Notes + Informations : 

This record was conceived as a "talking" edition of Joe's  magazine RAG BABY. They called themselves Country Joe And The Fish, a name which was arrived at as a compromise to Country Mao and the Fish (as in the Mao saying regarding the "fish that swims in the sea of the people") since they were in effect conceived as an agit-prop group. This "record" and the appearance in Oakland led to requests for them to appear as a band and their emphasis slowly shifted from an acoustic jug band to an electric "rock" band playing a brand of what later
came to be called "psychedelic music". To promote themselves as an "electric band" and may be make some money, they again formulated and recorded another EP. This was recorded at Sierra Sound Studios in Berkeley, California and formally established the existence of the RAG BABY Label. This EP numbered 1002 with its distinctive cover (by Berkeley artist Tom Weller) became one of the most identifiable of the many locally produced items from the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960's. It was released in June of 1966, sold for $1.00. It certainly achieved notoriety as a collector's item, for it established the band in New York long before they ever appeared there and was available in record and "head shops" as far away as London. It contained three songs: "Section 43", "Thing Called Love" and "Bass Strings".
In 1971, Country Joe again decided to mix commerce with politics and EP's. Then working with Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland in a political musical revue they did shows for GI's to draw attention to the war in Vietnam. This FTA (Free The Army) Show was presented at "alternative" coffee houses (with names such as "Oleo Strut") that became centers for anti-war activism. One of these in Mountain Home, Idaho was burned to the ground after their appearance there. Joe made another record that would contain material relevant to this period and songs that he performed in the show. The third EP (RAG 1003) contains "Tricky Dicky", "Free Some Day" and "Kiss My Ass". They were recorded at Jack Leahy's Funky Features Recording Studio in San Francisco. The record was to have sold for $1.50 to raise money for the show and the VVAW (Vietnam Veterans Against The War), but some were burned, some were lost in transit and others just disappeared. It was probably more political in tone than the first one as it went directly to the point; it received considerable airplay, however, on what were then known as "progressive" ( Bill Belmont, August 1980 San Francisco)