Nation Joe McDonald, anti-war singer who electrified Woodstock, dies at 84 : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1974x1974+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9b%2F22%2F0c95f00a4f2181248334358706fc%2Fgettyimages-89815401.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1974x1974+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9b%2F22%2F0c95f00a4f2181248334358706fc%2Fgettyimages-89815401.jpg" class="img" alt="Singer Joe McDonald sings during the concert marking the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival on Aug. 15, 2009 in Bethel, New York. McDonald has died at age 84." fetchpriority="high"/> Singer Joe McDonald sings throughout the live performance marking the fortieth anniversary of the Woodstock music competition on Aug. 15, 2009 in Bethel, New York. McDonald has died at age 84. Mario Tama/Getty Photos disguise caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Photos Nation Joe McDonald, the singer-songwriter whose Vietnam Battle protest track grew to become a signature anthem of the Sixties counterculture, has died at 84.

McDonald died on Saturday in Berkeley, Calif., in keeping with an announcement launched by a publicist. His well being had just lately declined resulting from Parkinson's illness.

Born in 1942, in Washington, D.C., he grew up in El Monte, Calif., outdoors Los Angeles, in keeping with a biography on his web site. As a younger man he served within the U.S. Navy earlier than turning to writing and music throughout the early Sixties, ultimately changing into concerned within the political and cultural ferment of the Bay Space.

In 1965 he helped type the band Nation Joe and the Fish in Berkeley. The group grew to become a part of the rising San Francisco psychedelic music scene, mixing people traditions with electrical rock and pointed political commentary.

The band's best-known track, "I-Really feel-Like-I am-Fixin'-to-Die Rag," captured the rising anti-war sentiment of the Vietnam period. With its ragtime-influenced rhythm and sharply satirical lyrics about conflict and political management, the track shortly grew to become related to protests in opposition to the battle.

McDonald delivered the track to some half one million folks on the 1969 Woodstock competition in upstate New York. Performing solo, he led the group in a type of call-and-response earlier than launching into the anti-war anthem, turning the efficiency into one of many defining scenes of the competition.

Nation Joe and the Fish launched a number of recordings throughout the late Sixties and toured extensively, changing into intently recognized with that period's West Coast rock and protest actions.

McDonald later continued performing and recording as a solo artist, recording quite a few albums throughout a profession that spanned greater than half a century. His work drew variously from people, rock and blues traditions and infrequently mirrored his long-standing curiosity in political and social points.

Though he grew to become extensively recognized for his opposition to the Vietnam Battle, McDonald often emphasised respect for individuals who served within the U.S. army. After his personal service within the Navy, he remained engaged with veterans' points and infrequently carried out at occasions linked to veterans and their experiences, in keeping with his web site biography.