Chelsea Morning

{{Short description|Song written and performed by Joni Mitchell}} {{Infobox song | name = Chelsea Morning | cover = | alt = | type = | artist = [[Joni Mitchell]] | album = [[Clouds (Joni Mitchell album)|Clouds]] | language = English | released = {{Start date|1969}} | recorded = | studio = A&M Studios, Hollywood, California | genre = [[Folk rock]] | length = 02:35 | label = [[Reprise Records|Reprise]] | writer = Joni Mitchell | producer = Joni Mitchell, [[Paul A. Rothchild]] | misc = {{External music video|header=Official audio|type=song|{{YouTube|nWDyA4S-geg|Chelsea Morning}}}} }} "'''Chelsea Morning'''" is a song written and composed by [[Joni Mitchell]] and recorded for the singer's second album, ''[[Clouds (Joni Mitchell album)|Clouds]]'', which she released in 1969.<ref>[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=judy collins|chart=all}} "Discography - Judy Collins - Chelsea Morning/Pretty Polly"], ''Billboard.com''. Retrieved June 29, 2008.</ref>

==Background== The song was inspired by Mitchell's room in the [[Chelsea, Manhattan|Chelsea]] neighborhood of [[New York City]]. The inspiration for the first verse comes partly from the distinct décor of her apartment. While in Philadelphia, Mitchell and friends had made a [[Mobile (sculpture)|mobile]] from shards of colored glass they had found in the street and wire coat hangers, which filtered the light coming into her room through the window and created the "rainbow on the wall."<ref name="Hilburn">Hilburn, Robert: Los Angeles Times. [http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/12-96/12-07-96/b01ae065.htm "Joni Mitchell looks at both sides now: her hits -- and misses"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041001000211/http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/12-96/12-07-96/b01ae065.htm |date=October 1, 2004 }}, ''NewStandard''. 12/7/96. Retrieved June 29, 2008.</ref> During coffeehouse performances of this song in the late 1960s, Mitchell explained that the stained glass had been rescued from the salvaged windows of a demolished home for unwed mothers.<ref>https://jonimitchell.com/music/song.cfm?id=89</ref>

The lyrics of this song demonstrate Mitchell's talent with imagery, and her strong use of visual inspiration, which comes from her background in visual art. Example: "The sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses." Mitchell explained in 1996: "It was a very young and lovely time ... before I had a record deal. I think it's a very sweet song, but I don't think of it as part of my best work. To me, most of those early songs seem like the work of an [[Ingénue|ingenue]]."<ref name="Hilburn"/>

"Chelsea Morning" predated the release of Mitchell's [[Song to a Seagull|1968 debut album]], but she held off recording the song until her second album ''Clouds'' partly because it had already been recorded by other artists. The version by [[Judy Collins]] had been initially slated for ''[[Who Knows Where the Time Goes (Judy Collins album)|Who Knows Where the Time Goes]]'', but "Chelsea Morning" did not make the track listing for the album, instead given an April 1969 single release. Supported mainly by [[easy listening]] radio, the track reached No.25 on [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|''Billboard's'' Easy Listening chart]] with peripheral [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] impact, peaking there at No.78, and No. 72 in [[RPM (magazine)|Canada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.6023.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - August 30, 1969}}</ref> "Chelsea Morning" made a belated debut as a Judy Collins album track on the singer's 1971 album release ''Living''. Collins re-recorded "Chelsea Morning" for her 1999 retrospective double-album release ''Forever: An Anthology''.

