Donna Jean Godchaux, Grateful Dead Singer, Dead at 78

"Donna Jean Godchaux, best known for singing with the Grateful Dead in the 1970s, has died at 78 years old. As Rolling Stone reports, Godchaux died at a hospice facility in Nashville on Sunday, November 2nd, after a "lengthy struggle with cancer," according to a statement from 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... In the words of Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, 'May the four winds blow her safely home.'""

"Born Donna Jean Thatcher on August 22nd, 1947, in Florence, Alabama, Godchaux was first a Muscle Shoals session singer before joining the Dead in 1971. In that capacity, she sang backup on No. 1 hits such as "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge and Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds." She also contributed to records by Duane Allman, Cher, Boz Scaggs, Neil Diamond, and more. In 1970, she married fellow future Grateful Dead member Keith Godchaux and subsequently introduced him to lead singer Jerry Garcia the following year."

Donna Jean Godchaux was born Donna Jean Thatcher on August 22, 1947, in Florence, Alabama, and began her career as a Muscle Shoals session singer. She provided backing vocals on No. 1 hits including "When a Man Loves a Woman" and Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds," and recorded with Duane Allman, Cher, Boz Scaggs, and Neil Diamond. She married Keith Godchaux in 1970, introduced him to Jerry Garcia, and joined the Grateful Dead from 1971 through 1979, appearing on Europe '72, Wake of the Flood, and Terrapin Station. She and Keith released Keith & Donna in 1975, later formed the Heart of Gold Band, and she led subsequent groups after Keith's death in July 1980. Her solo debut arrived in 1998 and her final LP, Back Around, was released in 2014. She died in a Nashville hospice on November 2 after a lengthy battle with cancer; the family requested privacy.

Read at Consequence