# Joni Mitchell’s Only No. 1 Hit Was a Throwaway Song to Her: “I’d Feel Like the Radio Was Crying for One of My Ballads”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/joni-mitchells-only-no-1-hit-was-a-throwaway-song-to-her-id-feel-like-the-radio-was-crying-for-one-of-my-ballads/
- Published: 2026-10-31T22:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-31T23:23:00+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/joni-mitchells-only-no-1-hit-was-a-throwaway-song-to-her-id-feel-like-the-radio-was-crying-for-one-of-my-ballads/
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- “Help Me” became Joni Mitchell’s only No. 1 hit.
- The label chose the single, not Mitchell.
- She wished radio had played more of her ballads.

## Summary

Joni Mitchell’s only No. 1 hit was “Help Me”, a lively song from her 1974 album *Court and Spark*. Her record label chose it as a single, and it topped Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, though Mitchell felt the choice overlooked the ballads she thought radio listeners wanted.

Mitchell described “Help Me” as a throwaway song about lust and said she generally had little say in which tracks became singles. She recalled that labels tended to select her fastest songs, while she regretted that some quieter tracks received little radio exposure. The song’s success illustrates the gap between commercial reception and Mitchell’s own artistic preferences.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.