Country Joe McDonald
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Biography
Born Joseph McDonald on January 1, 1942, in Washington, D.C., the singer, songwriter, and musician is better known as Country Joe McDonald, who first came to prominence as the leader of iconic psychedelic rock band Country Joe & the Fish. Joe McDonald grew up in El Monte, California and played in his high school marching band. He enlisted in the US Navy at the age of 17 and spent most of his time stationed in Japan. Once he left the Navy, he attended Los Angeles City College before relocating to Berkeley, California and busking on Telegraph Avenue. In 1965, he co-founded psych rock band Country Joe & the Fish alongside Barry âThe Fishâ Melton. The groupâs debut album, Electric Music for the Mind and Body (1967), reached number 39 on the Billboard 200. Their second album, I-Feel-Like-Iâm-Fixinâ-to-Die (1967), only made number 67 on the Billboard 200 but the albumâs anti-Vietnam anthem - âThe âFishâ Cheer/ I-Feel-Like-Iâm-Fixinâ-to-Die Ragâ â became part of pop culture when the group performed it at Woodstock on August 17, 1969. Country Joe McDonald recorded albums without the Fish, beginning with 1969âs Thinking of Woody Guthrie. The group broke up in 1970 and Country Joe McDonald carried on with a solo career, although he only achieved moderate success. Country Joe & the Fish reunited in 1977 for the album Reunion, but they split soon after. Country Joe McDonald has continued to release albums and perform solo and with the Country Joe Band, where he revisits the music of Country Joe & the Fish. He remained an activistâanti-war, anti-nuclear, and committed to the protection of nature. Among his other notable solo relases are Hold On - It's Coming (1971), War War War (1971), Paris Sessions (1973), Country Joe (1974), and Pacific with an Ocean View, which includes the song âSave the Whales!.â He continued to perform and record in the decades that followed. His final solo releases were Time Flies By (2012) and 50 (2017). Joe McDonald died of complications from Parkinson's disease on March 7, 2026, at the age of 84.
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Albums
Top Tracks
- Track Popularity
- Intro To Movieola
- Talkin' Dust Bowl
- Coyote
- Picks and Lasers
- Blowing Down That Dusty Road
- Love Is A Fire
- Here I Go Again
- Kiss My Ass
- The Sinking Of The Reuben James
- So Long It's Been Good To Know Yuh
- Tom Joad
- Breakfast For Two
- A Vietnam Veteran Still Alive
- Get It All Together
- Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine
- Holy Roller
- Hold On It's Coming
- Cicadas and Crickets and Owls ⦠Oh My!
- Vietnam Never Again
- Entertainment Is My Business
- Ice Cap Escapades
- Secret Agent
- Free Some Days
- Desert Love-In
