Country Joe and the Fish was an American psychedelic rock band
formed in Berkeley, California, in 1965. The band was among the
influential groups centered in the San Francisco music scene during the
mid to late-1960s. Much of the band's music was penned by founding
members Country Joe McDonald and Barry "The Fish" Melton,
and consisted of issues of importance to the counterculture such as
anti-war protests, free love, and recreational drug use, with lyrical
content daringly to the point. Through a combination of psychedelia and
electronic music, Country Joe and the Fish's sound was marked by
innovative guitar melodies, and distorted organ-driven instrumentals
which were significant to the development of acid rock.
