Antiwar Song Became an Anthem

‘One of the starring acts at Woodstock, he and his band, the Fish, came out of the Bay Area’s psychedelic rock scene. He went on to a long career as a solo artist.

The tone of the politics and social commentary in Mr. McDonald’s songs could range from whimsical to snarky. In “The Harlem Song” he satirized white people’s fetish for Black culture, while in “Fixin’-to-Die,” he sang in the voice of a TV pitchman selling parents on the chance to “be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box!” The song culminated in the ironic refrain, “Whoopee! We’re all gonna die!”…’ (Jim Farber via The New York Times)