Country Joe and The Fish - Bass Strings

About The Band: The group's name is derived from leftist politics; "Country Joe" was a popular name for Joseph Stalin in the 1940s, while "the fish" refers to Mao Tse Dung's statement that the true revolutionary must "swim among the people as a fish." The group began with the nucleus of "Country Joe" McDonald (lead vocals) and Barry "The Fish" Melton (lead guitar), recording and performing for the "Teach-In" protests against the Vietnam War in 1965. Co-founders McDonald and Melton added musicians as needed over the life of the band. By 1967, the group included Gary "Chicken" Hirsh (drums) (born in 1940, in Chicago, Illinois); David Cohen (keyboards) (born 8 April 1942, in Brooklyn, New York) and Bruce Barthol (bass) (born 11 November 1947 in Berkeley, California). The 1967 lineup lasted only two years, and by the 1969 music festival Woodstock, the lineup included Greg 'Duke' Dewey (drums), Mark Kapner (keyboards) and Doug Metzler (bass).

The band came to perform an early example of psychedelic music. The LP "Electric Music for the Mind and Body" was very influential on early FM Radio in 1967. Long sets of psychedelic tunes like "Section 43", "Bass Strings", "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine", "Janis" (for and about Janis Joplin) and "Grace" (for singer Grace Slick) (all released on Vanguard Records) were often played back to back on KSAN and KMPX in San Francisco and progressive rock stations around the country. Their first album charted at #39 on September 23, 1967, their 2nd album at #67 on February 3, 1968, and their third at #23 on August 31, 1968. Country Joe and The Fish were regulars at Fillmore West and East and Chet Helms' Avalon Ballroom. They were billed with such groups as Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Led Zeppelin, and Iron Butterfly. They played at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. In 1971 the band appeared in a Western film starring Don Johnson as an outlaw gang called the Crackers. The film, entitled Zachariah, was written by the Firesign Theatre and was billed as "The First Electric Western". They also appeared in the George Lucas film More American Graffiti and in the 1971 Roger Corman film Gas-s-s-s.

Electric Music For The Mind And Body, Country Joe and The Fish's debut album, was one of the first psychedelic albums to come out of San Francisco in 1967. Many timed their acid trips to peak during Country Joe and The Fish performances at The Avalon or The Fillmore, where they were frequent performers.

Tracks from the LP, especially "Section 43", "Grace", and "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine" were played on progressive FM rock stations like KSAN and KMPX in San Francisco, often back-to-back. A famous version of the song "Love" was performed at the 1969 Woodstock Festival

Lyrics: Hey partner, won't you pass that reefer round,
My world is spinnin', yeah, just got to slow it down.
Oh, yes you know I've sure got to slow it down.
Get so high this time that you know
I'll never come down, I'll never come down.
I believe I'll go out to the seashore, let the waves wash my mind,
Open up my head now just to see what I can find.
Oh, yes you know I'm gonna see what I can find,
Just one more trip now, you know I'll stay high
All the time, all the time.

Yes, I'll go out to the desert just to try and find my past.
Truth lives all around me, but it's just beyond my grasp.
Oh, yes you know it's just beyond my grasp.
I'll let the sand and the stars and the wind
Carry me back, oh carry me back.

L.S.D.
L.S.D.
L.S.D.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Leftist
• Politics
• Country
• Joe
• The
• Fish
• Summer
• Of
• Love
• Organ
• Electric
• McDonald
• Bary
• Melton
• LSD
• Marijuana
• Woodstock

[MyInnerEyeMike99]

@mwells219 It's long over due, but there's just one problem. Who's got the Acid?? Seriously, there's no good LSD around anymore. Even at the festivals, it's over priced @ as much as $20.00 a dose, as well as low quality too often. Look at all these "chemistry wizards" in their meth labs these days. Blowing themselves up, destroying the lives of millions. How many true "victims" of LSD are out there? Sure, there are some, nowhere near as many as alcohol, tobacco, meth, and pharmaceuticals. True?

[JimmyMarshall27]

@mwells219 I'd agree. I'd also say it's time for a Psychedelic revival.

[JimmyMarshall27]

I really believe we are slowing our spiritual evolution, by making "Bass Strings" unavailablefor intelligent use. I wonder how many people know that the discovery of DNA was given a Bass Strings Boost. Some fascinating reading exists prior to 1966, if you can find it. I have always loved this song. It FEELS right !

[TheOneartist]

@pipsqueek14 I believe in using psychedelic drugs, but there's definitely more to it than that. People look at it on the surface, while hippies are all about looking in deep. It's all about extracting meaning and applying it to your life and personality.

I HIGHLY recommend using psychedelics when the opportunity comes up, but start out with the herb first. Cannabis is one piece of the puzzle, and psychedelics are the entire puzzle. I mean that in the most intense way possible.

[pipsqueek14]

@TheOneartist great. the funny thing is that i also thought that i was the only one who new the word psychedelic, and the ideas of the hippies(i was right, they al think beiing hippie is all about drugs)

[TheOneartist]

@MyInnerEyeMike99 Real LSD is out there, trust me, 10 a hit. And it's 100 times less toxic than Vitamin C.

Mushies are definitely just as good, though. Never pass up the chance to use them, they're gifts from God.

[TheOneartist]

@pipsqueek14 I'm all about psychedelic music, and I'm 18. I first started getting into it my sophomore year, so I must have been 15 then. I totally feel you, though, dude. I felt like I was the only guy who knew the word "psychedelic".

Psychedelic music will never die. Have you heard Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavilion"? Masterpiece. And there's many people our age who've got their minds tuned in and are all about spreading the hippie vibes. Never give up, EVER! Peace!

[TheOneartist]

@trexx1930 I'm 18. There's so many people our age out there scattered across the country who've got their minds tuned in. Spread the hippie vibes, something big is around the corner.

[TheOneartist]

@killak1994777 Personally I hate the term "neo". I don't like things being limited by time period.

I must say, though, Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavilion" is the best new psychedelic album I've heard. And there'll be more to follow, you can count on it. I'll make sure to it. ;) haha

[killak1994777]

@JimmyMarshall27 Thts why have Neo-Psychedelia :p

but nothing beats the 60s classics ^.^

[pipsqueek14]

@trexx1930 thats great. i love the 60's

[trexx1930]

@pipsqueek14 I love it, always will.