Donna Jean Godchaux | |
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 Godchaux singing in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Donna Jean Thatcher (1947-08-22)August 22, 1947 Florence, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | November 2, 2025(2025-11-02) (aged 78) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | |
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| Years active | 1966–2025 |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | Official website |
Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux-MacKay (August 22, 1947 – November 2, 2025) was an American singer best known as a member of therock band theGrateful Dead from 1972 to 1979. In addition to the Dead, she performed with theJerry Garcia Band and the short-livedHeart of Gold Band, all alongside her first husband,Keith Godchaux. She formed theDonna Jean Godchaux Band in 2006.[1]
Donna Jean Thatcher was born inFlorence, Alabama, on August 22, 1947.[2][3] Prior to 1970, she had worked as asession singer[4] inMuscle Shoals, Alabama, eventually singing with a group called Southern Comfort and appearing as a backup singer on at least two number one hit songs: "When a Man Loves a Woman" byPercy Sledge in 1966[4] and "Suspicious Minds" byElvis Presley in 1969.[2] Her vocals were featured on other recordings byBoz Scaggs andDuane Allman,Cher,Joe Tex,Neil Diamond and many others.[5][6] She then moved to California and met future fellow Grateful Dead memberKeith Godchaux, whom she married in 1970.[7][2]
Donna introduced Keith toJerry Garcia after Garcia's performance at San Francisco'sKeystone Korner in September 1971. At the time, Donna was not working as a musician. She joined the band shortly afterwards, remaining a member until February 1979.[8]
Donna provided backing and lead vocals in the group's music. During their membership in the Grateful Dead, the couple also issued the mostly self-writtenKeith & Donna album in 1975 with Jerry Garcia as a Keith and Donna Band member. In turn, they performed as part of theJerry Garcia Band. Godchaux possessed amezzo-soprano vocal range.
In a 2014Rolling Stone interview, she described her departure from the band saying, "Keith and I, we were wasted. We were exhausted. And the band was exhausted with us. The band knew we had to be out of the band, and Keith and I had been talking about ‘How in the world do you quit the Grateful Dead? It was sad, but it was what needed to happen. It was turning into being not profitable for anybody. We needed to go, and they needed for us to go."[3]
After the Grateful Dead, the couple started theHeart of Gold Band.[9][3]
Donna did not perform again with any Grateful Dead band members until after the death of Jerry Garcia. Shortly after her husband's death in 1980, she married bassist David MacKay (formerFiddleworms member and bassist for the Donna Jean Godchaux Band) and the couple moved to her childhood town of Florence, Alabama, to record at theMuscle Shoals Sound Studio.[10] The couple remained married until her death in November 2025 after a battle with cancer.[11]
In 2006, Godchaux formedKettle Joe's Psychadelic Swamp Revue, later known as Donna Jean & the Tricksters, withJeff Mattson (ofPhil Lesh and Friends,Zen Tricksters, andDark Star Orchestra) and Mookie Siegel (ofDavid Nelson Band,Phil Lesh and Friends, andRatdog). They changed their name to theDonna Jean Godchaux Band in 2009.[12] She occasionally made guest appearances withBob Weir & RatDog, Zero &Steve Kimock,New Riders of the Purple Sage,Dark Star Orchestra andDead & Company. She also continued to be involved in archival Grateful Dead projects.[13]
Godchaux was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead in 1994,[14] and was inducted into theAlabama Music Hall of Fame in 2016.[15]
Godchaux died from cancer at a Nashville hospice, on November 2, 2025, at the age of 78.[11][16]
Godchaux married keyboardist Keith Godchaux in 1970, several years before they joined the Grateful Dead.
In 1981, Donna Godchaux married bass player David Mackay, but professionally remained Donna Jean Godchaux until her death.[2]
Godchaux had one son from each of her two marriages.[11][17] Her older son, Zion Godchaux, was born in 1974. Her younger son, Kinsman MacKay, is also a musician.[17] Zion and Kinsman are in a band calledBoomBox.
At the time of her death, she was survived by her husband, David MacKay; 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.[3]
Godchaux was a member of the Grateful Dead from March 1972 to February 1979. In addition to the albums listed here, released during her tenure with the group, she also appears on numerous live recordings of shows released after she left the band.[19]
Godchaux contributed background or lead vocals as both a session and feature vocalist on many recordings by different artists.[20]
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