Eccentric country/folk singer/songwriter Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald, 84, died on March 7. McDonald was lead singer and co-founder of the 1960s Country Joe and the Fish, whose biggest hit was the (just as pertinent today--"Vietnam" and "Iran" even rhyme) anti-war ballad “I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die” (1967), which I will have stuck in my head the rest of the day. Named after Joseph Stalin (!) by his lefty parents, McDonald was a Berkeley dropout, an anti-war demonstrator and writer who joined various musical groups (he was a singer and guitarist), such as The Fugs and the Instant Action Jug Band. Country Joe and the Fish performed at Woodstock and such venues as the Avalon Ballroom, and the Filmore Auditorium; he went solo by 1970. McDonald continued to tour for various causes (Greenpeace, environmentalism, veterans benefits, and Woody Guthrie tributes). He admitted to Street Spirit, “I grew up in a family of radical socialists, and quite honestly, I really get bored with the theory and speechifying of various movements and philosophies from the left. It doesn’t mean I don’t support them. But as an entertainer, I know that you can lose your audience.”
I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRl6-bHlz-4&list=RDeRl6-bHlz-4&start_radio=1
