1960s Rebels: Country Joe McDonald - Musician, Country Joe and the Fish
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- Опубликовано: 12 окт 2016
- The late 1960s saw progressive ideas emanate from the countercultural underground and revolutionise society. Challenging oppressive, outdated norms and expectations, a small number of individuals brought about far-reaching changes as they sought to attain a better world. Their idealism and actions helped mobilise a movement which continues to inspire modern activists and shape how we live today.
A child of communist parents, ‘Country’ Joe McDonald spent a lot of time around Berkley, California in the early sixties - a hotbed of student activism later in the decade. There he played music with a number of groups before writing "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag", an anti-Vietnam song which symbolised the feelings of his peers toward the War. Performing at Woodstock Festival in 1969 he opened the song with a ‘fuck cheer’ - a moment and a word which unified the crowd in their frustration around their country’s politics.
You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966 - 1970
10 September 2016 - 26 February 2017
vam.ac.uk/revolution 
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When I was courting my wife, our first official date was to see Country Joe and the Fish, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That show sealed the deal for our relationship. It will be 52 years for us in June. Thank you Country Joe!
CONGRATULATIONS
Good on ya old timer.
Nice...❤❤❤❤
Paljon onnea ja rakkautta!
I was in Viet Nam in an 82nd Airborne Infantry Company and your song was "banned" there but I have always enjoyed it immensely. I enjoyed hearing it again before finding this interview. I salute you, Joe.
Country Joe's performance at Woodstock, not only captured the essence of the Viet Nam era, but also was one of the highlights of the festival. I was fascinated to hear the story behind the music that day he played. Joe, thanks for the memories.
It was absolutely an important moment, but I think a lot of people only remember Joe for that particular performance. But the fact is that he and his band had some truly great records, very underrated.
Saw the movie 3 or 4 times summer of ‘70 at drive-in Vegas
Was 15 but my older brother was 16
That cheer was a true milestone in the history of mankind and that performance was phenomenal. The energy must have been indescribable. Thank you Country Joe
joe, saw you playing solo in a bar in berkley in early 70's... offered to buy you a beer and you said "thanks for coming, i'll buy you a beer"..we talked for awhile and life has never been the same...thanks for the inspiration..not often someone we think is cool.. is cool.
This is my favorite story of a rock n roller ever thank you.
@ I like it alot too
Don't know why but this put a little tear in my eye. Thank you for this comment!
Nice one. ✌️
What a great experience you shared Doug!
I was at Woodstock to hear his performance. With all the major rock stars who gave great performances, Country Joe gave perhaps the most rousing one. The "fuck cheer and the Fixin' to Die Rag" that followed was a cathartic experience. To hear a few hundred thousand people belt it out at the top of their lungs was incredibly energizing.
I was nine years old at the time. I envy your experience.
Then y'all went out and began destroying America.
@@jg6698 The dude deleted his post. As shall I.
absolute truth ... Merci Joe !!!
That would have been really cool to experience that...I was 6 years old at the time, but I have vague memories of hearing my parents talk about it. ❤ peace
I was in ROTC when I heard the song and loved it, spent 9 years in the AF. I still love the song.
Most young men join the military for all of the right reasons but the politicians use them for all the wrong reasons.
I was in Vietnam in '68 and we had an underground of 8 tracks that were censored from the Armed Forces Radio Network, and I remember I found an 8 track of Country Joe and the Fish and use to lay down after work and put the headphones on and listen to his band, and I had never heard of them; I remember on convoys we'd sing Alice's Restaurant and I'm Fixin to Die Rag. It was a gas. This music had a subversive effect on us troops. I cherish the memory.
+Toby Blake my husband went to Vietnam and I think that the music was the only solca for the troops there.. However since these were mostly draftees I bet a bunch of them sided with Joe here on the Vietnam debacle.. Thank you for your service !! God bless you !
My pops was in boot camp during Wood Stock
Thank you Toby for your service and incredible memories!
Thank you for your service and if I may ask, where did you serve in country - branch and MOS? Thank you in advance.
