Grateful Dead Singer Donna Jean Godchaux Dies at 78
Donna Jean Godchaux, vocalist known for her work with the Grateful Dead in the 1970s, has died at age 78. She passed away at a hospice facility in Nashville following a “lengthy struggle with cancer,” rolling Stone reports.
Born Donna Jean Thatcher on August 22, 1947, in Florence, Alabama, Godchaux began her career as a backing singer in the renowned Muscle Shoals recording studios. During the 1960s, she contributed to hits by Elvis Presley (“Suspicious Minds”) and Percy Sledge (“When A Man Loves a woman”), as well as recordings with artists including Boz Scaggs, Duane Allman, Cher, and Neil diamond.
She met and married Grateful Dead pianist Keith Godchaux in 1970, subsequently joining the band and first appearing on their 1972 live album Europe ’72. Godchaux sang on six Grateful Dead studio albums, including 1973’s Wake of the Flood and 1974’s From the Mars Hotel, for which she appeared on the album cover.
Alongside her husband, she released the duo album Keith & Donna in 1975, featuring guitarist Jerry Garcia. Following their departure from the Grateful Dead in 1978 after Shakedown Street, the couple formed the Heart of Gold Band. Tragically, Keith Godchaux died in a car accident on July 23, 1980, at age 32, shortly after the band’s debut performance.
Godchaux later married bassist David MacKay and performed with the Donna Jean Godchaux Band. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead in 1994.
She is survived by her son, Zion “Rock” godchaux, who later formed the electronic group BoomBox.
Her family released a statement saying, “She was a sweet and warmly stunning spirit, and all those who knew her are united in loss. The family requests privacy at this time of grieving. In the words of Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, ‘May the four winds blow her safely home.'”
