People's Parties

Album: Court And Spark (1974)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The dreamy acoustic layering of this song belies the anxiety of its narrator. Gripped by "frightened silence," Joni Mitchell witnesses a disturbing scene at this LA party.

    Photo beauty gets attention, then her eye paint's running down
    She's got a rose in her teeth and a lampshade crown
    One minute she's so happy, then she's crying on someone's knee


    The song's source, according to Jack Nicholson's then-partner Anjelica Huston, was a dinner party at which Dutch model Apollonia van Ravenstein had a dramatic meltdown. "(Apollonia) has been crying that night - laughing and crying, it was hard to figure out which or why," Huston recounted in her 2014 memoir Watch Me. "She had balanced a lamp side on her head; tears were pouring down her cheeks."

    It was later revealed that Nicholson had slept with van Ravenstein.
  • "People's Parties" is the fourth track on Court And Spark, Mitchell's most commercially successful release of her distinguished career. It reached #2 in the United States and #1 in Canada and eventually received a double platinum certification by the RIAA. The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll voted Court and Spark the Best Album of the Year.
  • Mitchell used jazz musicians to back her on Court And Spark. On this track they included drummer John Guerin and guitarist Larry Carlton from jazz fusion The L.A. Express and bassist Wilton Felder from the jazz group The Crusaders.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Graham Nash

Graham NashSongwriter Interviews

Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.

Ralph Casale  - Session Pro

Ralph Casale - Session ProSongwriter Interviews

A top New York studio musician, Ralph played guitar on many '60s hits, including "Lightnin' Strikes," "A Lover's Concerto" and "I Am A Rock."

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Edwin McCain

Edwin McCainSongwriter Interviews

"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."