What did you do in Vietnam? I think you are one of the few that thought Nam was a gas. lol I was USAF 72-78.
I heard Country Joe in the Woodstock era but never realised until about 20 years ago just how good CJ & the Fish were. So many great albums and songs. From my personal perspective they were so under appreciated or acknowledged here in Australia during the 70’s . ✌🏾
Country Joe had it together and still does... He may be laid back now, a little, but remember, He's still a Hero to a lot of us old guys... "Rock On Country Joe!!!"
right on guys ...thanks for the replies....pretty koooool to see how well he looks......'scusa, but can't help myself: RIGHT ON, JOE.....GIVE ME AN M...GIVE ME A C...GIVE ME A D...GIVE ME AN O...GIVE ME AN N,....ETC., ETC., ETC...............JOE'S BLUES, MY FAV. AIR ALGIERS..........THEN A FOLLOW UP LP LIKE 'HOLD ON, I'M COMING'...GREAT TIMING FOR THOSE ALBUMS BACK THEN.....HANG TUFF & KEEP THE FAITH...ONE AN ALL!
Hey man, he’s a hero to young people too! At least he is for me lol
And still pretty good looking too!
☮️
still got fans Joe............and still love ya!!!! Great job then and NOW!
Country Joe and the Fish perfectly encapsulate Woodstock era sound and soul. Love to you Joe for all the fine tunes you gave us.
undefined unbridled brilliance ... absolute truth spoken word & lyrics !!!
It was the best part of Woodstock, Joe, you nailed it!
Santana 2nd best then jimi
Hendrix was the best performer...he said with his guitar, what Joe said with his lyrics!
I remember this guy and I've sung it at many open mic night. Everybody in UK loves it. Of a certain age that is.
As a freshman in college, 1970, saw the Woodstock movie. Wanted to play drums but didn't own a set. Took some of my student loan money, bought a used set & played in a few bands through most of the 70's. Thanks for your story.
GR8 Story. Awesome Moment...Bless You, County Joe. ✌️
Joe, you were a personal hero for me, starting in ‘68, so when you came on stage the first time at Woodstock, in ‘69, it seemed to confirm the miracle of all of our unity, as well as the mystical, chemical brotherhood in which it was first founded. Thank you for your example, Joe.
I grew up listening to you and the fish, while on acid, thanks for the memories
Great to see you, Country Joe. You were a highlight of Woodstock and people did listen to you!
My Dad was a WWll vet and I played this song for him in 1970 ..I remember him telling me how much he could relate to this song ...I'll never forget that so long ago ..Thank you Country Joe
Never tire of watching his Woodstock performance !
It‘s been one of the magic moments for sure , when Country Joe yelled 'gimme an 'f' !
@@michaelworse6034 Yes ! And "There's 300,000 of you xxxxxxx out there..." lol !
Hey Joe, I opened for you for a weekend in a tiny coffeehouse after Woodstock, circa 1972, hired by Music Co-op, Wildflowers, created by Utah Phillips, Saratoga Springs, NY. What a TRIP! Thank you! What a privilege!
Joe you were our hero back in the day, and still are, tks man,peace
I was headed to boot camp in 1970...our company would sing "come on mothers throughout the land , pack your boys off to Vietnam "
When I was young, college 67-71, everyone knew Country Joe and everyone knew this song.
I’m in my early 20’s and thanks to my dad, I got into CJ Fish and got my friends into it too. I love every album and listen to porpoise mouth, silver and gold, rock coast blues, and here i go again at least weekly
Always loved Country Joe and I still do. One of the Greats!
Love ya Joe. You and the Fish band were important to me. Thank you for your part in it all!
I grew up with you Joe-
And have honored you and your music - your contribution should never be forgotten.
I agree with you Glen... Joe's musical contribution should never be forgotten.
I had the good fortune of seeing Country Joe play in a tiny venue in the northern suburbs of Chicago sometime in the mid-1970s. He was playing with a band called the "Save the Whales Band". The place had only a few chairs, and I was sitting near the front with a friend. The bass player was bald-headed and wearing a sailor's cap, and was so clearly stoned out of his mind with the most joyful and loving smile on his face the whole time. And his bass-playing was brilliant. As was Country Joe's performance. That memory sticks with me.
