Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (born January 1, 1942) is an American musician who was the lead singer of the 1960s

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

group Country Joe and the Fish.Richard Brenneman
"Country Joe McDonald Revives Anti-War Anthem"
, ''

Berkeley Daily Planet The ''Berkeley Daily Planet'' was a free weekly newspaper published in Berkeley, California, which continues today as an internet-based news publication. The ''Daily Planet'' is politically progressive, and offers endorsements of progressive a ...

'', April 16, 2004, accessed July 18, 2007.

Early life and early career

McDonald was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and grew up in

El Monte, California } El Monte (Spanish for "The Mountain") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles. El Monte's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte" and is historically ...

, where he was student conductor and president of his high school marching band. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

for three years and was stationed in Japan. After his enlistment, he attended

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...

for a year. In the early 1960s, he began

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

Telegraph Avenue Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California, and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California, Berkeley cam ...

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. His father, Worden McDonald, from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, was of Scottish

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

heritage (the son of a minister) and worked for a telephone company. His mother, Florence Plotnick, was the daughter of

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Jewish immigrants and served for many years on the Berkeley City Council. In their youth, both were

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

members and named their son after

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, before renouncing the cause.

Music career

McDonald has recorded 33 albums and has written hundreds of songs over a career spanning 60 years. In 1965, he and

Barry Melton Barry "The Fish" Melton (born June 14, 1947) is the co-founder and original lead guitarist of Country Joe and the Fish and Dinosaurs. He appears on all the Country Joe and the Fish recordings and he also wrote some of the songs that the band re ...

co-founded Country Joe & the Fish which became a pioneer

band with their eclectic performances at the

Avalon Ballroom The Avalon Ballroom was a music venue in the Polk Gulch neighborhood of San Francisco, California, at 1244 Sutter Street (or 1268 Sutter, depending on the entrance). The space is known as the location of many concerts of the counterculture move ...

, the Fillmore Auditorium, the 1967

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

, and both the 1969 original and 1979 reunion Woodstock Festivals. SF Sounds - AES Historical session 2012

Their best-known song is his "

The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" is a song by the American psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish, written by Country Joe McDonald, and first released as the opening track on the extended play ''Rag Baby Talking Issue No. 1'', in Oct ...

" (1965), a

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

about the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, whose familiar chorus ("One, two, three, what are we fighting for?") is well known to the

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

generation and

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and oth ...

s of the 1960s and '70s. McDonald wrote the song in about 20 minutes for an anti-Vietnam War play. The "Fish Cheer" was the band performing a

call-and-response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

with the audience, spelling the word "fish", followed by Country Joe yelling, "What's that spell?" twice, with the audience responding, and then, the third time, "What's that spell?", followed immediately by the song. The "Fish Cheer" evolved into the "Fuck Cheer" after the Berkeley

Free Speech Movement The Free Speech Movement (FSM) was a massive, long-lasting student protest which took place during the 1964–65 academic year on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. The Movement was informally under the central leadership of B ...

. The cheer was on the original recording of "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag", being played right before the song on the LP of the same name. The cheer became popular and the crowd would spell out F-I-S-H when the band performed live. During the summer of 1968 the band played on the

Schaefer Music Festival The Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park was a recurring music festival held in the summer between 1967 and 1976 at Wollman Rink in New York City's Central Park. It featured a number of notable performances. The sponsorship was taken over by D ...

tour.Country Joe McDonald
"That Notorious Cheer"
accessed October 10, 2007. Gary "Chicken" Hirsh suggested before one of the shows to spell the word "

fuck ''Fuck'' is an English-language expletive. It often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to aro ...

" instead of "fish". Although the crowd loved it, the management of the

Schaefer Beer Schaefer Beer is a brand of American beer first produced in New York City during 1842 by the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company.The Shaefer Beer Stor The company relocated to Brooklyn in the early 20th century. It went public in 1968 with a $ ...

Festival did not and kicked the band off the tour for life. ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' then canceled a previously scheduled appearance by the band, telling them to keep the money they had already been paid in exchange for never playing on the show. The modified cheer continued at most of the band's live shows throughout the years, including Woodstock and elsewhere. In

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, Massachusetts, McDonald was arrested for obscenity and fined $500 for uttering "fuck" in public. McDonald subsequently embarked on a solo career. One of his solo albums, the 1973

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

LP ''Paris Sessions'', was reviewed by

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981), in which he said: "Amazing. The man (repeat: man) has written

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

songs that are both catchy and sensible. Despite the real/honest prison poem and the silly, outdated record fan routines, his best in about five years." DIG13875 jjg-062

In 2003 McDonald was sued for

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

over his signature song, specifically the "One, two, three, what are we fighting for?" chorus part, as derived from the 1926 early

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

classic "

Muskrat Ramble "Muskrat Ramble" is a jazz composition written by Kid Ory in 1926. It was first recorded on February 26, 1926, by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, and became the group's most frequently recorded piece. It was paired on the flip side with another ...

