Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, vocalist for Grateful Dead dies: reports

(NEXSTAR) — Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, who sang with the Grateful Dead in the 1970s, has died, according to multiple reports. She was 78.

Godchaux died Sunday at a Nashville hospice facility, her family said in a statement shared with the San Francisco Chronicle. Her representative told Rolling Stone that Godchaux had a “lengthy struggle with cancer.”

No additional details about her diagnosis were shared.

Prior to her time with the Dead, Godchaux served as a backup singer on the hit songs “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge and “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley, her family noted in their statement. Godchaux can also be heard on songs by Cher, Neil Diamond, and others, the Chronicle reports.

Born Donna Jean Thatcher in Florence, Alabama, she would tour with the Grateful Dead during the 1970s. Her husband, pianist Keith Godchaux, was also part of the band for a time.

“Everything was so loud onstage. And not to mention being inebriated. I can’t defend myself very much, but I can’t blame it all on that,” she told the Rolling Stones went recounting her time with the Dead.

In the 1980s, Donna married David MacKay after Keith died in a car accident.

She also sang with the Muscle Shoals in Alabama and the Donna Jean Godchaux Band alongside MacKay. Her final studio recording was released 11 years ago.

Godchaux is survived by MacKay, her sons, two siblings, and a grandson.