Editing Country Joe and the Fish (section)

===Electric music (1966–1968)===
As Country Joe and the Fish's popularity grew, the band relocated to San Francisco in early 1966 and became popular fixtures at the [[Avalon Hollywood|Avalon]] and the [[Filmore Auditorium]]. On June 6, 1966, the band recorded a second self-produced EP, which was packaged separately from the ''Rag Baby'' magazine and, upon its release, debuted the new [[psychedelic rock]] incarnation of the group.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/collectors-items-the-first-three-eps-mw0000120101|title=''Collector's Items: The First Three EPs'' – Review|work=allmusic.com|author=Planer, Lindsay|access-date=July 11, 2015}}</ref> The EP fulfilled the band's ambitions to incorporate electric instruments into their music, effectively melding the instrumentals and pioneering an early template for the musical subgenre of [[acid rock]]. It included McDonald's compositions "(Thing Called) Love" and "Bass Strings" on the [[A-side]] and the six-minute "Section 43" on the B-side.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cabral|first=Ron|title=Country Joe & Me|year=2004|publisher=1st Books Library|isbn=1-41076-537-7|pages=73–74}}</ref> Music historian [[Richie Unterberger]] praised "Section 43", saying its "Asiatic guitar, tribal maracas, devious organ, floating harmonica, and ethereal mid-sections of delicate [[Koto (instrument)|koto]]-like guitar picking rivaled the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's ''East West'' as the finest psychedelic instrumental ever".<ref name=folk/> Within three months, airplay of the EP spread across the new so-called progressive radio stations, reaching as far as New York City, and establishing Country Joe and the Fish as a nationally relevant musical act.<ref name=mara>{{cite web|url=http://www.countryjoe.com/cjmbio.htm|title=Country Joe McDonald, Biography |work=countryjoe.com|access-date=July 12, 2015}}</ref>

Through connections that Cohen had with [[record producer]] [[Samuel Charters]], the group signed a [[recording contract]] with [[Vanguard Records]] in December 1966, just as the label, which had primarily released [[folk music]], was attempting to branch out into the growing psychedelic rock scene.<ref name=psych/> While the band waited to record their debut [[album]], they were present at the [[Human Be-In]], along with other influential San Francisco musical acts, including [[Jefferson Airplane]], [[Big Brother and the Holding Company]], and [[Quicksilver Messenger Service]]. The event was a prelude to the [[Summer of Love]] and helped publicize [[counterculture]] ideals such as [[ecology]], [[free-love]] and the use of illicit drugs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/country-joe-mcdonald-no-ordinary-joe-135887.html|title=Country Joe McDonald: No Ordinary Joe|work=The Independent|date=21 January 2014|access-date=July 15, 2015}}</ref>

