In Memoriam: Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay (1947-2025)

Born Donna Jean Thatcher in Florence, Ala., singing was an integral part of her adolescence. Before joining the Grateful Dead, she entered the music industry as a session singer, working in the Muscle Shoals region of the Heart of Dixie, where she scored gigs as a backup singer with Southern Comfort.

Donna Jean’s initial role led to hit songs, Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” (1966) and Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” (1969). Her mezzo-soprano voice could also be heard on recordings by Boz Scaggs and Duane Allman (“Loan Me a Dime”), Cher (3614 Jackson Highway LP), and Neil Diamond (“Forever in Blue Jeans”).

A move to California led the songstress to her future husband, Keith Godchaux, and the pair married in 1970. A year later, Donna Jean introduced her husband to a fellow musician, Jerry Garcia, after the famed guitarist’s performance at San Francisco’s Keystone Korner in September 1971.

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Donna Jean Godchaux Band "Sugaree"

Donna Jean Godchaux revisits Jerry Garcia's "Sugaree," a song she regularly performed with the Grateful Dead in a Live at Relix session with her current husband, David MacKay, and Dark Star Orchestra guitarist Jeff Mattson.

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