Remembering Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, first lady of the Grateful Dead'

"When I spoke to her that day some 18 years ago, she was preparing for a tour that would take her back to her old Marin haunts for a gig at Sweetwater in Mill Valley with the Dead-influenced band the Zen Tricksters. In our conversation, she talked about her history with the Dead, beginning in 1971, when she famously chatted up the band's de facto leader, the charismatic guitarist Jerry Garcia,"

"Known as the first lady of the Grateful Dead, she died of cancer on Nov. 2 in hospice care in Nashville at age 78. Her unmistakable voice and radiant spirit touched the lives of countless fans and immeasurably enriched the Grateful Dead family, the band wrote on its Facebook page. Her contributions will forever remain part of the tapestry that continues to be woven."

Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay rose from Muscle Shoals teenage backup sessions for Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding to become the only woman to sing with the Grateful Dead. She and her husband Keith Godchaux joined the band in 1971 after she persuaded Jerry Garcia to add Keith on keyboards. She lived near Garcia in Stinson Beach during a creatively fertile but sometimes troubled decade when many Grateful Dead standards were written, including "Scarlet Begonias" and "Eyes of the World." She died of cancer on Nov. 2 in Nashville at age 78.

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