In February 1967, Country Joe and the Fish entered Sierra Sound Laboratories to record their debut album, ''[[Electric Music for the Mind and Body]]'', with Charters and Denson overseeing the process. Prior to their studio work, Armstrong left the group and began a two-year alternative assignment as a [[conscientious objector]], driving a truck for [[Goodwill Industries]].<ref name=sixties/> Francis-Gunning was involved in the beginnings of the album's development but left when the rest of the band complained about his drumming technique. He was replaced by [[Gary "Chicken" Hirsh]]. The next recording session was postponed for three days as the most recognizable lineup of Country Joe and the Fish rehearsed with their new drummer at the Barn, in Santa Cruz.<ref name=before>{{cite book|title=''1,001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die...And 10,001 You Must Download''|url=http://www.listology.com/thisisentertainment/list/1001-songs-you-must-hear-you-die|page=902|year=2014|edition=4th|publisher=Universe Publishing|location=New York|author=Viscounti, Tony|isbn=9780789320896|access-date=2015-07-30|archive-date=2012-10-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031002140/http://listology.com/thisisentertainment/list/1001-songs-you-must-hear-you-die|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hirsh's abilities were immediately distinguishable on the album, as he demonstrated an acute and articulate drum beat that [[music critic]] Bruce Eder praised as "some of the best drumming on a psychedelic record this side of the late [[Spencer Dryden]]".<ref name=chicken>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/gary-chicken-hirsh-mn0000777148|title=Gary "Chicken" Hirsh – Biography|work=allmusic.com|author=Eder, Bruce|access-date=July 15, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Ad for the first Country Joe and the Fish album, 1967.jpg|thumb|An April 1967 ad for ''Electric Music for the Mind and Body'' in the Seattle underground paper ''[[Helix (newspaper)|Helix]]''.]]
''Electric Music for the Mind and Body'' was released on May 11, 1967. Much of the album's material continued to expand upon the band's new psychedelic medium, with it embracing all facets of the members' influences, which ranged from their folk roots, [[blues]], [[raga rock]] and [[hard rock]].<ref name=mind>{{cite AV media notes|title=[[Electric Music for the Mind and Body]]|others=Country Joe and the Fish|year=2013|last=Palao|first=Alec|author-link=Alec Palao|type=CD booklet|publisher=Ace Vanguard Masters}}</ref> The album also saw Cohen coming forward in a larger role with inventive distorted-organ melodies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/electric-music-for-the-mind-and-body-mw0000193777|title=Electric Music for the Mind and Body – Review|work=allmusic.com|author=Unterberger, Richie|access-date=July 15, 2015}}</ref> In addition, McDonald's lyrical content, which brazenly pronounced topics of [[political protest]], [[recreational drug use]], and love, augmented by satirical humor, clearly introduced the band's orientation and message. The compositional structures followed discrete movement patterns emulating the style of [[John Fahey (musician)|John Fahey]], whom McDonald admired.<ref name=mind/> Though ''Electric Music for the Mind and Body'' was among the most complex works to date, it possessed the quality that several other San Francisco acts shared of being recorded mostly live, with only the vocals being [[overdubbed]] after the instrumentals were completed.<ref>{{cite web|last=Breznikar|first=Klemen|author-link=Klemen Breznikar |date=February 15, 2015|title=Country Joe and the Fish interview with Joe McDonald|url=https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2015/02/country-joe-and-fish-interview-with-joe.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916172255/http://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2015/02/country-joe-and-fish-interview-with-joe.html|archive-date=September 16, 2016|access-date=July 15, 2015|website=[[It's Psychedelic Baby! Magazine]]}}</ref>

''Electric Music for the Mind and Body'' was a success upon release, charting at number 39 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], and remains one of the most enduring psychedelic works of the counterculture era. A [[single (music)|single]], "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine", was distributed a month prior to the release of the album and became the only Country Joe and the Fish single to chart, peaking at number 98 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], in large part a culmination of its airplay on [[FM broadcasting]] and college stations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.well.com/~cjfish/bandbio.htm|title=A History|work=well.com|author=Belmount, Bill|access-date=July 15, 2015}}</ref> A reworked version of "The Fish Cheer" was intended to be released as a track on the album. However, Charters vetoed the decision to see whether the controversial song "Superbird" would face a radio ban.<ref name=notorious>{{cite web|url=http://www.countryjoe.com/cheer.htm|title=The Notorious Cheer|work=countryjoe.com|access-date=July 16, 2015}}</ref> Nonetheless, the band was considered a forerunner in the emerging [[San Francisco Sound|music scene in San Francisco]], exhibiting one of the more polished debuts, just as its contemporaries were still refining their own sound.<ref name=mind/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/country-joe-the-fish-electric-music-for-the-mind-and-body|title=Country Joe & The Fish – Electric Music For The Mind And Body|work=uncut.co.uk|author=Torn, Luke|access-date=July 16, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082057/http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/country-joe-the-fish-electric-music-for-the-mind-and-body|url-status=dead}}</ref> Melton attributes the album's success, particularly in San Francisco, to the band's appearance at the [[Monterey Pop Festival]] in June 1967. Subsequently, the group toured the East Coast with an elaborate psychedelic [[laser light show|light show]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cjfishlegacy.com/meltoneightmiles.html|title=Barry Melton Interview for Turn! Turn! Turn!/Eight Miles High|work=cjfishlegacy.com|author=Unterberger, Richie|access-date=July 15, 2015}}</ref>

