Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell invented dozens of her own guitar tunings.

Polio at nine left her left hand weak, so she found tunings she could play. Of her months in hospital, she later said, “It made an artist out of me.” In 2015, at 71, an aneurysm left her relearning to walk and talk. She relearned guitar by watching videos of her younger self, and in 2022 she played a surprise set at Newport.