Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (January 1, 1942 – March 7, 2026) was an American singer, songwriter, musician and film composer, who was the lead singer and co-founder of the 1960s
psychedelic folk-rock group Country Joe and the Fish. He wrote some of the group's most well-known songs, including "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine" and "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag", the latter a protest song against US involvement in the Vietnam War. One of the original and most popular of the San Francisco Bay Area psychedelic bands, they were also probably the most enigmatic. Joe McDonald may have written the most in-your-face anti-war, anti-military song to come out of the '60s, but he was also one of the very few musicians on the San Francisco scene who'd served in uniform.
about a revolutionary who resembled "the fish who swim in the sea of the people." There was also some thought given to the name "Country Mao & the Fish." Instead, they used "Country Joe" as a reference to McDonald, who was their singer and, as much as there was any organization to it at all, the organizer of the group, and also a reference to Joseph Stalin -- "Country Joe" was a nickname for the Soviet dictator.
By 1966, Country Joe & The Fish were signed to Vanguard Records and quickly released a series of
albums produced by Sam Charters. Their debut, Electric Music for the Mind and Body (May 1967), which spent 38 weeks on the Billboard charts and is regarded as a seminal work of psychedelic rock. It was followed by the album I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die (November 1967), the title track of which spent 28 weeks on the Billboard chart and firmly established the band as key figures in the anti-war movement. Electric Music for the Mind and Body remained on the Billboard chart for nearly two years.
The band played numerous Bay Area shows throughout 1966 at the Avalon Ballroom, Filmore Auditorium and the Matrix with the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Buffalo Springfield, and Big Brother and the Holding Company. The band was soon touring nationally, and it
was among the first acts to become known for its use of a light show at its concerts. An appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June of 1967 (and in the subsequent movie, doing "Section 43") utilizing the light show only enhanced the band's reputation musically. Their next album, Together (1968), featured Rock & Soul Music, which they performed at the Woodstock concert. The album, whose cover displayed wedding photos of McDonald's marriage to his new wife Robin, reached No. 23 on the Billboard charts, though internal tensions with the band were beginning to surface.
By that time, however, the best days of the band were over. In the fall of 1967, someone managed to convince McDonald that he was the real star of the group. Amid the ensuing turmoil, the Fish split up. It
didn't last long, and they were eventually reassembled into a whole band, but the hiatus cost them dearly. Their third album, Together, was recorded during this turmoil: MacDonald was almost invisible on most of the album, and Melton and Hirsh were the dominant performers. The group managed to tour Europe, and saw more demand for their performances in the U.S. as well; the continuing controversy over the Vietnam War helped keep their popularity high, and the growing underground enthusiasm for "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag" sustained them.
In 1969, the band released Here We Are Again, which featured guest appearances by Jack Casady
of Jefferson Airplane and David Getz and Peter Albin of Big Brother & The Holding Company. The album spent 11 weeks on the Billboard charts and included Here I Go Again, later covered by Twiggy. Their final Vanguard album, CJ Fish (1970), was produced by Tom Wilson, renowned for his work with Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Velvet Underground. Shortly after its release, the band disbanded. After the group's breakup in 1971, McDonald performed as a solo artist and in the spirit of Woody Guthrie, continued to musically espouse his political views through his original songs.
McDonald's first two solo albums, Thinking of Woody Guthrie (1969) and Tonight, I'm Singing Just
For You (1970), were recorded for Vanguard in Nashville, Tennessee with Sam Charters producing and Nashville A-Team players Hargus "Pig" Robbins, Grady Martin and Buddy Harmon.Tonight, I'm Singing Just For You, which featured him, his wife and daughter on the cover, also featured the gospel group The Jordanairs.
COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH - ALBUMS
02. I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die (1967) – No. 67 US
03. Together (1968) – No. 23 US
04. Here We Are Again (1969) – No. 48 US
05. CJ Fish (1970) – No. 111 US, No. 34 AUS[48]: 74
06. Live! Fillmore West 1969
01. ELECTRIC MUSIC FOR THE MIND AND THE BODY 1967
Their full-length debut is their most joyous and cohesive statement and one of the most important and
enduring documents of the psychedelic era, the band's swirl of distorted guitar and organ at its most inventive. In contrast to Jefferson Airplane, who were at their best working within conventional song structures, and the Grateful Dead, who hadn't quite yet figured out how to transpose their music to the recording studio, Country Joe & the Fish delivered a fully formed, uncompromising, and yet utterly accessible -- in fact, often delightfully witty -- body of psychedelic music the first time out.