The band returned to the studio, this time at Vanguard Studios in New York City, between July and September 1967. When "Superbird", a tune mocking [[President of the United States|President]] [[Lyndon Johnson]], was not banned from radio promotion, the band was given the go-ahead to record "The Fish Cheer", which saw the group moving away from the original folk composition toward electric instrumentals more synthesized toward psychedelia. The song became the title track of the band's second album, ''[[I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die]]'', released in November 1967. The album was not as successful as its predecessor, but still charted at number 67.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://acerecords.co.uk/i-feel-like-im-fixin-to-die-1|title=I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die|work=acerecords.co.uk|access-date=July 19, 2015}}</ref> The composition represented growing anti-war sentiment expressed by [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|those opposing the Vietnam War]], and is often considered one of the most recognized and celebrated protest songs of the era.<ref name=conflict>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHQqoUcbd8gC&q=country+joe+and+the+fish+i+feel+like+i%27m+fixin%27+to+die+rag&pg=PA40|title=''Songs of the Vietnam Conflict''|author=Perone, James E.|page=40|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2001|isbn=0313315280}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/readers-poll-the-10-best-protest-songs-of-all-time-20141203/country-joe-and-the-fish-i-feel-like-im-fixin-to-die-rag-20141203|title=Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Protest Songs of All Time|work=rollingstone.com|date=3 December 2014|access-date=July 19, 2015}}</ref> "The Fish Cheer" was also pivotal in communicating the attitude against the war, but was set apart from other anti-war songs for its use of sarcastic humor and satire on the controversial conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/i-feel-like-im-fixin-to-die-rag-mt0004368315|title=I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die – Review|work=allmusic.com|author=Unterberger, Richie|access-date=July 19, 2015}}</ref> Writer Lee Andresen reflects on the song's meaning, saying, "the happy beat and insouciance of the vocalist are in odd juxtaposition to the lyrics that reinforce the sad fact that the American public was being forced into realizing that Vietnam was no longer a remote place on the other side of the world, and the damage it was doing to the country could no longer be considered collateral, involving someone else."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OY_vXvXtiToC&q=country+joe+and+the+fish+i+feel+like+i%27m+fixin%27+to+die+rag&pg=PA90|author=Andresen, Lee|title=''Battle Notes: Music of the Vietnam War''|publisher= Superior: Savage Press|year=2000|page=62|isbn=1886028605}}</ref>

The song met unprecedented exposure among the band's young audience after a performance at the [[Schaefer Music Festival]] in New York City, in the summer of 1968.<ref name=chicken/> Hirsh suggested that instead of the opening chorus spelling "fish", it would spell "[[fuck]]", giving birth to the infamous "Fuck Cheer".<ref name=chicken/> The crowd of young teenagers and college students applauded the act; however executives from ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' barred Country Joe and the Fish from their scheduled appearance on the program, and any other possible events.<ref name=notorious/> Hirsh never explained why he recommended the change in lyrics, but the act is seen as a social and political statement advocating [[free speech]].<ref name=conflict/> The recorded version of "The Fish Cheer" received airplay, even on mainstream radio stations, which contributed to the success of the band's third album, ''[[Together (Country Joe and the Fish album)|Together]]'', its most commercially successful. The album, released in August 1968, featured songwriting by all of the band members and charted at number 23 nationally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/together-mw0000616364|title=Together – Review|work=allmusic.com|author=Ruhlmamn, William|access-date=July 26, 2015}}</ref>