Greetings, I'll introduce myself, since this is my first post (been lurking for a few weeks). My name's Dan Sonenberg, I'm a composer and long-time Joni fan, and I'm actually currently working on my dissertation which is on, you guessed it, Joni Mitchell (particularly Court and Spark).
Now, my question: As of Joni's second album she was her own producer. I'm wondering how common this was for recording artists in that time period in general, and singer-songwriters in particular. I know that James Taylor and Carole King didn't produce their own albums. What were the precedents for this, if any? I believe Stevie Wonder was his own producer, but I'm not sure if that only began with his new Motown deal in the early 70s (which gave him much artistic freedom). Thanks! dan s.
