Folk Icon Joni Mitchell Hospitalized in Los Angeles

By Variety Staff

Legendary folk singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is being treated in a Los Angeles hospital amid reports that she was found unconscious in her home.

“Joni has been hospitalized,” read a message posted on her Facebook page shortly before 8 p.m. PT. “We are awaiting official word on her condition and will post it here as soon as we know.”

Her rep could not be reached for comment.

According to TMZ, paramedics rushed to the Canadian musician’s Bel-Air residence after receiving a 911 call about an unconscious woman, though she was reportedly alert on the way to the hospital.

The website describes her medical condition as “quite serious.”

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed that paramedics responded to an emergency 911 call on Mitchell’s street in Bel-Air at about 2:30 on Tuesday, but was unable to confirm her condition.

The eight-time Grammy-winning musician, now 71, is known for songs like “The Circle Game” and “Help Me” and helped define the era of 1960s and 70s music. Her songs, such as “Big Yellow Taxi” and “River,” have been famously covered over the years.

“Well, it’s taking personal responsibility for the failure of a relationship,” she said of “River” in an NPR interview. “And my generation — you know, the ‘Me Generation’ — is known to be a Peter Pan, narcissistic generation, right? So it’s really, you know — it’s really that aspect of our inability — you know, ‘I’m selfish and I’m sad.’ Right? You know, people think that’s confessional, but I’d say, you know, in my generation, you think that that’s a unique personal statement? You know what I mean? It’s like, no wonder there’s so many covers of it?”

Mitchell’s most recent album of original music, Shine, was released in 2007.