What are we fighting for NOW? We need a new "Country Joe."
@The Joker:
"What are we fighting for NOW?"
Don't ask me. I don't give a damn. Next stop is Afghanistan.
You aint seen know fighting yet,just live long enough.,you will.
Next stop is I-ran
Same old joe, just another cheer
Fuck Joe Biden 😇
I love you Joe Mc Donald.. you were the best at Woodstock and your poetry is awesome.. God bless you and grant you a long Life!!
Driving home from college in 1968, down Ashby Ave just passed Shattuck, I say Joe with a sign reading "End the damm way on the side of the road."
The best part was the big smile on his face.
My friends asked me if I wanted to go to a party… Of course I said yes… it was in the hills near CSULA and the folkies were throwing you a Going Away Party just before you left LA to move to the Bay Area… I remember your guitar case was decorated with a collage of cut-out magazine ads… the next day I started a project of covering my own guitar case with a collage of ads and stickers as well because I liked yours so much! Thanks for Fixin’ to Die… it was an inspiration - especially when Uncle Sam drafted my ass to go to SE Asia… I told them flat out ‘You don’t want me man… I WILL BE a problem! That’s a promise.’ They told me ‘Go home son… we’ll be in touch…’ And I never heard from them again. (Who knew it was that simple?)
Hey Joe… I was a part of the anti war movement back then in the SF Bay Area, and I will NEVER forget this F cheer! I also cheered…
You are a big part of music history! Glad I was a witness to it
Thank you sir this is what I came home to in 68 as a vet we love that song
That song was the highlight of the movie for me. It captured the spirit of a generation
The fixing to die rag made me happy because I could start making sense of the Vietnam war. Politicians cared so much about their jobs that the deaths of soldiers were not on their minds. Good for you Joe you set a lot of people in the right direction
I think your message is just as pertinent today Joe. Thank you for your contributions to this country
Great interview. Thanks Joe for all the great music. Still a hero of mine!
Great interview and a historic piece of American culture.
I have a story, so forgive me if I ramble. I was 16 in 1966, and my older sister had moved out to Berkeley a year or two before. That summer my dad paid my way to visit her (from Long Island). I wasn’t conservative, but it still opened my eyes and blew my mind. Among the things I did was to go listen to C J and the Fish. I bought their record (an ep maybe) and played it for all my friends after I got home. Thanks for opening me up, Joe.
I have to add that I also scammed a fake ID after reading an article about this little San Francisco brewery that was on its last legs. I went over to the city and got into a topless bar where it was served. The brewery was saved by Fritz Maytag, and you might know the beer- Anchor Steam.
Country Joe is the only person to make me cry, fixing to die rag, Thank you Joe,
The best & coolest protest song/performance in history.
Have always loved Joe's vision, politics and his music. A truly innovative band.
In 1970 I was riding my bike down the street listening to the newly released Woodstock tape on my new cassette player when all of a sudden the Fish Cheer came on. I was playing the music quite loud and immediately realized what he was spelling out. I didn't turn the sound down. I just let it play out for all to hear. What a thrill it was to hear the word F**k play out like it did. I raised my right arm and gave the world my middle finger! I felt like I was somehow protesting the Vietnam war with that song and my middle finger. That's how music can affect our lives. I was barely fifteen and didn't give a damn!
Wow so happy to hear from you! The anthem of my life! I wasn’t in Vietnam but was at Kent State! Glad we both survived! 🙏🙏🙏✌️✌️✌️
As every year that passes Country Joe McDonald becomes more and more the most relevant performer from the Woodstock Music Festival and is the most poignant and memorable part of the Woodstock Documentary by Michael Wadleigh.
I have seen their presentation at Monterey Pop Festival 1967 and it was incredible, more psychedelic, with The Fish quite young.
@Andres Rodriguez I have seen parts of Monterey Pop Festival but I haven't watched Country Joe McDonald's and the Fish performance. I will check it out.
