was country joe mcdonald in the military

maio 1, 2023 0 comentários

After serving in the Navy, McDonald moved to California and became heavily involved in the protest movement at Berkeley. Since his performance at Woodstock, Country Joe McDonald has remained an outspoken activist for social and political causes that he believes in. This troupe performed at alternative coffee house near military installations, catering to GIs who were disenchanted with the military but had no formal mode of expressing it. Electric Music and the follow-up LP, I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die, remained on Billboard's album charts around #32 for about two years, while the group increasingly toured the "ballroom" circuit and colleges around America. It was our lifeline, a link to our existence back in the world, connecting us with the things that enabled us, as the Impressions urged us, to keep on pushing. From the peaks of the Central Highlands and the rice paddies of the Mekong Delta to the air-conditioned jungles of Danang and Long Binh (where I served as an information specialist in 1970-71), soldiers used music to build community, stay connected to the home front and hold on to the humanity the war was trying to take away. The war was coming to an end, and those of us still there, and the veterans who were already back home, understood that it would be music that helped us reintegrate into civilian life. Naturally, this is reflected in McDonalds music. The hits were our hits: I Feel-Like-Im-Fixin-to-Die Rag, Fortunate Son and the song more than one Vietnam veteran has called our national anthem, the Animals We Gotta Get Out of This Place.. Making Money In Chile04. The song's anti-war message seems more timely than ever, with its savagely satirical attack on the arms merchants, the military and the White House. Country Joe McDonald - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia At the age of 17, he enlisted in the United States Navy for three years and was stationed in Japan. Peter Fonda will serve as emcee, with Whoopi Goldberg and John Voight hosting. Performers included Country Joe McDonald, a Navy veteran who served mainly in Japan. Though he has no qualms about his veteran status now, he believes the climate has not improved significantly. 2. Country Joe McDonald: A long look at a local legend rally in front of the Alamo. In 1982, McDonald began working with organizations such as the Vietnam Veterans of America to raise awareness about issues affecting veterans and their families. Joel Brodsky/Vanguard Records, via GAB Archive -- Redferns -- Getty Images. Mr. McDonald continued recording, putting out more than 30 albums, including this years 50, marking his five decades in the music business. His anti-war "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag" became a memorable Woodstock moment. 1991) from his marriage to Kathy Wright. Much of the band's music was written by founding members Country Joe McDonald and Barry "The Fish" Melton, with lyrics pointedly addressing issues of importance to the counterculture . The psychedelic sound of Country Joe & the Fish captivated the Bay Area scene. This demonstration, the beginning of what was to be a week of protests throughout the Capitol, proved to be one of the pivotal popular manifestations of disenchantment with the Nixon administration's conduct of the war. The band's popularity was further enhanced by the release in the summer of that year of a second EP -- called the "white EP" -- which contained three songs: "Bass Strings," "Section 43" and "(Thing Called) Love." He learned to play the guitar and trombone, but his father's loss of employment due to suspected communist ties before the House Un-American Activities Committee changed his world view forever. Imagine this scenario: Woodstock, 1969. You Messed Over Me05. McDonald wrote the song "Janis" about his former girlfriend Janis Joplin, who also performed at Woodstock on Day 2. Ironically two records released later that year -- The Doors' 45, "Touch Me," and the Rolling Stones' LP Let It Bleed, also made use of horns and strings. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Country Joe McDonald The Early Years Rare 1978 Picc-A-Dilly Records Vinyl LP at the best online prices at eBay! At a time of bitter protests over the Vietnam War, Woodstock "seemed to transcend the anger that clearly a lot of people were feeling. Opinion | Country Joe's Obscene Truths - The New York Times Memories06. In fact, McDonald and a host of other musicians, actors and athletes will be cheered as they lead an event billed as the official welcome home celebration for our Vietnam veterans.. [16] Seven was the subject of and inspiration behind the song "Silver and Gold". The song was irreverent but not political, Joe explained. Some sources state that he performed after Richie Havens on Friday, while others, including photos and recordings, seem to confirm that . In 2007 he perfected his "Tribute to Woody Guthrie" show, a mix of music and spoken word, and has since taken it around the country to great acclaim. McDonald, 44, never served in Vietnam. When McDonald called out for an "F" and then a "U," instead of an "F" and then an "I," the Woodstock audience went wild. Chile07. 