Iconic musician Country Joe McDonald has died at the age of 84, and fans are looking back at some of the most iconic moments of his career. In what appears to be his last interview, done less than a year before his death, McDonald talked about what he believes "ruined" his career.
McDonald's last interview appears to be the one released on July 21, 2025, for Mark Hummel's Harmonica Party. During a portion of the interview, they talked about one of the things that became legendary with McDonald, which was the "F*** Cheer."
The cheer was officially referred to as the "Fish Cheer," but his insertion of the expletive in place of "Fish" stuck with him. In his interview with Hummel, he suggested, "I have to accept the fact that the F*** cheer really ruined my career."
McDonald acknowledged that people loved the cheer and he admitted, "I guess I'm kind of responsible."
The musician revealed that his team actually trademarked the cheer once it became so popular and iconic, although, of course, they couldn't trademark the expletive itself. The two men joked about how McDonald should be getting royalties whenever the expletive is used.
Apparently, Gershon (Gary) "Chicken" Hersh, who was the original drummer for McDonald's group, Country Joe and the Fish, was the one who initially came up with the idea to change the fish cheer to the explicit version that became so popular. McDonald recalled that they did it for the first time during a performance in Central Park.
Ultimately, the musician claimed, the explicit version of the cheer apparently got McDonald banned from doing The Ed Sullivan Show.
McDonald talked about some of the passion projects he did over the years, referencing music about World War I, and the music he created honoring his idol, Woody Guthrie. He also mentioned the work he did honoring Florence Nightingale and the songs he wrote about the Vietnam war.
"I was kind of disappointed that I never got an opportunity to do something like that on a theatrical level," McDonald admitted.
Despite his regret over not having some of the more mainstream performance opportunities he may have desired, McDonald's long career is fondly remembered as fans mourn his death.
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