Country Joe And The Fish – Electric Music For The Mind And Body
Label: Vanguard – VMD-79244, Vanguard – VSD-79244
Series: Mid-Line Series
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered 1989
Country: US
Released: 1967
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock, Psychedelic Rock
TRACKS
01. Flying High 2:38
Written-By – Joe McDonald
02. Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine 4:21
Written-By – Joe McDonald
03. Death Sound 4:23
Written-By – Joe McDonald
04. Porpoise Mouth 2:48
Written-By – Joe McDonald
05. Section 43 7:23
Written-By – Joe McDonalld
06. Super Bird 2:04
Written-By – Joe McDonald
07. Sad And Lonely Times 2:23
Written-By – Joe McDonald
08. Love 2:19
Written-By – Melton, Barthol, McDonald, Cohen, Hirsh, Gunning
09. Bass Strings 4:58
Written-By – Joe McDonald
10. The Masked Marauder 3:10
Written-By – Joe McDonald
11. Grace 7:03
Written-By – Joe McDonald
LINE - UP
Country Joe McDonald - lead vocals (tracks 1–4, 6, 9–11), rhythm guitar (tracks 2, 4, 7–9), tambourine (track 3), lead guitar (track 5), harmonica (track 5), backing vocals (track 7), bells (track 11)
Barry Melton - lead guitar (tracks 1–5, 8–11), rhythm guitar (track 6), lead vocals (tracks 7, 8), bass (track 7)
David Cohen - rhythm guitar (track 1), organ (tracks 2, 4, 5, 8–10), lead guitar (tracks 3, 6, 7, 11)
Bruce Barthol - bass (all tracks except track 7), harmonica (tracks 7, 10)
Gary "Chicken" Hirsh - drums; background noise (track 11)
Flac Size: 267 MB
02. I-FEEL-LIKE-I'M-FIXIN'-TO-DIE 1967
Country Joe & the Fish's second album, "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die", is quite similar to their first in its organ-heavy psychedelia with Eastern-influenced melodic Lines. The title cut -- whose brash energy is
atypical of the album -- was a classic antiwar satire that became one of the decade's most famous protest songs, and the group's most famous track. It is another prime example of the band's experimentation which features organ-heavy psychedelia and Eastern melodic lines, with more acoustic guitar than the debut. During this time, the band continued to build on their growing reputation by performing at local venues like the Fillmore Auditorium and appearing at festivals including Monterey Pop and The Fantasy Faire.
Country Joe And The Fish – I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die
Label: Vanguard – 662084, WMD – 662084
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 1992
Country: France
Released: 1967
Genre:Rock, Blues
Style: Blues Rock, Psychedelic Rock
TRACKS
01. The Fish Cheer & I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die 3:39
Kazoo, Vocals, Twelve-String Guitar – Barry
Percussion [Wine Bottle], Drums – Chicken
Vocals – Joe
Vocals, Bass – Bruce
Vocals, Organ [Calliope] – David
02. Who Am I 4:05
Bass – Bruce
Drums – Chicken
Lead Guitar – David
Rhythm Guitar – Barry
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Joe
03. Pat's Song 5:22
Bass – Bruce
Bells, Organ – David
Drums – Chicken
Lead Guitar – Barry
Vocals, Rhythm Guitar – Joe
04. Rock Coast Blues 3:42
Bass – Bruce
Drums – Chicken
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar – Barry
Rhythm Guitar – David
Vocals – Joe
05. Magoo 4:56
Bass – Bruce
Drums – Chicken
Lead Guitar – David
Rhythm Guitar, Vocals [Second] – Barry
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Joe
06. Janis 2:34
Drums – Chicken
Harmonica, Bass – Bruce
Harpsichord, Organ [Calliope] – David
Lead Guitar – Barry
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Joe
07. Thought Dream 6:11
Bass – Bruce
Drums – Chicken
Lead Guitar – Barry
Organ – David
Vocals, Rhythm Guitar – Joe
08. Thursday 3:45
Acoustic Guitar – David
Bass – Bruce
Drums – Chicken
Lead Guitar – Barry
Vocals, Organ – Joe
09. Eastern Jam 4:23
Bass – Bruce
Drums, Congas – Chicken
Guitar [First Break] – David
Guitar [Second Break] – Barry
10. Colors For Susan 5:57
Acoustic Guitar – Joe
Bass – Bruce
Drums, Bells – Chicken
Electric Guitar – David
LINE - UP
Country Joe McDonald – vocals (tracks 1–8), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 5, 6, 10), rhythm guitar (tracks 3, 7), organ (track 8)
Barry Melton – 12-string guitar (track 1), vocals (tracks 1, 5), kazoo (track 1), rhythm guitar (tracks 2, 4, 5), lead guitar (tracks 3, 4, 6–9)
David Cohen – calliope (tracks 1, 6), vocals (track 1), lead guitar (tracks 2, 5, 9, 10), organ (tracks 3, 7), bells (track 3), rhythm guitar (track 4), harpsichord (track 6), acoustic guitar (track 8)
Bruce Barthol – bass; vocals (track 1), barking (track 1), harmonica (track 6)
Gary "Chicken" Hirsh – drums; wine bottle (track 1), congas (track 9), bells (track 10)
Flac Size: 270 MB
03. TOGETHER 1968
Together, Country Joe & the Fish's third album, was the group's most consistent, most democratic, and their best-selling record. Unlike their first two albums, which were dominated by Country Joe McDonald's
voice and compositions, Together featured the rest of the band -- guitarists Barry Melton and David Cohen, bassist Bruce Barthol, and drummer Chicken Hirsh -- almost as prominently as McDonald. That's usually a formula for disaster, but in this case it gave the album more variety and depth. Together had the charming quality of unpredictability; you never knew what was coming next. Unfortunately, what came next in the band's career was a split. Barthol was out by September 1968, Cohen and Hirsh followed in January 1969. Thereafter, McDonald and Melton fronted various Fish aggregations, but it was never the same, even when this lineup regrouped for Reunion in 1977.
