Although he released more than 30 solo albums as well as six studio LPs and two live albums with Country Joe and the Fish, there is one song for which Country Joe McDonald, who has died aged 84, will always be remembered. This was I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag, the title track from his band’s second album, released in 1967.
The Fish never enjoyed huge chart success – their album Together reached No 23 in the US in 1968 – while the I-Feel-Like … album reached only No 67. But they channelled the political turmoil of late 1960s America as the country grappled with the Vietnam war, race riots and assassinations. They were also notable contributors, alongside the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, to the psychedelic rock scene that enveloped San Francisco’s Bay Area in light shows and LSD-fuelled improvisations.