@@johnmcquilkin ruclips.net/video/PK-URq0h7ek/видео.html&ab_channel=TheQuicksilverdog
@@ANDRESR2 this was awesome. Thanks for sharing it!
Electric Music For The Mind And Body by Country Joe And the Fish is one of my all time favorite albums. I've had a copy of it since it come out. Probably the best STONER music out there when your on really good LSD or Mescaline. With headphones of course. It's like an electric tonge licking your mind. In my humble 70 year old opinion of course. Alot of top shelf hallucinating substances came thru the student union of the U of O back in the late 60s. Straight up from the Bay on its way to Portland and Seattle.
It's great to see him still kickn it. What a Cool Individual.
Section 43 - best song ever
I saw Joe and Fish 3 times and Joe solo once here in Denmark way back when. Still great memories from a wild youth.
Country Joe and the Fish. What a unique sound ...
This guy is The Legend.
I played this great song to 400-500 cheering troops!
I served in the army stationed at Fort Bliss, El Paso. I was still in my room on the third floor of the barracks because I slept late. Several hundred fellow soldiers lined up in formation between the three story barracks buildings for roll call. I got two speakers and put them in the open windows and played Country Joe’s song at the highest volume. All the soldiers immediately recognized the song and started singing, “gimme an F, gimme a U” and so on and then started to cheer so loud it almost drowned out the music. It was bedlam!
None of the army brass could figure out where the music was coming from but they had their suspicions. They looked all around at all the buildings around them but were clueless. The music reverberated between the buildings so they couldn’t tell who was playing that song or where it was coming from.
That was one of my highlights being in the army. Guys talked about that day for a long time. I told a few of my army buddies I did it but I never got caught.
I had a lot of great times in the army. I pulled so many stunts like having girls in the barracks and using M-80s from Juarez to blow up all three floors of the barracks. The army brass had a good idea who the culprit was but could never prove anything.
Oh yeah, in spite of all the things I did I ended up being the honor graduate of an international class in the Nike Hercules missile program.
This song always takes me instantly back to that fantastic day!
I first heard this song when I was at Phuoc Vinh listening to AFVN. I loved it! It became my anthem for my time in RVN.
The song Who AM I....meant a lot to me and my friend when we were working our way out of the maze ...it suppose it's an endless maze...that song helped...also loved those ballads about Dolphin dreams
Holy sweet Jesus. First off, Joe your such an inspiration to me and my childhood and growing up. My dad was Sargent at Arms for the biker club The Banditos (a Colorado chapter) and my parents threw A LOT of parties when I was growing up. And I couldn’t wait till he played “Paradise with an Ocean View! Typically the song “Oh Jamaica.” Still to this day one of the very best songs EVER EVER EVERRRRR WRITTEN! Hands down there no competition! I used to love that song when I was a kid. I used to sneek that album up to my room when I was a kid. That and George Carlin A Place For My Stuff and I would listen to those two albums all night long then sneek them back downstairs and put them back before he would get up in the morning. After my dad died in 2006 my mom gave my sister the whole album collection. I WAS SOOOOOO PISSSED OF AND I STILL AM. I couldn’t believe she did that. I was the music lover in the family. Still to this day I’m “ALWAYS” on the lookout for an original copy of that album and I can NEVER FIND IT! But the song Oh Jamaica will forever be inbeded into the fabric of my being on planet earth! Thank you so much for writing such a great song! And maybe if you have an extra copy of that album weather it be a Record or a CD please sign it and send it to,
Tommy Mutz
62356 Bennett Road
Roseland, La. 70456
And I would forever be grateful! This the one album I don’t have in my collection of probably 3000 cd’s. Thank you sir! Thank you for being a part of my life! (((Huggs)))
OMG, if I didn't know this is Country Joe from the title of this video I would never have guessed it. Aging is merciless. I was a high school senior in 1967 when I first heard Not So Sweet Martha Loraine, and I was instantly a fan. I ran right out and bought the album the song was on. But hey, I don't look like I did 50 years ago!!
