(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) – A U.S. appeals court has rejected the lawsuit brought against ‘60s psychedelic country-rocker Country Joe McDonald’s 1965 Vietnam War protest sing-a-long “Fixin’ To Die Rag.”
Babette Ory, daughter of jazz musician Kid Ory, claimed the song infringed on her father’s jazz standard “Muskrat Ramble.”
Ory originally sued in September 2001, claiming the song sounded too similar to the song recorded by her father, who had recorded with Louis Armstrong and died in 1973. The appellate judges upheld a lower-court decision saying there was too long a delay in bringing the copyright lawsuit and awarded McDonald his attorney fees. Ory obtained the copyright to “Muskrat Ramble” in 2001.
McDonald wrote “Fixin’ To Die Rag” in 1965 to protest the nation’s escalating military involvement in Vietnam. A rousing performance of the song was featured on the Woodstock soundtrack and made the song’s refrain: “And it’s one, two, three, what are we fighting for?” a rallying cry among the nation’s youth at the time. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
