Country Joe & The Fish,  Monterey Pop - Section 43 for Breakfast

Oh, that San Francisco Sound. CJ & Fish are quin-ti-SENTIAL and often overlooked. Trust me, download "Electric Music for the Body and Mind" or "Feel Like I'm a Fixin' to Die." These two albums are screaming!  But I digress. This video by Sixties documentarist extrordinaire DA Pennebaker, gives a good feel for the times and the fact that many flower children were not (yet) hippies. The song slows in the middle but it's well worth listening to the end. The crisp electric guitar lines and searing organ are classic, as are the shots by Pennebaker and crew of the crowd.

 

By the way, "the Fish," were not the band. Lead guitarist Barry Melton's nickname was Fish.  Is there a cooler psychedelic vision than flower-painted Country Joe in this video?

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