Жоңи Митчелл – "Үлкен Сары Такси" туралы

1970 single by Joni Mitchell

"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Canadian singer songwriter Joni Mitchell in 1970, and originally released on her album Ladies of the Canyon. It was a hit in her native Canada (No. 14) as well as Australia (No. 6) and the UK (No. 11). It only reached No. 67 in the US in 1970, but was later a bigger hit there for her in a live version released in 1974, which peaked at No. 24. Charting versions have also been recorded by The Neighborhood (who had the original top US 40 hit with the track in 1970, peaking at No. 29), and most notably by Amy Grant in 1994 and Counting Crows in 2002. The song was also sampled in Janet Jackson's "Got 'til It's Gone" (1997).

An animated music video of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" was produced by John Wilson of Fine Arts Films as an animated short for the Sonny and Cher television show in the mid 1970s. The only commercial release of this full length music video was in the Video Gems home video release on VHS titled John Wilson's Mini Musicals, also released as The Fantastic All Electric Music Movie. The home video also contains an animated music video of Mitchell's song "Both Sides, Now".

In 1995, American singer Amy Grant released a cover of "Big Yellow Taxi" to pop and adult contemporary radio in the United States and United Kingdom. The song was the fourth (third in the US) pop radio single from her 1994 album, House of Love. Grant's version featured slightly altered lyrics, which she changed at Joni Mitchell's request. The cover peaked at No. 67 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 25 in Canada, No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart, and No. 4 in Iceland. Grant also released a music video for the single, which was aired in the US and UK and released to home video on Grant's Greatest Videos 1986 2004 DVD. Grant also performed the song for her 2006 concert album, Time Again Amy Grant Live.

+Release dates and formats for Amy Grant's version of "Big Yellow Taxi"RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref. (Reference)United StatesMarch 1995A&MUnited KingdomJune 12, 19957 inch vinyl, CD, cassette

In 2002, Counting Crows covered the song with backing vocals by Vanessa Carlton. It was included on the soundtrack to the film Two Weeks Notice. Originally, the song was a hidden track on the band's 2002 album Hard Candy, and it did not include Carlton until it was to be featured in the film. New releases of the album included it as a track with her added, as with her in the video (which was shot on Coney Island, Brooklyn, and in nearby Bensonhurst), although Counting Crows and Carlton neither appeared in the video together nor recorded together. This version slightly changed Mitchell's original lyrics to describe when the eponymous taxi "took my girl away", instead of Mitchell's "took away my old man". The original version of the song without Vanessa was included on the album Nolee Mix, which was released to promote the My Scene dolls. This cover reached No. 42 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and entered the top five on three other Billboard listings. The song became the band's only top 20 single in the United Kingdom, peaking at No. 13, and it reached the top 10 in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

The music video features the Counting Crows performing on a boardwalk in Coney Island, New York. Vanessa Carlton also walks around the streets and sings along to the song. Several people are shown looking back at mirages of past relationships or friendships that they regret losing. Meanwhile, a yellow taxi drives through the streets, calling the attention of the Crows, Carlton, and the former couples. The taxis are transporting mirage of themselves or their former significant other, with some trying to chase after it. The "big yellow taxi [that] took my old man/girl away". One former couple does in fact again meet face to face.

The Village Voice named this cover the worst song of the 2000s, and the Village Voice's scathing review of the cover is archived on Joni Mitchell's website. The review derided the cover as having paved paradise (Mitchell's original song) and put up a parking lot. text= Adam, we don't know if you misunderstood the song's anti globalization, anti industrialization, anti corporation message, or just chose to ignore it so you could get free Frappucinos for life. But we're gonna hip you to a harsh reality. Seriously, you know the line about how they "paved paradise and put up a parking lot?" Like how they replaced something beautiful with something cold and heartless and commercial? That's you. You're the parking lot, motherfucker. You drove your shitty steamroller over something everyone loved so you could pander your sensitive pussyhound whine to people waiting in line at the Carl's Jr. They paved Nirvana and put up a Counting Crow. Argh! Additionally, NME also included this cover on its list of the worst songs of the 2000s, and Ultimate Classic Rock highlighted this song in its Terrible Classic Rock Covers series. In April 2022, American Songwriter ranked "Big Yellow Taxi" at number 10 on their list of "The Top 10 Counting Crows Songs".

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref. (Reference)United StatesNovember 11, 2002Hot adult contemporary radioGeffenAustraliaJanuary 13, 2003CDUnited StatesTriple A radioFebruary 3, 2003Contemporary hit radioUnited KingdomCD, cassette

According to Mitchell's official Website, "'Big Yellow Taxi' has been recorded by 556 other artists" as of June 5, 2023. Some notable versions include:
A single version by Chicago band the Neighborhood reached the Billboard Top 40 chart (No. 29) in the summer of 1970. It also peaked at number 19 in Australia. A cover of the song was featured on the 1973 album Dylan by Bob Dylan. It received unfavorable critical reception. The punk band Pinhead Gunpowder covered the song on their 1994 album Jump Salty. In 1996, "Big Yellow Taxi (Traffic Jam Mix)" peaked on the U. S. dance charts at No. 39 and was part of the soundtrack album to Friends: Music from the TV Series. This song is sampled by Labrinth in the song "Sundown," from his debut 2012 album Electronic Earth. Lyrics from this song are referenced in the Manfred Mann's Earth Band song Lies (Through the 80s) from the album Chance where in the chorus they sing “Pull up the trees and put up a parking lot".