Country Joe and the Fish was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Berkeley, California, in 1965. The band was among the influential groups in the San Francisco music scene during the mid- to late 1960s. Much of the band's music was written by founding members Country Joe McDonald and Barry "The Fish" Melton, with lyrics pointedly addressing issues of importance to the counterculture, such as anti-war protests, free love, and recreational drug use. Through a combination of psychedelia and electronic music, the band's sound was marked by innovative guitar melodies and distorted organ-driven instrumentals which were significant to the development of acid rock.
An April 1967 ad for Electric Music for the Mind and Body in the Seattle underground paper Helix.
Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording techniques, extended instrumental solos, and improvisation. Many psychedelic groups differ in style, and the label is often applied spuriously.
Jimi Hendrix on stage at Gröna Lund in Stockholm, Sweden in June 1967
"Swinging London", Carnaby Street, c. 1966
Producer Terry Melcher in the studio with the Byrds' Gene Clark and David Crosby, 1965
The Beatles on tour, July 1965