", co-written by

Kid Ory Edward "Kid" Ory (December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973) was an American jazz composer, trombonist and bandleader. One of the early users of the glissando technique, he helped establish it as a central element of New Orleans jazz. He was ...

. The suit was brought by Ory's daughter Babette, who held the copyright at the time. Since decades had already passed from the time McDonald composed his song in 1965, Ory based her suit on a new version of it recorded by McDonald in 1999. The court, however, upheld McDonald's laches defense, noting that Ory and her father were aware of the original version of the song, with the same questionable section, for some three decades without bringing a suit. In 2006, Ory was ordered to pay McDonald $395,000 for attorney fees and had to sell her copyrights to do so. In 2004, McDonald regrouped with three of the original members of Country Joe and the Fish (

Bruce Barthol Bruce Barthol (November 11, 1947 – February 20, 2023) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. Born at Alta Bates Hospital, Berkeley, California, he was the original bass player for the psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish, ...

David Bennett Cohen David Bennett Cohen (born August 4, 1942) is an American musician best known as the original keyboardist and one of the guitar players for the late-1960s psychedelic rock and blues band Country Joe and the Fish. Early life and influences ...

, and Gary "Chicken" Hirsh) and they toured the United States and the United Kingdom as the "Country Joe Band". In 2005, McDonald joined a larger protest against California Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

's proposed budget cuts at the California State Capitol Building. Later in 2005, political commentator Bill O'Reilly compared McDonald to Cuban President

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

, remarking on McDonald's involvement in Cindy Sheehan's protests against the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. In 2015, McDonald (with assistance from

Alec Palao Alejandro "Alec" Palao (born 1962) is a British musician, music historian, writer, and reissue producer. In addition to his musical output with groups like the Sting-Rays, the Sneetches, and Mushroom, his works include hundreds of production cr ...

), formed The Electric Music Band; the intention of the group was to perform the early psychedelic material of the early career of Country Joe And The Fish. The band has performed

Electric Music For The Mind And Body ''Electric Music for the Mind and Body'' is Country Joe and the Fish's debut album. Released in May 1967 on the Vanguard label, it was one of the first psychedelic albums to come out of San Francisco. Tracks from the LP, especially "Section 43" ...

in its entirety, and band members include Palao,

the Rain Parade The Rain Parade is a band that was originally active in the Paisley Underground scene in Los Angeles in the 1980s, and that reunited and resumed touring in 2012. History Rain Parade in the 1980s (1981–86) Originally called the Sidewalks, the ...

's Matt Piucci and Derek See of

the Chocolate Watchband The Chocolate Watchband is an American garage rock band that formed in 1965 in Los Altos, California. The band went through several lineup changes during its existence. Combining psychedelic and garage rock components, their sound was marked by Da ...

. In 2017, McDonald released an album on his own Rag Baby label entitled ''50''. In 2019, Mc Donald was scheduled to play on Woodstock's 50th Anniversary festival, which was cancelled after negotiations between partners failed.

Personal life

McDonald was married to Kathe Werum from 1963 to 1966 and married Robin Menken a year after his divorce from Werum. In 1968, Menken gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Seven Anne McDonald, in San Francisco. Seven had a career as a TV

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

in the late 1970s and early 1980s, managed

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

Viper Room The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. It was established as The Viper Room in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp. The other part owner was Sal J ...

nightclub and the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Smashing Pumpkins Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer Ar ...

in the 1990s, and wrote for ''

Details Detail(s) or The Detail(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Details'' (film), a 2003 Swedish film * ''The Details'' (film), a 2011 American film * ''The Detail'', a Canadian television series * "The Detail" (''The Wire''), a television epis ...

'', ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'', ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' and ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'' magazines in the 1990s and 2000s. Seven was the subject of and inspiration behind the song "Silver and Gold". McDonald has noted that his girlfriend at the time, Janis Joplin, showed much anger for breaking up with her to be with Menken but asked him to write a song about her; the result was "Janis". Seven's name was the inspiration behind the character Six on Blossom, cited by Don Reo on PeopleTV special Blossom Cast Reunion aired 2017, timestamp 10:07-10:33. Don's son went to school with Seven, Don asked his son if she would be cool with him naming a character Seven, Seven said no, so it was either Six or Eight. McDonald has four other children, Devin (b. 1976) and Tara (b. 1980) from his marriage to Janice Taylor, and Emily (b. 1988) and Ryan (b. 1991) from his marriage to Kathy Wright. McDonald lives in

Discography

For discography of Country Joe and the Fish, see that entry *'' Thinking of Woody Guthrie'' (1969, Vanguard 6546) *''Tonight I'm Singing Just for You'' (1970, Vanguard 6557) *'' Quiet Days in Clichy'' (Soundtrack) (1970, Vanguard 79303) 5 original songs *''Hold On It's Coming'' (1971, Vanguard 79314) *'' War War War'' (1971, Vanguard 79315) *''Incredible! Live!'' (1972, Vanguard 79316) Live album *''Paris Sessions'' (1973, Vanguard 79328) *'' Country Joe'' (1974, Vanguard 79348) *''Paradise with an Ocean View'' (1975, Fantasy 9495) *''Essential Country Joe McDonald'' (1976, Vanguard 85/86) *''Love Is a Fire'' (1976, Fantasy 9511) *''Goodbye Blues'' (1977, Fantasy 9525) *''Rock N Roll from Planet Earth'' (1978, Fantasy 9544) *''Leisure Suite'' (1979, Fantasy 9586) *''Into the Fray'' (1981, Rag Baby 2001) Live in Germany *''On My Own'' (1981, Rag Baby 1012) *''Animal Tracks'' (1983, Animus UK FEEL 1) *''Child's Play'' (1983, Rag Baby 1018) *''Peace on Earth'' (1984, Rag Baby 1019) *''Vietnam Experience'' (1986, Rag Baby 1024/25) *''Classics'' (1989, Fantasy 7709) *''Best of Country Joe McDonald: The Vanguard Years (1969–1975)'' (1990, Vanguard 119/20) *'' Superstitious Blues'' (1991, Rag Baby 1028) *''Carry On'' (1995, Rag Baby 1029) *''Something Borrowed, Something New (The Best Of)'' (1998, Rag Baby 1030) *''Eat Flowers and Kiss Babies'' Live with Bevis Frond (1999, Woronzow 33) *''www.countryjoe.com'' (2000, Rag Baby 1032) *''Crossing Borders'' with M.L. Liebler (2002, Rag Baby 1034) *''A Reflection on Changing Times'' (2003) Italy-only rerelease of early Vanguard albums *''Natural Imperfections'' with Bernie Krause (2005, Rag Baby 1037) *''Country Joe Live at the Borderline'' (2007, Rag Baby 1038) *''Vanguard Visionaries: Country Joe McDonald'' (2007, Vanguard 73171) *''War, War, War (Live)'' (2008, Rag Baby 1040) *''A Tribute to Woody Guthrie'' (2008, Rag Baby 1039) *'' Time Flies By'' (2012, Rag Baby 1041) *''50'' (2017 Rag Baby 1042)

Filmography

Actor

* '' ¡Qué hacer!'' (1970) as Country * ''

Gas-s-s-s ''Gas-s-s-s'' (on-screen title: ''Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.'') is a 1970 post-apocalyptic black comedy film produced and released by American International Pictures. It was producer Roger Corman's ...

! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It'' (1970) as AM Radio * '' Zachariah'' (1971) as a band member, Cracker * ''

More American Graffiti ''More American Graffiti'' is a 1979 American coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Bill L. Norton, produced by Howard Kazanjian. It is the sequel to the 1973 film ''American Graffiti''. Whereas the first film followed a group of frie ...

'' (1979) as Country Joe and the Fish * Armistead Maupin's ''

Tales of the City ''Tales of the City'' is a series of nine novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2014, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBT. The stories from ''Tales'' were originally serial ...

'' (TV Series) (1993) as Joaquin

References

External links

*
CJFishlegacy.comLive Music Archive
Country Joe's section of archive.org's free live concert recordings. * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Country Joe 1942 births Living people American anti–Iraq War activists American anti–Vietnam War activists American street performers American people of Russian-Jewish descent American people of Scottish descent American male singers Jewish American musicians Country Joe and the Fish members Jewish rock musicians Jewish folk singers American folk singers American folk guitarists American acoustic guitarists Singer-songwriters from California Guitarists from San Francisco Guitarists from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians The Dinosaurs members Singer-songwriters from Washington, D.C.