Joni Mitchell ‘doing fine’ after fainting, is still in hospital

Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell fainted Tuesday and is still hospitalized, but she is “doing fine,” her spokeswoman said.

A 911 call was made after Mitchell lost consciousness, her representative told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, adding that the folk music legend is undergoing tests to determine the cause of the incident.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, one of the closest hospitals to Mitchell’s Bel-Air home, declined to confirm or deny that she was there. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, also nearby, did not return calls seeking comment.

Mitchell, 71, was one of the most prominent musicians to come out of the seminal 1960s Laurel Canyon music scene, which included the Doors; Neil Young; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Carole King; the Eagles; and the Mamas and the Papas. Since then her music has inspired and been covered by artists including Prince, Bjork, Janet Jackson, Steely Dan and Chaka Khan.

“I have a tremendous will to live,” Mitchell told the Los Angeles Times in 2010. She self-identifies as having Morgellons disease and has been a vocal advocate for the controversial disorder in recent years.

“I’m a polio survivor, so I know how conservative the medical body can be,” she said. “In America, the Morgellons is always diagnosed as ‘delusion of parasites,’ and they send you to a psychiatrist. I’m actually trying to get out of the music business to battle for Morgellons sufferers to receive the credibility that’s owed to them.”

Last year, the boxed set “Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, a Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced” was released. The four-CD set includes Mitchell’s liner notes, with her memories of the sessions and interactions. She gets grumpy about Bob Dylan and David Geffen and calls out her own songs for new criticism. “Some of my songs bug people. They hate them,” she wrote.

In 1995, Mitchell was bestowed the Century Award by Billboard magazine, the publication’s highest honor for creative achievement, according to her website. Other winners include George Harrison, Buddy Guy and Billy Joel. She was presented the award “to acknowledge the uncommon excellence of a still-unfolding body of work.”

Mitchell has won eight Grammy awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Times staff writers Lauren Raab and Ryan Parker contributed to this report.