Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKaya lead singer for the Grateful Dead in the 1970s and backup singer for Elvis Presley and Percy Sledge, has died aged 78.
Godchaux-MacKay passed away Sunday after a long battle with cancer, according to a statement. She died at Alive Hospice in Nashville. “She was a sweet and warm beautiful spirit, and all those who knew her are united in loss,” it statement reading. “The family requests privacy in this time of grief. In the words of Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, ‘May the four winds blow her home safely.’
The singer was best known for her time with Grateful Dead from 1971 to 1979 along with her then-husband, keyboardist Keith Godchaux. During that time, she appeared on seven of the band’s albums, bookended by the triple-disc live set “Europe ’72” and 1978’s disco-friendly “Shakedown Street,” providing gospel-influenced harmonies, as well as occasional vocals on songs like “Sunrise” from 1977’s “Lynnsins,” “Terrapsin” and “Lynnsins'” cover on Loretta Station. Woman Enough” and the Dolly Parton-penned “Tomorrow is Forever”.
In addition to her tenure with groups such as Keith and Donna Godchaux and the Heart of Gold Band, she performed on hits including Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” and Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman,” and also appeared on records by Cher, Boz Scaggs, and Grateful co-founder Bob Weir.
Godchaux was a divisive figure among Grateful Dead followers – many fans were frankly downright contemptuous of her presence on stage. Her loud timbre often sounded out of place with the band’s folkloric sound. Her tenure in the band also coincided with a period of transition after the 1960s and some behind-the-scenes personal strife among the band members.
Born Donna Jean Thatcher in Florence, Alabama, Godchaux-MacKay worked as a session singer in Muscle Shoals before moving to California in 1970, where she married Keith Godchaux. After her stint with the Grateful Dead, Keith died in a car accident in 1980, prompting her to take a temporary hiatus from music. She released albums as part of Ghosts and the Heart of Gold Band in the 1980s and married bassist David MacKay and moved back to Florence to record at Muscle Shoals. In the following decades, she put out music with the Donna Jean Band and Donna Jean and the Tricksters.
Godchaux-MacKay is survived by her husband David, her son Kinsman MacKay and his wife Molly, her son Zion Godchaux and his son Delta, her sister Gogi Clark and her brother Ivan Thatcher.
More to come…