I was knocked out by "Electric Music For The Mind And Body" so when Joe's solo record "Tonight I'm Singing Just For You" came out
I didn't hesitate. Yeah, it's country tinged but I still enjoy it. I had wanted to address the aging of our rock heroes like Joe, Jesse Colin
Young and Grace Slick but not in a demeaning way. You did it for me. I'm not disappointed in what I see, it's really just a reality check.
it's patina........😎
I have kept my hair long--although my genes have allowed most of it to recede!...still have the same attitude and swagger that I had in the late 60s and 70s....David crosby nailed with the tune, "Almost Cut My Hair"......."I feel like I owe it, to someone."...my thoughts, exactly.
I love this guy, I was born in 1968 and I grew up with this guy especially the F song, sweet Loraine etc. humble genius…love this guy
Classic performance... Never gets old. Stands up 40 years later.
Hey Country Joe. Enjoyed the interview. I was in my early collage years in the San Francisco Bay Area when the song came out. My friend that did 2 tours in the war and was injured twice used to get up in the morning, fix a cup of coffee and stand in his kitchen and sing 'fixin' to die rag' every morning.
I was 13 when Woodstock occurred. My friend bought the album. Cost $25. at a time you could buy a #1 album for $4.99 but it had 4 records and 8 sides of music . And I remember hearing FUCK and County Joe his song was Iconic in the movement against the WAR.
Loved this guy's bad attitude for nearly 60 years. Great interview--bemused, joyous, modest, confused, grateful, and even a little half-seriously resentful at the end (a human reaction!) Electric music for the Mind and Body: the album is an indispensable part of the era, and his later stuff's not bad, either. "Well the one with the Fez, he turns his head and he sez,/ We'd like to help you make your trip." Perfect.
You were a big piece of the evolution of music. Your psychedelic rock still stands up today as one of the most innovative styles ever. I once worked in an airport and watched you walk past me with your guitar case, and it was such a big moment for me I couldn’t say a word or move. I just loved that we shared a second of time and place.☺️
Great man Great musician
F'n eh Joe! Saw Joe in SLC, the night Jimmy Hendrix died, ~ a year after Woodstock. I remember Joe & Santana only sing'n Jimmy's songs all night. 1st concert I ever attended. What an evening! Best $5 I EVER spent!
Saw you one night in BKK. long time ago.
That was in the Indra convention hall. You played with the guy can't remember his name. "To night too many old hippies". That was words you chated to many old hippies in the room. Still remembering the night you drove your old beautyful Martin on stage. Loving you Joe.
country joe: is a true musical treasure.
So, one of the most famous songs in Woodstock happened by chance !!! I saw him on stage, about 1976, at the very first Paleo Festival of Nyon in Swiss and he begun the show with "gi'me an F..."
Joe's last appearance in Europe was at The Isle of Wight Festival in 2007 - mainstage before The Rolling Stones headlined. I was delighted to play with Joe on the very last song - "Feel Like I'M Fixin' To Die Rag" - on spoons, with Dave Allen was on washboard!
Who is this
Holy fuck, it was almost 50 years ago exactly that I saw Country Joe and the Fish open for Steppenwolf in Cleveland. Was my first rock concert!
Lol Cleveland rocks! Where was this radio city music hall??
Cleveland Public Music Hall is downtown, close to the lake. Its still there @@jimspencer5746
@@robertcampbell1838 yeah i knew it was something like that..i think radio city is Chicago... at Public Music Hall, people used to climb on the dumpsters and get dragged in for free thru the bathroom window lol..
@@jimspencer5746 Ha, funny/ good story
I watched them in Dallas with The Mothers. Joe was Flying High and Zappa, straight. Joe kept forgetting the lyrics and waiting for the stanza to come around on the guitar again. It was dee-lighful. I never missed a CJ or Fish gig in Austin after that.
Joe you always made sense and still do apparently. American Sanity is a microcosm. Peace
Thank you Joe for your music.
part of the chorus, used to listen to it at least once a day in those times.
