Woodstock Legend Joseph McDonald, Founder of Country Joe and the Fish, Dies at 84

Joseph McDonald, lead singer and co-founder of ’60s psychedelic folk rock band Country Joe and the Fish, has died, according to multiple media reports. He was 84.

McDonald stamped his band into history with the solo Woodstock performance of the anti-Vietnam War anthem “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” a performance that began with the call-and-response “Fish Cheer,” which started with an F – but led the crowd to shout an expletive.

McDonald died Saturday in in Berkeley, California, of Parkinson’s, his wife, Kathy, and the band said in a statement to several media outlets.

“We are deeply saddened to report the passing of Country Joe McDonald, who died yesterday, March 7th, at the age of 84, in Berkeley, California, due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease,” the band said Sunday.

McDonald’s band was a fixture in the San Francisco psychedelic scene, along with bands like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, and became one of the defining voices of the Vietnam protest movement.

McDonald stayed active as a performer in the decades to come, with a fusion of folk, psychedelic rock and support for veterans and social justice issues.

More to come …

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