Martin Bandyke Under Covers: Martin talks to David Yaffe, author of Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell.

Joni Mitchell may be the most influential female recording artist and composer of the late twentieth century. In Reckless Daughter, the music critic David Yaffe tells the remarkable, heart-wrenching story of how the blond girl with the guitar became a superstar of folk music in the 1960s, a key figure in the Laurel Canyon music scene of the 1970s, and the songwriter who spoke resonantly to, and for, audiences across the country. In this intimate biography, drawing on dozens of unprecedented in-person interviews with Mitchell, her childhood friends, and a cast of famous characters, Yaffe reveals the backstory behind the famous songs-from Mitchell's youth in Canada, her bout with polio at age nine, and her early marriage and the child she gave up for adoption, through the love affairs that inspired masterpieces, and up to the present-and shows us why Mitchell has so enthralled her listeners, her lovers and her friends. Reckless Daughter is the story of an artist and an era that have left an indelible mark in American music. Martin's interview with David Yaffe was recorded on November 1, 2017.