Country Joe McDonald, Woodstock star and anti-war singer, dies aged 84 | Music | The Guardian
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"I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag

 

Country Joe McDonald (born Joseph McDonald on January 1, 1942, in Washington, D.C.; died March 7, 2026, in Berkeley, California) was an American folk and rock singer, guitarist, and singer-songwriter.

In 1965, he founded the group Country Joe and the Fish; he became famous for his performance at the Woodstock Festival with "Fish Cheer" and "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag." During his decades-long career, he released approximately 40 albums and wrote hundreds of songs.

On average, about one album was released per year from then on. The albums covered a wide range of musical genres, and each album had its own distinct style. For example, there was:

• War War War, a solo album with a very somber mood, in which guitar sounds accompanied Robert Service's powerful verses;
• Incredible! Live!, a cheeky live solo album by McDonald, where he performed anti-war songs with his guitar in front of a small audience;
• the solo chanson album On My Own, recorded in just one night in a studio in Brackenheim, Germany;
• albums of rock chansons like Country Joe and Goodbye Blues;
• sentimental tracks like Love is a Fire;
• Reunion, a revival album by Country Joe and the Fish seven years after their breakup;
• and many other albums that incorporated a mixture of several elements.

Country Joe McDonald / Rock and Roll Music From the Planet Earth

 

RIP, legend!

 

He was definitely a legend and I'm sad to hear of his passing. RIP.

I was listening to what I think was KPFK in Los Angeles, to an interview that Country Joe was giving when he said that he swiped the Kid Ory song Muskrat Blues and wrote the lyrics to his anti-war anthem I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag, so I called up my friend Babette Ory, Kid Ory's daughter and told her what I had just heard and not thinking that it any big deal, imagining that it was a very cool thing. That's when she sued McDonald over copywrite infringement for boosting the tune. She lost the case because the judge said she waited way too long to bring the suit.

Me bad. Sorry Mr. McDonald!!!