’60s Singer and Songwriter Legend, 81, Marks Milestone of Meeting Fellow Icon With Epic Throwback Photo originally appeared on Parade.
The ’60s were truly a revolutionary time. From politics to music, it was an era that gave us some of the most prolific icons that would inevitably shape music and culture as we know it. Very seldom are the catalyst-moments caught on camera, but when they are, it’s pretty rewarding.
Singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell, 81, caught just that and shared it with the world, with a throwback photo of the milestone moment she met the late Leonard Cohen at the 1967 Newport Folk Festival.
Fans felt privileged to be getting a glimpse of these priceless memories.
“Both have lyrics that read like poetry,” wrote one fan.
“So young, beautiful and talented! Their voices and poetry will never leave my heart,” added another.
“I could drink a case of you both,” another cleverly commented.
The late ’60s meeting was the beginning of a brief but intense romantic relationship between the two talents. It would be the inspiration behind several works including Mitchell’s “Rainy Night House” which Mitchell once confirmed to Far Out Magazine was about Cohen.
“Yeah. I went one time to his home, and I fell asleep in his old room, and he sat up and watched me sleep,” she claimed. “He sat up all night, and he watched me see who in the world I could be.”
Her iconic ballad “Case of You” is also rumored to be about him, but was never publicly confirmed to. It’s also believed that “Winter Lady” was Cohen’s ode to Mitchell.
The two maintained a long friendship despite their brief romance, until Cohen died in 2016.
’60s Singer and Songwriter Legend, 81, Marks Milestone of Meeting Fellow Icon With Epic Throwback Photo first appeared on Parade on Jul 17, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared.