Country Joe McDonald, Anti-War Icon, Passes at 84

0:00Welcome to Global News Today, two minutes of world news that matter. Country Joe McDonald, the 1960-something hippie rock star famous for his anti-Vietnam war anthem, has died at age 84. He passed away on Sunday in Berkeley, California, from complications of Parkinson's disease. His wife of 43 years, Kathy, shared the news through his publicist. McDonald led the band Country Joe and the Fish and became a symbol of the era, with his talking blues tune written in just one hour back in 1965. That song mocked the war with its catchy chorus and a cheeky cheer that started with an FIS-H chant, before evolving into something edgier. It exploded at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, where hundreds of thousands sang along, a moment forever caught in the documentary film. The track made him a protest icon, but also sparked trouble, like a canceled Ed Sullivan spot, and an arrest in Massachusetts. Fans and fellow musicians remember McDonald, as a Bay Area staple, alongside acts like

1:02The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. He dated Johnis Joplin and shared the scene with her during those wild years. His music makes psychedelic jams, folk rock and soul, filling dozens of albums over decades. The song even faced a lawsuit over its melody, but he won in court. McDonald grew up in California, with politically active parents, who shaped his views. After Navy service, he dove into Berkeley's folk and activist world, starting bands and an underground magazine. With guitarist Barry Melton, he formed Country Joe and the Fish, evolving from folk to acid rock and hitting big at the Monterey Pop Festival in, 1967. He kept touring and writing protests songs into later years, like one calling to save the whales. According four times with five kids and four grandkids, McDonald often reflected fondly on the 60s counterculture that finally made him feel at, home. His legacy lives on through that timeless war rebuke. This DNN story is thanks to our sponsor details in the description.

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