#1221: Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine by Country Joe & The Fish

Peak Month: August 1967
5 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #5
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #98
YouTube.com: “Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine”
Lyrics: “Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine”

In 1942 Joseph Allan McDonald was born in Washington, D. C. He was raised in the Los Angeles, California, suburb of El Monte. His parents, Florence and Worden, were members of the United States Communist Party and began to have difficulties with the authorities during the McCarthy years. In his home Joe was raised as what was termed at the time as a “red diaper baby.” The El Monte Legion Stadium was on the circuit for music groups of the era and Joe went to hear most of them. In the fall of 1965, Country Joe and the Fish was the creative fusion of a political device, necessity and entertainment.
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