Country Joe & The Fish – Together
Label: Vanguard – VMD 79277
Format: CD, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 2005
Genre: Rock, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk Rock
TRACKS
01. Rock And Soul Music 6:51
Bass – Bruce
Drums – Chicken
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Barry
Rhythm Guitar, Organ – David
Vocals – Joe
Written By –/Melton/Cohen/Barthol/Hirsh
02. Susan 3:28
Bass – Bruce
Organ, Lead Guitar – David
Rhythm Guitar – Barry
Vocals, Drums – Chicken
Written-By – Hirsh
03. Mojo Navigator 2:24
Bass – Bruce
Drums – Chicken
Lead Guitar, Organ – David
Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Barry
Written By – Denson/Melton/McDonald
04. Bright Suburban Mr. & Mrs. Clean Machine 2:19
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Barry
Percussion, Vocals – Chicken
Piano, Organ, Vocals – David
Vocals – Bruce
Written By – Hirsh/Melton
05. Good Guys / Bad Guys Cheer And The Streets Of Your Town 3:39
Bass – Bruce
Drums, Bells – Chicken
Leader [Good Guys / Bad Guys Cheer] – David
Organ – David
Vocals, Lead Guitar – Barry
Written-By – Melton
06. The Fish Moan 0:27
07.The Harlem Song 4:20
Backing Vocals, Bass – Bruce
Backing Vocals, Percussion [Sand Blocks] – Chicken
Lead Vocals, Rap – Barry, Joe
Narrator [Spoken Introduction], Lead Guitar – David
Twelve-String Guitar [Acoustic] – Joe
Written-By – McDonald
08. Waltzing In The Moonlight 2:13
Bass – Bruce
Harmony Vocals, Drums, Castanets – Chicken
Lead Vocals – Joe
Rhythm Guitar – Barry
Written By – Hirsh/Melton
09. Away Bounce My Bubbles 2:25
Bass – Bruce
Bells, Organ – David
Vocals – Chicken
Vocals, Twelve-String Guitar – Joe
Written-By – Hirsh
10. Cetacean 3:38
Bass, Acoustic Guitar – Bruce
Drums, Vocals – Chicken
Lead Guitar – Barry
Organ, Harpsichord – David
Twelve-String Guitar, Vocals – Joe
Written-By – Barthol
11. An Untitled Protest 2:45
Finger Cymbals – Robin McDonald
Organ – Bruce
Vocals – Joe
Written-By – McDonald
LINE - UP
Barry Melton – lead guitar (tracks 1, 5, 10), lead vocals (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7), rhythm guitar (tracks 2, 3, 8), acoustic guitar (track 4), noises (track 10)
David Cohen – organ (tracks 1–5, 9, 10), rhythm guitar (track 1), lead guitar (tracks 2, 3, 7, 8), piano (track 4), backing vocals (track 4), spoken word (track 7), bells (track 9), harpsichord (track 10), noises (track 10)
Bruce Barthol – bass (tracks 1–3, 5, 7–10), backing vocals (tracks 4, 7), acoustic guitar (track 10), organ (track 11), noises (track 10)
Gary "Chicken" Hirsh – drums (tracks 1–3, 5, 8, 10), lead vocals (tracks 2, 9, 10), backing vocals (tracks 4, 7), percussion (track 4), bells (track 5), sand blocks (track 7), harmony vocals (track 8), castanets (track 8), noises (track 10), music box (track 10)
ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS
Robin McDonald – finger cymbals (track 11)
Flac Size: 216 MB
04. HERE WE ARE AGAIN 1969
By the time of Country Joe & the Fish's fourth album, the group seemed to consist of only Joe McDonald
and Barry Melton, who had started the band in the beginning. Here We Are Again continued CJ&F's move toward pop (especially on "Here I Go Again") and bluesy rock, and away from their folk and jug band beginnings. Though there would be one more new album in 1970 (C J Fish), Country Joe & the Fish no longer existed as anything other than a name; a fact that would be underlined in December 1969 by the simultaneous releases of Greatest Hits and McDonald's solo album, Thinking of Woody Guthrie.
