Chuck Mitchell is the former husband of singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter Roberta Joan “Joni” Mitchell. Chuck’s ex-wife Joni rose to fame in the 1960s. She is known for hits including “Big Yellow Taxi,” and “Woodstock”. She has received accolades, including ten Grammy Awards, and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She continues to be one of the most influential women in music history.
Chuck Mitchell: Bio Summary
| Name | Chuck Mitchell |
| Date of birth | N/A |
| Place of birth | New York City |
| Famous as | ex-husband of Joni Mitchell |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Spouse | Joni Mitchell |
| Parents | N/A |
| Occupation | Singer |
Who Is Joni Mitchell’s Ex-husband, Chuck Mitchell?
Charles Scott “Chuck” Mitchell is a singer who began singing in Detroit folk clubs and saloons in the 1960s. He was born in New York City and grew up in farm country north of Detroit. He studied at Principia College, where he majored in English and drama. After he graduated, he moved to New York to pursue a career in theater.
Chuck Mitchell later returned to Detroit and became a staff writer for the Great Cities project. By the year 1965, he was performing at Detroit clubs like the Chessmate and The Retort. He decided to focus on his music career. He plays 6 and 12-string guitar and sings cabaret songs, animal songs, story songs, and Mitchell songs, according to publicly available information.
Chuck also weaves poetry by Sandburg-Frost-Brecht-Hopkins and others into his shows. He has appeared on the Merv Griffin show (once) and A Prairie Home Companion (three times). He is said to be an actor whose acting credits include ‘The World of Carl Sandburg’ (in the USA and the UK), Harold Hill in ‘The Music Man’, Woody in ‘Woody Guthrie’s American Song’, and Stephen Foster in ‘Mr. Foster & Mr. Twain’.
In 2018, Chuck’s fellow FARM (Folk Alliance Regional Midwest) folk gave him the Lantern Bearer Award for “significant contribution to folk music in the Midwest”. He is the founder of Transparent Music.
Chuck Mitchell Is The First Husband Of Joni Mitchell
Chuck Mitchell is the first man Canadian-American singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell got married to but he is not the first man she dated. She was previously in a relationship with Brad MacMath. She got pregnant for Brad but Brad left her and their unborn child. She gave birth to a daughter, Kelly Dale Anderson, in February 1965.
Joni Mitchell said: “I conceived in art college at the age of 20, near the end of term. The main thing at the time was to conceal it. The scandal was so intense. A daughter could do nothing more disgraceful. It ruined you in a social sense. You have no idea what the stigma was. It was like you murdered somebody.”
Joni was kept in the hospital for an extra 10 days due to birth complications, sources say. However, Joni said at the time she had “no money”, “no home” and “no job” as well. She added: “When I leave the hospital, I have no roof over my head. But I kept trying to find some kind of circumstance where I could stay with her that wouldn’t be malforming to her and to myself.”
ALSO, READ: Kelly Dale Anderson: Inside The Life Of Joni Mitchell’s Daughter
However, Joni placed her daughter Kelly for adoption because she was not able to provide for her daughter. Joni decided to keep the existence of her daughter a secret even from her parents Myrtle Marguerite (née McKee) and William Andrew Anderson. Her daughter was adopted by David Gibbs and Ida Gibbs and renamed Kilauren Gibb. Joni and her daughter would meet in 1997 and be reunited.
Joni Mitchell was playing gigs a few weeks after she gave birth. She met Charles Scott “Chuck” Mitchell, the New York City-born American who was a folk singer. She was working at the Penny Farthing, a folk club in Toronto at the time. Joni’s beauty caught Chuck’s eye and he was immediately attracted to her. Chuck was also moved by Joni’s performance.
Chuck Mitchell offered to get Joni steady work in the coffeehouses he knew in the United States. Joni who was convinced left Canada for the first time in April 1965. She and Chuck Mitchell travelled together to the United States and the duo started playing music together. Chuck and Joni got involved in a romantic relationship.
They decided to get married. They got married on June 19, 1965, in an official ceremony in Chuck’s hometown at the time Joni was 21 years old. Joni said, “I made my dress and bridesmaids’ dresses. We had no money… I walked down the aisle brandishing my daisies.” After she became Chuck’s wife, Joni who was born Roberta Joan Anderson took Chuck’s surname.
ALSO, READ: Bill Anderson: Where Is Joni Mitchell’s Father Now?
Chuck Mitchell and Joni Mitchell lived at the Verona apartments in Detroit’s Cass Corridor. They became regular performers at area coffee houses, like the Chess Mate on Livernois, near Six Mile Road; the Alcove bar, near Wayne State University; the Rathskeller, a restaurant on the campus of the University of Detroit; and the Raven Gallery in Southfield.
During Chuck Mitchell and Joni Mitchell’s marriage, they had no children. Chuck was the stepfather of Joni’s only child Kelly Dale Anderson whom she gave up for adoption but later reunited with again. L.A. TIMES has it that Joni rushed into “a marriage of convenience, at best” with Chuck, with the intent of keeping her daughter, Kelly.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for Chuck and Joni. Joni reportedly ‘felt he stifled her creative freedom’. Joni revealed that “To get away from him, I would go out and drink coffee and write.” She said Chuck had promised to help her get her daughter back if they got married but he never did. They ended both their marriage and partnership.
They got divorced in 1967. After the divorce, Joni married American musician, songwriter, and record producer Larry Klein. Their marriage lasted from November 21, 1982 until they divorced in 1994. They had no children together. Chuck Mitchell also remarried after the divorce. He and his wife have two children.
ALSO, READ: Myrtle Anderson: What Happened To Joni Mitchell’s Mother?
“They’re country kids, like me,” Chuck said, “but their mom got them started making music early, when they were five, with itty-bitty violins.” Their daughter doubled in English and music and is a concert violist, and their son (“he reads scores like I read emails”) is finishing a degree in math and “composing music for alt rappers. That’s what I call it. He calls it ‘making beats.’ ”
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