Annie Lennox on Paying Homage to Joni Mitchell in PBS ‘Gershwin Prize’ Tribute: ‘She’s in My Blood’
variety.comChris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The vibe surrounding Joni Mitchell being bestowed with the Gershwin Prize in Washington, D.C.
earlier this month — as seen in a new PBS special — couldn’t have been more harmonious, from all accounts. And that’s a good thing, because under less loving circumstances, there could have been a turf war over who would get to sing “Both Sides Now,” the song that was Mitchell’s first hit in 1967 and might still stand as her signature song, if someone had to pick one with a gun to their head.
The victor, in this quiet, bloodless battle: the inimitable Annie Lennox, who performed at the tribute to Mitchell just months after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Eurythmics.
The way executive producer Ken Ehrlich tells it, it might not even have been that close a call. “I’ve always been taken by her,” says the longtime former producer of the Grammys, who had her on that show on numerous occasions. “I can tell you this now because I don’t think people will get pissed off at me,” Ehrlich says. “Everybody wanted to do ‘Both Sides’ — everybody.
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