Donna Jean Godchaux, who sang with the Grateful Dead throughout the 1970s, has died at the age of 78.
The news was confirmed in a statement shared with Rolling Stone by her representative Dennis McNally, who said that she passed away on Sunday (November 2) at a hospice facility in Nashville after a “lengthy struggle with cancer”.
“She was a sweet and warmly beautiful spirit, and all those who knew her are united in loss,” McNally added. “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.’”
Godchaux joined the Dead in 1971 at the same time as her husband Keith, who played keyboards in the band. She sang on a string of seminal records by the psychedelic giants, including ‘Europe ‘72’, ‘Wake Of The Flood’ and ‘Terrapin Station’, as well as many of the band’s famous bootleg live recordings.
Before that, she had a successful career as a session singer at the legendary Muscle Shoals Studios in Alabama and elsewhere, singing backing vocals on huge hits such as ‘Suspicious Minds’ and ‘In The Ghetto’ by Elvis Presley and ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’ by Percy Sledge. She also worked with Cher, Neil Diamond, Duane Allman and Boz Scaggs during that late-’60s period.
In addition to their work with the Grateful Dead, Donna and Keith Godchaux released the album ‘Keith & Donna’ in 1975, which featured contributions from Dead frontman Jerry Garcia.
They left the band in 1979 and formed the Heart Of Gold Band, but that project came to an end with the sudden death of Keith the following year.
Godchaux continued to create new music, forming the Donna Jean Godchaux Band and Donna Jean And The Tricksters in the ‘80s, before starting a solo career in 1998 with a self-titled record. Her final album ‘Back Around’ was recorded with the Donna Jean Godchaux Band alongside Jeff Mattson and was released in 2014.
Her death follows the passing of founding Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh last October at the age of 84. In August, Dead And Company – made up of band alumni Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, alongside others – played three sold-out nights in San Francisco to mark the Dead’s 60th anniversary.