3. As a high school dropout, Mr. Earle played a coffeehouse near Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Country Joe McDonald: Yeah, he did that! They skipped the chant that night, but according to a story Mr. McDonald told on a live album, he shouted the expletive at the cops right after the show. I served three years and change, two in Japan, and it wasnt a bad experience, I didnt come out with anti-military views. Country Joe McDonald - Best of Country Joe McDonald The Vanguard - eBay It was a trek to get near the stage. One of his solo albums, the 1973 Vanguard LP Paris Sessions, was reviewed by Robert Christgau in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), in which he said: "Amazing. The more liberal European artist climate did not prepare him for the conditions he returned to. Country Joe McDonald - Full ConcertRecorded Live: 10/27/1973 - Winterland (San Francisco, CA)More Country Joe McDonald at Music Vault: http://www.musicvault.. Peace. Joseph Allen McDonald had been steeped in progressive politics long before he took the Woodstock stage. Ive been doing work with veterans now for 15 years, and I probably know more about Vietnam veterans than any other person in the entertainment industry.. I wanted to be known as a sensitive poet, not a leader of obscene cheers and a protest singer.. But having enlisted in the Navy at 17 and been stationed as an air traffic controller at the Atsugi, Japan, air facility until his honorable discharge in. Ever wonder who played at Woodstock? Except its true. Kim Jong Un's sister insults Biden and slams U.S. defense agreement Despite being handed a guitar tied to a rope instead of a strap, McDonald put on an impressive 30-minute set in his army shirt and sunglasses. And some didn't look to Woodstock to celebrate their own sense of music and identity. Heres My Soundtrack. "Patriots: the Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides", Christian G. Appy, p. 199. The "we" included performances by Jack Casady of the Jefferson Airplane and David Getz and Peter Albin from Big Brother and the Holding Company. At 17, seeing the world and meeting girls took priority, and he figured the best option was enlisting in the Navy. Its his legacy, one that both provided him with financial stability and quashed his chances at Top 40 stardom. The Guthrie album won him critical acclaim and a spot the following year at the Hollywood Bowl celebration in honor of Guthrie featuring Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie and many who had worked with him while he was alive. By 1979 Joe and Bill Belmont had re-started Rag Baby records and released, in Europe through various licensing arrangements, Barry Melton's Level With Me. Some sources state that he performed after Richie Havens on Friday, while others, including photos and recordings, seem to confirm that he performed at about 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, right after Quill. He considers the song to be essentially punk before punk existed. 1 song of 1966, is as much a reflection of the shifting politics of the country as it is about changes in musical tastes. Just about all the guys I served with in Vietnam in 1970 and 1971 laughed at Edwin Starrs War because we knew better than he did that it was good for absolutely nothin., Many of those tensions and crosscurrents came to a head around Country Joe McDonald, the guiding spirit of Country Joe and the Fish, whose unplanned, slightly reluctant performance of I-Feel-Like-Im-Fixin-to-Die Rag at Woodstock in August 1969 placed a veterans perspective on Vietnam at the center of musical protest. Country Joe: Singing Louder Than the Guns - Street Spirit Joe and his band had signed a recording contract with Vanguard Records in December of '66 and, having recorded it at Sierra Sound in Berkeley, were unaware of and more or less free from the watchful eyes of a record company. But Beatty Barnes feels the city-sponsored Harlem festival, which was showcased in two network TV specials, showed people didn't have to go far to come together around music. Free shipping for many products! Country Joe McDonald Ever wonder who played at Woodstock? Both LPs contained novel approaches to music -- the first, "Rock and Soul Music" Joe's paean to James Brown and the second, a dry, cutting, almost minstrel-show-like song about Harlem, "The Harlem Song." They appeared on Day 3 of the festival. "The Fish Cheer" had already gained popularity among kids in the New York City area due to McDonald's earlier Central Park performance and underground radio play. They liked I was a kid doing Fixin-to-Die, Mr. Earle said. I was inspired to write a folk song about how soldiers have no choice in the matter but to follow orders, but with the irreverence of rock n roll. Country Joe McDonald - NNDB It inpsired his career as a singer-songwriter and progressive activist. Plans for a sprawling commemorative Woodstock 50 event elsewhere collapsed amid permitting and other problems . Music was more than just background for us. McDonald straddles the two polar events of the 60s -- Woodstock and the Vietnam War. ")[8] is well known to the Woodstock generation and Vietnam veterans of the 1960s and '70s. "Patriots: the Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides", Christian G. Appy, p. 196. In 2007, he put together a song-and-spoken-word one-man show about Woody Guthrie, and followed it