RIP Donna Jean Godchaux
1945-2025
Singer with the Grateful Dead from 1972-1979
Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux-MacKay
Donna who spent the Seventies singing with the Grateful Dead, sang back-up on several classic Sixties hits, and fronted her own bands, has died at age 78.
Godchaux died Sunday, Nov. 2, at a hospice facility in Nashville after a “lengthy struggle with cancer,” according to a statement shared with Rolling Stone by her representative, Dennis McNally. “She was a sweet and warmly beautiful spirit, and all those who knew her are united in loss. The family requests privacy at this time of grieving,” the statement continued. “In the words of Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, ‘May the four winds blow her safely home.’”
Playing in the Band” is a song by the Grateful Dead. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and rhythm guitarist Bob Weir composed the music, with some assistance from percussionist Mickey Hart. The song first emerged in embryonic form on the self-titled 1971 live album Grateful Dead. It then appeared in a more polished form on Ace, Bob Weir’s first solo album (which included every Grateful Dead member except Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Mickey Hart).
Godchaux joined the Grateful Dead in 1971 alongside her husband, Keith, who played keyboards. Her vocals were a key feature of the Dead’s seminal run during the Seventies, appearing on such classic albums as Europe ’72, Wake of the Flood, and Terrapin Station, not to mention countless legendary live recordings (including the famed Cornell ’77 gig and the Dead’s September 1978 shows at the Giza pyramid in Egypt).
Prior to joining the Dead, Godcheaux was working as an in-demand session singer in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. She contributed to hits like Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” and Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds,” while also singing on songs by Duane Allman, Cher, Neil Diamond, and Boz Scaggs.
sorry lost who wrote this and it’s not me . . . if you wish to be credited PLEASE let me know!
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