her version of "Amazing Grace", at Bill Clinton's first Presidiential inauguration in 1993. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Morning
15 Comments (since 22 Apr 2014)
leejohnson
[YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CINTtRszgLs Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/lee.johnson.2000/posts/10152378185014295]
leejohnson
Although released as a single in the US in 1969 and re-issued there in 1972, this did nothing at all in the charts of the day, being rather over-shadowed by versions recorded by other artists, such as Judy Collins (1968/69), 'Fairport Convention' (1968), 'Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters' (1968), Jennifer Warnes (1968), 'Green Lyte Sunday' (1970), 'Sérgio Mendes & Brasil 66' (1970), Sylvia McNeill (1970), and Neil Diamond (1971).
leejohnson
Mitchell's only success in the UK was with the quasi-novelty No. 11 hit "Big Yellow Taxi" in 1970. In a 1996 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mitchell explained: "I wrote ['Chelsea Morning'] in Philadelphia after some girls who worked in this club where I was playing found all this coloured slag glass in an alley. We collected a lot of it and built these glass mobiles with copper wire and coat hangers.
leejohnson
"I took mine back to New York and put them in my window on West 16th Street in the Chelsea District. The sun would hit the mobile and send these moving colours all around the room. As a young girl, I found that to be a thing of beauty. There's even a reference to the mobile in the song. It was a very young and lovely time... before I had a record deal. I think it's a very sweet song, but I don't think of it as part of my best work.
leejohnson
"To me, most of those early songs seem like the work of an ingenue." As mentioned, folk singer Judy Collins also covered this song - in fact, Bill and Hillary Clinton named their daughter after this song, and Collins performed this, along with her version of "Amazing Grace", at Bill Clinton's first Presidiential inauguration in 1993. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Morning
debutch
Interesting info. Nice one!
pauseliveaction
Love this. Pure poetry.
BarneyRubble
Nice reminder - poetess
BertrandRustles
Oh God yes. Absolute perfection. Joyous, delicious, glorious.
KerryEJordan
Glorious.
HaveACuppaTea
Are you a Chelsea fan? They did well tonight.
glimmer9
nice song , but come on like chelsea noooooo, liverpool a great northen team who will beat those southern bastards
lynn200
and Chelsea is now having baby. if a girl..Joni? one of my favorite songs...thx.
mikelowe
Great work Lee, thanks
leejohnson
Me? Chelsea? No! Just a coincidence that I Jammed this at about the time they play their semi-final first leg. I am Swindon Town! :)