Grateful Dead Vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay Dies at 78
Donna jean Godchaux-MacKay,known for her years as a vocalist with the Grateful Dead,has died in Nashville after a battle with cancer. she was 78 years old. Her passing marks the loss of a significant voice from one of rock’s most iconic bands and a celebrated figure in American music history, impacting fans and fellow musicians alike.
Godchaux-MacKay contributed harmonies and occasional lead vocals to the Grateful Dead from 1972 to 1979, becoming a beloved part of the band’s sound during a period of immense popularity and cultural influence. Before joining the Dead, she established herself as a sought-after session singer in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, lending her voice to hits by Percy sledge (“When a Man Loves a Woman”) and Elvis Presley (“Suspicious Minds”), as well as recordings by artists including Boz Scaggs, Cher, Neil Diamond, and Duane Allman.
Born Donna Jean Thatcher on August 22, 1947, in Florence, Alabama, she met pianist Keith Godchaux in 1970 and married him two years later. Together,they joined the Grateful Dead after Godchaux-MacKay introduced herself to jerry Garcia. The couple toured extensively with the band across America and Europe until 1979.
In 1975, Keith and Donna released the album Keith & Donna, featuring guitar work by Garcia. Following their departure from the Grateful Dead,they formed the Heart of Gold Band,but the project was cut short by Keith Godchaux’s death in a car accident on July 23,1980.
Godchaux-MacKay later married bassist David MacKay and, in 1981, returned to Muscle Shoals, where she continued to perform with the Donna Jean Godchaux Band alongside her husband.
She is survived by David MacKay, her sons Kinsman MacKay and his wife Molly, Zion Godchaux and his son Delta, her sister Gogi Clark, and her brother Ivan Thatcher.Her family requested privacy during this time of grief, adding, in the words of Grateful Dead lyricist robert Hunter, “may the four winds blow her safely home.”