up with another about Florence Nightingale. While researching our book, my co-author, Craig Werner, and I heard poignant stories from Vietnam veterans about listening to a fellow soldier play Masters of War or Where Have All the Flowers Gone in Vietnam. Although the crowd loved it, the management of the Schaefer Beer Festival did not and kicked the band off the tour for life. With the crucial exception of combat, music was ubiquitous in Vietnam, reaching soldiers via albums, cassettes and tapes of radio shows sent from home; on the Armed Forces Vietnam Network, featuring songs from stateside Top 40 stations; and on the legendary, if short-lived, underground broadcasts of Radio First Termer, a pirate station operated out of Saigon. After his enlistment, he attended Los Angeles City College for a year. Mr. McDonald doesnt recall reading about Vietnam in the newspapers or seeing combat scenes on television yet; protest was just in the Bay Area ether. Country Joe McDonald live at Woodstock Roger Krook 874 subscribers Subscribe 4.8K Save 794K views 13 years ago Notice Age-restricted video (based on Community Guidelines) It's cable reimagined No. See how this article appeared when it was originally published on NYTimes.com. However, McDonald was determined to get the Woodstock audience pumped up and excited for the rest of the day. The group organized by Fonda and actor Donald Sutherland featured theater skits created by Ann and Roger Bowen, alumnae of the famed Chicago improvisation group "Second City". A folk rock flavored album, it featured songs from the Chile film and "Memories," a long introspective song about growing up in the 60s. Fish which with a new keyboard player and rhythm section was produced by Tom Wilson. Starting in 1982 Joe began actively working with and for Vietnam Veterans Against The War, Swords To Plowshares and Vietnam Veterans Of America to further the cause of the thousands of veterans who had become disenfranchised by the system's neglect. Innovative, sarcastic, and political, Country Joe and The Fish was a prominent psychedelic rock band in San Francisco Bay Area in mid- to late 60s. His mother, Florence Plotnick, was the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants and served for many years on the Berkeley City Council. Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (born January 1, 1942) [1] is an American musician, singer and political activist. Sometimes the music was live: soldiers strumming out Bob Dylan and Curtis Mayfield songs at base camps; Filipino bands pounding out Proud Mary and Soul Man at enlisted-mens clubs and Saigon bars; touring acts from Bob Hope and Ann-Margret to Nancy Sinatra and James Brown granting momentary calm. Satisfactory10. This lead to the 1988 Rag Baby release, Vietnam Experience which along with the film and video of the same name were to be Joe's "bookends" on the war in Vietnam. At that point, red, white and blue balloons and confetti will be released as if it were a ticker-tape parade that the Vietnam veterans never had, Talley said. "Patriots: the Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides", Christian G. Appy, pp. Political and ecological issues were set to musical accompaniment by Country Joe McDonald, who co-founded and led the psychedelic folk-rock band Country Joe & the Fish, the leading left-wing band of the '60s. Country Joe McDonald is an American singer/songwriter and a Navy veteran. As for McDonalds involvement in the issue, Talley said simply, Joe is definitely Mr. Vietnam--an assessment with which the singer concurs. Later in 2005, political commentator Bill O'Reilly compared McDonald to Cuban President Fidel Castro, remarking on McDonald's involvement in Cindy Sheehan's protests against the Iraq War.[13]. Before forming The Fish, McDonald played in a band with Barry Melton, who later became his band-mate in The Fish. One for sure was Hendrix and his version of "The Star Spangled Banner." I wrote the song Who Am I? for a play I was working on, and after I was done, I literally paused, sat down, and banged out Fixin-to-Die in a half an hour, he said. Who would you support in a hypothetical 2024 presidential matchup He travels the world and continues to sell records. They accepted and took with them a "light show," that curious by-product of the ballroom scene. Anyone can read what you share. For those born after the last helicopters sank beneath the waves of the South China Sea, movies, documentaries and TV shows have repeatedly used music as a sonic background for depicting Vietnam as a tug of war between pro-war hawks and pro-peace doves. Country Joe McDonald was born on January 1, 1942 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. The fantasy Rambo is in, but the reality of what it means to be soldiering is not in. By now he had decided that his records were to come out on his label, and a series of them did. "Oh, Jamaica" conjured up images of lush lazy days in the Caribbean sun, but the song's pointed lyric highlighted the terrible conditions that faced most people living on the island. B. Organizers had sold 186,000 tickets; ultimately an estimated 400,000 people showed up for the festival on farmland in Bethel, New York, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of New York City. Get our L.A. Joe at 75. In 1966, Mr. McDonald and his partner