Baez also displayed an exceptional stage presence confident, natural and serene.
But as the documentaryJoan Baez I Am a Noisereveals, that appearance of almost divine tranquility was deceiving.
Before a concert the stage fright was beyond what it should have been.
Joan BaezMagnolia Pictures
It was terrible, Baez tells Deadline.
And once I got out there I could do it and, for the most part, enjoy myself…
But yeah, it was tumultuous.
Joan Baez performs at The Beacon Theatre during her Fare Thee Well…Tour 2019 on May 1, 2019 in New York City.Photo by Debra L Rothenberg/Getty Images
It was up and down.
Watch on Deadline
In this film we covered everything.
But it was a journey, Baez concedes.
Ive never let anybody into my life like that.
The documentary is structured around Baezs final tour, which wrapped shortly before the pandemic erupted.
There was so much material and Joan was a ferocious writer, as was her mother.
There were just hundreds of pages of endless writing and letters back and forth, audiotapes, Navasky says.
It was just this massive archive.
They filmed me walking into that storage unit cause Id never walked into it before, Baez laughs.
I didnt have any idea what was in there.
I mean, my parents kept everything…
They kept every goddamned letter and tape, drawing.
The documentary captures how Baez became a sensation after performing gigs at Club 47 in Boston.
In 1961 she met Bob Dylan in New Yorks folk scene and they soon became a romantic couple.
I was just stoned on that talent, she says in an interview from that era.
I was totally demoralized, Baez tells the filmmakers.
The subject still appears painful to her.
I think probably Dylan broke my heart, she says.
I think thats fair enough to say.
Whats harrowing aboutJoan Baez I Am a Noiseare the revelations surrounding the lifetime of psychological duress she has experienced.
I dont think Im alone with that Ive met some other people that have a similar [experience].
It was very exaggerated in me, and less and less so as I went forward.
In audiotapes stored in the archive, Al Baez expresses dismay over the allegations from Mimi and Joan.
Baez tells the filmmakers, I cant prove anything.
Theres a reason why those people appear, Baez tells Deadline regarding the different personalities.
Theyre saving your life.
She adds, Ive never talked about it.
This will be the first indication anybody ever had…
I dont know what the reactions gonna be.
The filmmakers say they carefully considered how to present such a sensitive aspect of Baezs life.
We wanted to be sure it had context, OConnor says.
It could tip so easily into something sensational and unearned in the course of the film.
And so we wanted it to have been grounded in other ways in Joans struggle.
The directors accomplished that, Baez says.
Baez tells Deadline she indeed considers herself retired from performing.
We asked her what shes most proud of as she examines the arc of her life and career.
The question triggered a sudden realization on her part.
Ah, I dreamed about a tunnel last night, I just remembered.
[In the dream] Theyre making a tunnel under the ocean.
They have to go from one continent to the other, and how are they gonna do that?
And whos gonna volunteer?
I just figured out that dream.
But I did make it through the tunnel.
