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Donna Jean Godchaux

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Donna Jean Godchaux
Godchaux singing with her band in Blacksburg, Virginia, November 2009
Godchaux singing with her band
in Blacksburg, Virginia, November 2009
Background information
Born
Donna Jean Thatcher

(1947-08-22)August 22, 1947
Florence, Alabama, U.S.
DiedNovember 2, 2025(2025-11-02) (aged 78)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1966–2025
Formerly of
WebsiteOfficial website

Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux-MacKay (August 22, 1947 – November 2, 2025) was an American singer best known as a member of the rock band the Grateful Dead from 1972 to 1979. In addition to the Dead, she performed with the Jerry Garcia Band and the short-lived Heart of Gold Band, all alongside her first husband, Keith Godchaux. She formed the Donna Jean Godchaux Band in 2006.

Life and career

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Donna Jean Thatcher was born in Florence, Alabama, on August 22, 1947. Prior to 1970, she had worked as a session singer[1] in Muscle 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" by Percy Sledge in 1966[1] and "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley in 1969. Her vocals were featured on other recordings by Boz Scaggs and Duane Allman, Cher, Joe Tex, Neil Diamond and many others.[2][3] She then moved to California and met future fellow Grateful Dead member Keith Godchaux, whom she married in 1970.[4]

Donna introduced Keith to Jerry Garcia after Garcia's performance at San Francisco's Keystone 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.[5]

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-written Keith & Donna album in 1975 with Jerry Garcia as a Keith and Donna Band member. In turn, they performed as part of the Jerry Garcia Band. Godchaux possessed a mezzo-soprano vocal range.

Keith and Donna's son, Zion "Rock" Godchaux of BoomBox, was born in 1974. After the Grateful Dead, the couple started the Heart of Gold Band.[6]

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 (former Fiddleworms member and bassist for the Donna Jean Godchaux Band) and the couple moved to her childhood town of Florence, Alabama, to record at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.[7] The couple remained married until her death in November 2025 after a battle with cancer. [8]

In 2006, Godchaux formed Kettle Joe's Psychadelic Swamp Revue, later known as Donna Jean & the Tricksters, with Jeff Mattson (of Phil Lesh and Friends, Zen Tricksters, and Dark Star Orchestra) and Mookie Siegel (of David Nelson Band, Phil Lesh and Friends, and Ratdog). They changed their name to the Donna Jean Godchaux Band in 2009.[9] She occasionally made guest appearances with Bob Weir & RatDog, Zero & Steve Kimock, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Dark Star Orchestra and Dead & Company. She also continued to be involved in archival Grateful Dead projects.[10]

Godchaux was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead in 1994,[11] and was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2016.[12]

Godchaux died from cancer at a Nashville hospice, on November 2, 2025, at the age of 78.[8][13]

Personal life

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Godchaux had one son from each of her two marriages.[8][14] Her older son, Zion, is also a musician.[14] Her sons, Zion Godchaux and Kinsman MacKay, currently form the group BoomBox.

Discography

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As group leader or co-leader

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Donna Jean Godchaux in 2008

With the Grateful Dead

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Main article: Grateful Dead discography

Godchaux was a member of the Grateful Dead from 1972 to 1979 and appears on many of the band's live and studio albums.[16] In addition to the below albums released during her tenure with the group, Godchaux also appears on numerous live recordings of shows released after she left the band in 1979.

With other artists

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Godchaux contributed background or lead vocals as both a session and feature vocalist on many recordings by different artists.[17]

Singles
Videos
Albums

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Sprovtsoff-Mangus, Rachel. Donna Jean Godchaux biography on AllMusic
  2. ^ "Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux, Vocals", Lostlivedead.blogspot.ca, January 7, 2016
  3. ^ "Grateful Dead Family Discography: Donna Jean Godchaux Discography". Deaddisc.com.
  4. ^ Sprovtsoff-Mangus, Rachel. Keith Godchaux biography on AllMusic
  5. ^ Browne, David. "Donna Jean Godchaux's Long, Strange Trip," Rolling Stone, March 4, 2014
  6. ^ Perry, Kevin E G (November 3, 2025). "Grateful Dead singer Donna Jean Godchaux dies aged 78". The Independent. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  7. ^ "Donna Jean MacKay 3/28/98". Levity.com.
  8. ^ a b c DeSantis, Rachel (November 3, 2025). "Grateful Dead Singer Donna Jean Godchaux, Who Also Sang on Elvis Presley's 'Suspicious Minds,' Dies at 78". People. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  9. ^ "The birth of the Donna Jean Godchaux Band" Archived April 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, news.jamradio.org, March 3, 2009, Retrieved March 16, 2009.
  10. ^ Budnick, Dean (July 20, 2016). "Donna Jean Godchaux Talks Unearthing Long Lost Jerry Garcia Band Recording". Relix.com. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  11. ^ "Inductee Explorer". Rockhall.com.
  12. ^ "Donna Jean Godchaux: Alabama Music Hall of Famer sang with '70s Grateful Dead". AL.com. February 24, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  13. ^ Blistein, Jon (November 3, 2025). "Grateful Dead Singer Donna Jean Godchaux Dead at 78". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Zion Rock Godchaux: Son of the Grateful Dead and the Father of a Genre". Aspen Daily News. May 31, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  15. ^ "Listen: Donna Jean and the Tricksters Share "Shelter (Muscle Shoals Remix)"". Jambands.com. March 12, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  16. ^ Donna Jean Godchaux — With the Grateful Dead at the Grateful Dead Family discography.
  17. ^ Donna Jean Godchaux — With Others at the Grateful Dead Family discography.
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