Joe McDonald, lead singer and co-founder of Country Joe And The Fish, has sadly passed away at the age of 84. McDonald died due to Parkinson's disease.
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During his legendary career, McDonald became one of the most recognizable musical voices of the 1960s. His band's song, "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" became somewhat of an anti-war song during the Vietnam War.
"We are deeply saddened to report the passing of Country Joe McDonald, who died yesterday, March 7th, at the age of 84, in Berkeley, California, due to complications from Parkinson's Disease," Country Joe And The Fish said in a statement that was posted to Facebook. "He was surrounded by his family, and the news has been confirmed by Best Classic Bands, as well as the McDonald Family."
The statement then continued by requesting that fans and media allow McDonald's family to grieve in private.
"At this time, the McDonald family requests privacy during this very difficult period. Please feel free to leave your condolences, memories and photos here on this post. Thank you."
McDonald is survived by his five children and his wife, Kathy.
Country Joe And The Fish Still Hold Popularity
Despite their heyday being 60 years ago, Country Joe And The Fish are still somewhat popular to this day. "Flying High" is their biggest hit on Spotify, with over 5.6 million streams. "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" is second with 4.7 million streams. "Bass Strings" rounds out their top three most popular songs with 2.3 million hits.
Of course, those numbers are exclusive to Spotify and will be much higher when accounting for the other music streaming services on the market.
Furthermore, Country Joe And The Fish are still drawing 93,366 monthly listeners on the popular music platform. When music can stand the test of time and still draw almost 100,000 listeners per month, you know the band was exceptionally gifted for its time.
The group last released a studio album in 2007, titled Vanguard Visionaries. Since then, the group has released audio versions of live shows and compilation albums.
Currently, no details regarding McDonald's funeral have been made public. That information will likely remain private, specifically for family and close friends.