[[Chelsea Clinton]], daughter of President [[Bill Clinton]] and [[Hillary Clinton]], was named after the song, "Chelsea Morning", after the couple heard Judy Collins' version of the song playing during a stroll in the Chelsea neighborhood of London.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/19/us/the-inauguration-shedding-light-on-a-morning-and-a-name.html|title=THE INAUGURATION; Shedding Light On a Morning And a Name|date=1993-01-19|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-08-30}}</ref>

==Other versions== {{Infobox song | name = Chelsea Morning | cover = Judy Collins Chelsea Morning cover.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = [[Judy Collins]] | album = | B-side = [[Pretty Polly (ballad)|Pretty Polly]] | released = {{Start date|1969|04}}<ref>[https://archive.today/20120730194452/http://www.epinions.com/content_326478237316 "The Very Best of Judy Collins by Judy Collins"], ''Epinions.com''.</ref> | recorded = [[Elektra Sound Recorders]], Los Angeles, {{start date|1968}} | studio = | genre = [[Folk rock]] | length = 3:15 | label = [[Elektra Records|Elektra]] | writer = [[Joni Mitchell]] | producer = [[David Anderle]] | prev_title = [[Someday Soon (Ian Tyson song)|Someday Soon]] | prev_year = 1969 | next_title = [[Turn! Turn! Turn!|Turn! Turn! Turn! To Everything There Is A Season]] | next_year = 1969 }}

Prior to coming out on the Mitchell album, the song had been issued as a track on the [[Fairport Convention (album)|debut album]] by [[Fairport Convention]] in 1968, as a single by [[Gloria Loring]],<ref>[https://www.discogs.com/Gloria-Loring-Chelsea-Morning/release/4225614 Gloria Loring, "Chelsea Morning", ''Discogs.com'']. Retrieved 10 December 2019</ref> and as a single by [[Judy Collins]] earlier in 1969.<ref name="AllMusic">Unterberger, Richie (2008).[{{Allmusic|class=song|id=t2812928|pure_url=yes}} "'Chelsea Morning' - Joni Mitchell"], ''AllMusic''. Retrieved June 29, 2008.</ref> [[Jennifer Warnes]] recorded it for her debut album, ''I Can See Everything'', also in 1968, and, in 1969, this version was released as a single. The earliest commercial appearance of the song, however, was likely its interpretation by [[Dave Van Ronk]] on his 1967 album ''[[Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters]]''.

In 1970, three versions of "Chelsea Morning" were produced: * ''Green Lyte Sunday featuring Susan Darby'' reached No.4 as Easy Listening in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' in August 1970. * [[Sérgio Mendes|Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66]] reached No.21 as Easy Listening in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' in November 1970. In [[RPM (magazine)|Canada]] it reached No.7 on the AC charts and No. 74 on the rock charts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5210.pdf| title=RPM AC Singles - March 13, 1971}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5183.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - March 6, 1971}}</ref> * [[Sylvia McNeill]] on RCA 1922 (UK 45 rpm) produced by [[Jack Good (producer)|Jack Good]], is another notable version.

In 1971, [[Neil Diamond]] recorded "Chelsea Morning" for his album ''[[Stones (Neil Diamond album)|Stones]]''. (He had previously interpreted "[[Both Sides Now]]" in a performance at Douglas Weston's Troubadour which had been recorded on his live album ''Gold''.)

In 1972, a Finnish rendering, titled "Kaupungin Aamu", was recorded by [[:fi:Anki Lindqvist|Anki]] for her album ''Ennen Aurinkoa''.

In 1974, [[:sv:Kjell Hansson|Kjell Hansson]] recorded the Swedish rendering "Skärgårdsmorgon" for his album ''Dig''.

In 1985, Mitchell's version was included in the [[soundtrack]] of the feature film ''[[After Hours (film)|After Hours]]''.

In 2004, [[Rebecca Luker]] recorded "Chelsea Morning" for her album ''Leaving Home''.

[[Marian Call]] recorded it for her 2007 album, ''Vanilla''.

Judy Collins rerecorded "Chelsea Morning" for her 2021 album ''White Bird: Anthology of Favorites''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elmoremagazine.com/2021/05/reviews/albums/judy-collins-2|title = Judy Collins|date = 7 May 2021}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:1967 songs]] [[Category:1969 singles]] [[Category:Joni Mitchell songs]] [[Category:Judy Collins songs]] [[Category:Fairport Convention songs]] [[Category:Folk rock songs]] [[Category:Songs written by Joni Mitchell]] [[Category:Elektra Records singles]] [[Category:Songs about New York City]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Joni Mitchell]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Paul A. Rothchild]]