We love you Mr. Joe. I am a big fan. I learned 'Not so sweet Lorraine', 'Rock & Soul music', 'Love' and 'Feel like i'm fixin' to die rag' on guitar. And i am about to learn much more. 🙂.
Always been a fan, even though I've always lived in the UK ....... went on the Vietnam march in 1969 ! crazy x
Wish I could have marched with you, Pamela Turnbull
Three iconic moments for Woodstock IMO. Goin' Up The Country, Feel I'm Fixin' to Die Rag and I'm Going Home
I remember Joe at a free concert at Otis Spann memorial field in Ann Arbor 1973. He did the F cheer and the fixin' to die song.
The old man gave me his Woodstock album when I was eleven and I wore out all three records!
All around greats ! Country Joe ( McDonald) + the fish!
Kudos to you Joe. I was in basic training when you were on stage. I didn't get a chance to see/hear you for about a year once I was stationed to a permeant barracks. It was a jelling song for many of us. We used it along with Cheech and Chong's one liners to help us pass "code" to know if someone was cool, or not. Now I'm 74 and I can so appreciate your words. Thanks for this video!
Love you Joe. We the people of the Woodstock Generation and the true calling are still out there. We're just waiting for a leader to finish the prophesy.
Love and peace is the way. Was a little much for the US to absorb in'69. Weidleigh is teaching at Harvard now.
No Wall , Abolish ICE, disarm the Police, recall Trump, end the Fascist State, and give a 5 year visa to anyone who requests one.
Tripolar out.
@@bobbob2890 okay sounds better than what we got now but thats not hard to beat
@@bobbob2890 and may all guns be disabled
A truly great song and performance at the exact right place and point in time. The best protest song ever - by a margin.
I used to play Country Joe and the Fish on my $80 portable stereo until the grooves wore out way back in 1971 or thereabouts. I then bought Joe's Woody Guthrie tribute album, too. The rag: "Well its one, two, three, what are we fightin' for? Don't know, and I don't give a damn..., " seemed to capture the mood when you had just receive your call-up papers I(we had the draft here in Australia as well). My mates sang that over and over. There I was, just out of my boyhood, facing the abyss, and country Joe letting me know I had a right to get angry.
Some knock country Joe's songs you will never hear.
You Messed Over Me So I messed over you.
Satisfactory Again.
Dr Hip
Jesse James
Thank you for sharing this!! Awesome
I remember an AFKN DJ getting in hot water for playing Country Joe on the air one night, that was not army approved contact. He paid a pretty high price for playing the Fixing to Die Rag but the soldiers all loved it, it was the anthem of that era.
Country Joe used to visit the commune where I worked during college. He would put on a show for us at harvest time.
Amazing, a great men !!! Bless ya joe!!!you're a Legend!
Joe, I was 7 when I got a copy of the Woodstock album handed down to me in 1973... I bought the E.P. of the original jug band recordings later on, I found the Fish albums in the used record store and in the public library they had a copy of your Robert Service album War, War, War... I wrote school papers on all of that stuff!
A great human being . God bless.
Joe, I never missed a gig in Dallas or Austin, and remember your wooden music solo act with the drizzle coming in through an opening in the roof. Thanks for being yourself; Fish Intergalactic Fan Club 4-ever!
one of the music genius of are time
Great interview, thanks for this! 👍
ABSOLUTLY SPLENDID WELL DONE THAT MAN
Memories from the 60's. Good memories.
he seems like a really nice guy
He IS!!!!!
And his Woodstock performance is the epitome of controlled rage.
Mmm idk he used to get mad at barry (the fish) and punch him out lol
I bought a Yamaha FG 150 acoustic guitar in LA in December 1970. It only many years later I found out that it was the Country Joe "Woodstock " model.
I saw Country Joe at People's Park and Woodstock. He was a typical looking Berkeley guy, very unpretentious.
@Roger Clemons Antidisestablishmentarian Pig! (Catholics thought this was the longest word in the dictionary , don't get many chances to use it in normal discourse!)
Great Interview! Thank You Country Joe, you were just the best!