Country Joe & The Fish – Here We Are Again
Label: Vanguard – VMD 79299-2
Format: CD, Album, Reissue
Country: Europe
Released: 1969
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock
TRACKS
01. Here I Go Again 3:24
02. Donovan's Reef 4:18
03. It's So Nice To Have Love 3:25
04. Baby, You're Driving Me Crazy 2:43
Written-By – Melton
05. Crystal Blues 6:18
Lead Guitar [Second Lead Guitar] – David Cohen
06. For No Reason 3:55
07. I'll Survive 2:28
08. Maria 3:30
09. My Girl 2:16
Written-By – Melton
10. Doctor Of Electricity 3:58
Written-By – Melton
LINE - UP
Country Joe McDonald – lead vocals (tracks 1–3, 5–8); harmony vocals (track 4), guitars
Barry "The Fish" Melton – electric guitar (tracks 1–6, 9, 10), electric slide guitar (tracks 7, 8), backing vocals (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 8), lead vocals (tracks 4, 9, 10)
David Cohen – keyboards (tracks 1–5, 8–10)
Gary "Chicken" Hirsh – drums, percussion (all tracks)
ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS
Mark Ryan – bass (tracks 1, 2, 6)
Jack Casady – bass (tracks 3–5, 9, 10)
Peter Albin – bass (tracks 7, 8)
Mark Kapner – piano (tracks 7, 8)
David Getz - drums (tracks 7, 8)
Flac Size: 217 MB
05. CJ FISH 1970
Country Joe and the Fish went through a personnel change for their fifth album, CJ Fish, adding Greg Dewey, Doug Metzner, and Mark Kapner in place of David Cohen and "Chicken" Hirsh. They retained,
however, their primary composers Barry Melton and Country Joe MacDonald, keeping the sound and style of the original band. Most of the lyrics are thoughtful and bright; many are in rhyme as many of that time were. The overall timbre is interesting, being both joyful and sobering at the same time. Some bright spots in the material are "Hey Bobby," "She's a Bird," and "Hang On," which are delightfully Country Joe. Overall it's not a bad album and no Country Joe and the Fish collection is complete without it.
Country Joe And The Fish – C.J. Fish
Label: Vanguard – VMD 6555, Ace – VMD 6555
Series: Ace Vanguard Masters
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 2006
Country: Europe
Released: 1970
Genre: Rock, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Classic Rock
TRACKS
01. Sing Sing Sing 3:02
02. She's A Bird 4:34
03. Mara 2:58
04. Hang On 4:08
05. The Baby Song 2:51
06. Hey Bobby 2:08
07. Silver And Gold 2:47
08. Rockin' Round The World 4:54
09. The Love Machine 5:49
10. The Return Of Sweet Lorraine 3:48
11. Hand Of Man 2:50
LINE - UP
Joe McDonald – vocals, guitar
Barry Melton – vocals, guitar
Greg Dewey – drums
Doug Metzner – bass guitar
Mark Kapner – keyboard
Peter Albin – guitar
Flac Size: 246 MB
06. LIVE! FILLMORE WEST 1969 (1994)
Seventy-seven-minute disc of music recorded in January 1969, at the farewell performances of the
Fish's most famous lineup, with Jack Casady of the Jefferson Airplane taking the place of the recently departed Bruce Barthol. The sound is good, but it's only for diehards, as the songs aren't among their best compositions, and the arrangements are way too prone to the uninteresting jamming that eventually gave San Francisco psychedelia a bad name. Jerry Garcia, Jorma Kaukonen, Steve Miller, and Mickey Hart all guest on the final cut, "Donovan's Reef Jam," which at 38 minutes is something of an endurance test.
Country Joe And The Fish – Live! Fillmore West 1969
Label: Vanguard – 139/40 - 2
Format: CD, Album 1994
Country: US
Released: 1969
Genre: Rock, Blues
Style: Psychedelic Folk
TRACKS
01. Introduction / Rock And Soul Music / Love 6:15
02. Here I Go Again 4:42
03. It's So Nice To Have Your Love 6:31
Performer – David Getz
04. Flying High 12:36
05. Doctor Of Electricity 9:10
06. Donovan's Reef Jam 38:18
Drums [Throughout] – Mickey Hart
Guitar [After 25 Minutes] – Jerry Garcia, Jorma Kaukonen, Steve Miller
Harp – Jerry Garcia
Flac Size: 415 MB
Country Joe McDonald & The Bevis Frond: Eat Flowers & Kiss Babies 1999 on Urban Aspirines HERE
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