It’s sad news indeed to hear of the loss of Country Joe MacDonald!!!  Oi oi!!

The Fugs were lucky to have performed with Country Joe and the Fish the very night in November of 1965 when they had their first concert!

The Fugs were in San Fransisco in the fall of 1965, on an anti-Vietnam War tour.  We performed, for instance, at Bill Graham’s first concert, a benefit for the Mime Troupe, that also featured Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, and the Grateful Dead.

Ed Denson, manager of the band just then forming (Country Joe and the Fish), contacted me about performing with Allen Ginsberg, and Country Joe and the Fish on the campus of University of California, Berkeley. I agreed, and they put out a flier around Berkeley for the gig, held in a chemistry lecture room, whose central table, down in the front of the room, we used as a stage.

We had a large crowd. First Country Joe and the Fish performed (their first performance ever!), then Ginsberg, sitting lotus position in the middle of the chemistry table stage. The Fugs closed the show— We stood upon the chemistry lab table to do our show.  One highlight occurred when our guitarist Steve Weber fell back off the stage, landing on his back while keeping the beat perfectly and not missing a note.

I collected the money, dividing it exactly among all the performers, $20 each, which caused Allen to grumble a bit, since his renown obviously (his image was featured prominently on the poster) had led to the crowd paying the $1.00 admission.

Country Joe’s and the Fugs’ paths crossed now and then over the years.  He performed at the Fugs “Real Woodstock Festival” held in Woodstock on the 25th Anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock Festival.  Allen Ginsberg also read and sang.

All Hail Country Joe, and his important work for a better world!!!