Joni Mitchell (active 1964-present)
Canadian Roberta Joan Anderson (aka Joni Mitchell) began her career busking in Toronto but went on to become one of the leading figures in folk music in the Sixties and Seventies. Her pure vocals and thoughtful lyrics, which could be socially conscious or deeply confessional, meant Mitchell was seen as one of the voices of her generation. Her 1971 album Blue often places high up on lists of the greatest albums of all time.