The mezzo-soprano joined the band in 1972, after marrying keyboardist Keith Godchaux.

Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Grateful Dead singer, dies at 78

The mezzo-soprano joined the band in 1972, after marrying keyboardist Keith Godchaux.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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November 3, 2025 1:31 p.m. ET

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Donna Godchaux of 'The Grateful Dead'. Credit:

Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty

Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, the celebrated musician and mezzo-soprano who spent the '70s as the Grateful Dead's first and only female vocalist, has died. She was 78.

Godchaux died on Sunday at a hospice facility in Nashville after a "lengthy struggle with cancer," according to a family statement shared with *Rolling Stone*.

"She was a sweet and warmly beautiful spirit, and all those who knew her are united in loss," the statement continued. "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.'"

A representative for the Grateful Dead did not immediately respond to* *'s request for comment.

Donna Godchaux and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.

Paul Natkin/Getty

Godchaux was born Donna Jean Thatcher in Alabama on August 22, 1947. There, she began her career as a backup singer. Prior to joining the Grateful Dead, she was an in-demand session singer in Muscle Shoals, Ala., where she contributed to hits like Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman" and Elvis Presley’s "Suspicious Minds." She additionally added her voice to songs by Duane Allman, Cher, Neil Diamond, and Boz Scaggs.

After relocating to California, the singer met pianist and Grateful Dead member Keith Godchaux. They wed in 1970 and she joined the band soon after, first appearing on the group's triple live album, *Europe '72*. The couple welcomed a son, Zion "Rock" Godchaux, in 1974.

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Donna's first studio album with the band was 1973’s *Wake of the Flood*, the jazz and bebop-influenced record. She would, in total, appear on six Grateful Dead studio albums. Though she began as a backup singer, she would step into the foreground for several tracks, including "Dancin’ in the Streets," "Scarlet Begonias," and "Sunrise," which she also wrote.

Looking back on her time with the group in a 2022 chat with Asbury Park Press, Godchaux said, "Being a part of it was just incredible and I still consider myself to be one of the most fortunate people in the world to have been in that band with those people at that time. It was just something that will never happen again. So here I am today, still a Grateful Dead fan.”

Donna Godchaux onstage in 2016.

C Flanigan/WireImage

Godchaux eventually departed the group alongside her husband, a few months after the release of 1978’s *Shakedown Street. *Their tenure with the group is considered pivotal in shaping the band's sound during its artistic peak. Donna's harmonies have remained integral to the way the group still performs hit songs like "Playing in the Band," while Keith's classical and jazz influence pushed the band to mature its sound in the throes of fame.

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While still with the Grateful Dead, the couple released their sole solo album as a duo, 1975’s *Keith & Donna. *Afterwards, Donna and her husband formed a new group, the Heart of Gold Band. A few days after their first gig, on July 23, 1980, Keith was killed in a car accident at the age of 32.

Godchaux later remarried bassist David MacKay, a member of the Muscle Shoals-based band Fiddleworms. They played together in her own Donna Jean Godchaux Band. In 1994, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead.**

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Source: “EW Music”