Street Cleaning Top Ten: In France They Kiss on Main Street (#9)

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Every now and then I like to throw a curve ball so deceptive that Mike Trout couldn’t hit it with an ironing board. Welcome to that “every now and then.” Here’s today’s totally left-field (is that enough baseball analogy yet?) song on my list of favorites with “street” in the title. #9: In France They Kiss on Main Street - Joni Mitchell How come every time I sing a song I’ve gotta put so many stupid words in every line? (Comedian Dennis Blair, impersonating Joni Mitchell) Yeah, well..... Joni Mitchell is one of the great Canadian treasures in music. She’s basically relegated to “Big Yellow Taxi” and the writer of the song “Woodstock” in the States, but there is so much more to this living legend. I first started listening to rock and roll in late ‘74/early ‘75, and this was the first Joni Mitchell song I heard. It was released as a single, but in ‘75 everyone was Captain and Tennille-ing and getting down tonight, so a jazzy song about comparisons between how affection was displayed in ‘50s America versus France wasn’t going to make much of a dent. And it didn’t (peaked at #66....don’t know how I heard it!). But it sure left a lasting impression on me!! In France They Kiss on Main Street Written by Joni Mitchell Recorded by Joni Mitchell From The Hissing of Summer Lawns, 1975 Tight dresses and rhinestone rings (an amazing live version with Jaco Pastorius showing why he was so revered as a bassist, and Pat Metheny doing what he does best):