Barry Melton, whose nickname was the Fish, decided to move away from their folk music style and form a full-time rock band. People can correct me if Im wrong, McDonald continued, but I thought that military service to your country was an honorable thing to do and recognition of those who served is also an honorable thing.. Not recorded under the best of circumstances, it was produced by Vanguard president Maynard Solomon who after various attempts to find someone to work on the record (including an ill-fated trip to New Orleans to see Allan Toussaint) did it himself. Opposition to the draft helped fuel the sounds of protest Draft Dodger Rag, Universal Soldier, It Aint Me Babe. But they were songs we G.I.s knew and often sang in Vietnam. For Vietnam veterans and those who listen to their stories, the iconic music of the 1960s and early 70s provides access to a truer, deeper story of what Vietnam meant, and continues to mean. Rock n roll, soul, pop and country. The first official act on Day 3 was the mad Englishman, Joe Cocker. By December 1966, they had a recording contract with Vanguard Records, the home to progressive acts like the Weavers and Joan Baez. The familys middle-class life was upended when his father, a lineman for Pacific Bell, was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee and lost his job, just as his son was entering his teenage years. The label released albums by Terry and The Pirates, featuring most of Quicksilver Messenger Service, Woody's youngest son Joady Guthrie, Rocky Sullivan and a solo piano effort by Fish keyboardist David Bennet Cohen. You could hear it in the difference between I Get Around and Good Vibrations; between She Loves You and Happiness Is a Warm Gun; between Please Please Please and Say It Loud Im Black and Im Proud; between the Shangri-Las and Grace Slick. McDonald's involvement in social and political causes has continued throughout his career. President Joe Biden couldn't recall his recent trip to Ireland when asked by a child about the last country he had visited. His anti-war I Feel Like Im Fixin To Die Rag became a memorable Woodstock moment. In 1965, he and Barry Melton co-founded Country Joe & the Fish which became a pioneer psychedelic rock band with their eclectic performances at the Avalon Ballroom, the Fillmore Auditorium, the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, and both the 1969 original and 1979 reunion Woodstock Festivals. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Its a soldiers song from a soldiers background and point of view. ED, who also wrote for the weekly Berkeley Barb, concocted with Joe the idea of letting the audience know what was happening at all times; so they took out a 52 week 1/4 page ad in the Barb informing their audience where they were going to be in the coming week -- even if it was in Canada. Country Joe McDonald - IMDb There are going to be no speakers, no awards, no soap box, she promised. When Craig and I met Joe at the North Berkeley BART station in 2008 to interview him for our book, he introduced himself by saying, I consider myself a veteran first and a hippie second., Although the pro-war hawks who flooded him with hate mail he still receives it were unaware of the crucial fact that Joe McDonald was a Navy veteran, one whod realized that, as he put it, all military experience, all combat experience universally is the same not good/bad, moral/immoral. Country Joe McDonald - Wikipedia Headliner Nina Simone delivered a set infused with songs of black empowerment and a militant poem that asked black people are you ready to instigate social change. How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Harkening back to his days as the high school band leader, Mr. McDonald included a call-and-response with the other four band members. In need of someone to entertain the crowd while they waited, Joe McDonald, who happened to be backstage, stepped up to perform. The climax of the evening will see all the participants singing Welcome Home, a song McDonald wrote for the occasion. Max Yasgur, the dairy farmer who leased his land to the festival, said meeting them "forced me to open my eyes. His road manager gave him the go-ahead, and McDonald's anti-war anthem was met with a frenzy of clapping, singing, and standing ovations. C ountry Joe McDonald was born in Washington, D. C., in 1942, but grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte, California. I was proud to be a veteran, the connection I had with the other soldiers, but I also understood the military dysfunction of capitalism combined with a large bureaucracy.. FlourishAnyway from USA on April 06, 2019: Wow, someone named after Stalin. Joe spent most of 1974 living in Europe, mostly in Paris where he had friends he had met in Berkeley. And here I got to send out this shocking antiwar message to a couple hundred guys singing along. "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine," released as the band's first 45, only made it to #98 on Billboard's "Top 100," but became a staple of American college radio. Carrying on the Spirit of Peace and Love (June 2016 Issue) Country Joe McDonald has carried on the spirit of the 1960s by singing for peace and justice, speaking against war and environmental damage, and advocating fair treatment for military veterans and homeless people.