Editing Country Joe and the Fish (section)

{{short description|American psychedelic rock band}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Country Joe and the Fish
| image           = Country Joe and the Fish.png
| image_size      = 250px
| caption         = Country Joe and the Fish in 1967
| origin          = [[Berkeley, California]], United States
| genre           = {{flatlist |
* [[Psychedelic rock]]
* [[acid rock]]
* [[folk rock]]
}}
| years_active    = 1965–1970, 1977, 2004–2006 (as Country Joe Band), sporadically thereafter
| label           = {{flatlist |
* [[Vanguard Records|Vanguard]]
* [[Fantasy Records|Fantasy]]
* Rag Baby Records
}}
| associated_acts =
| website         = {{URL|well.com/~cjfish}}
| past_members    = [[Country Joe McDonald]]<br>[[Barry Melton|Barry "The Fish" Melton]]<br>[[Gary "Chicken" Hirsh]]<br>[[David Bennett Cohen]]<br>[[Bruce Barthol]]<br>David Getz<br>Peter Albin<br>John Francis Gunning<br>Paul Armstrong<br>Mark Ryan<br>Gregory Leroy Dewey<br>Mark Kapner<br>Doug Metzner
}}

'''Country Joe and the Fish''' was an American [[psychedelic rock]] [[musical ensemble|band]] formed in [[Berkeley, California]], in 1965. The band was among the influential groups in the [[San Francisco Sound|San Francisco music scene]] during the mid-to-late 1960s. Much of the band's music was written by founding members [[Country Joe McDonald]] and [[Barry Melton|Barry "The Fish" Melton]], with lyrics pointedly addressing issues of importance to the [[counterculture]], such as [[opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|anti-war protests]], [[free love]], and [[recreational drug use]]. Through a combination of [[psychedelia]] and [[electronic music]], the band's sound was marked by innovative [[guitar]] melodies and distorted [[organ (music)|organ]]-driven instrumentals which were significant to the development of [[acid rock]].

The band self-produced two [[extended play|EPs]] that drew attention on the underground circuit before signing to [[Vanguard Records]] in 1966. Their debut [[album]], ''[[Electric Music for the Mind and Body]]'', followed in 1967. It contained their only nationally charting [[single (music)|single]], "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine", and their most experimental arrangements. Their second album, ''[[I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die]]'', was released in late 1967; its [[I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag|title track]], with its [[dark humor]] and satire, became their signature tune and is among the era's most recognizable protest songs. Further success followed, including McDonald's appearance at [[Woodstock]], but the group's lineup underwent changes until its disbandment in 1970. Members of the band continue in the music industry as solo recording artists and sporadically reconvene.