About death Donny Jean Godchaux informed the artist’s representative, Dennis McNally. The 78-year-old singer died in a Nashville hospice after a long and intense battle with cancer.
“She was a warm and beautiful soul, and everyone who knew her feels a great loss today,” it said.
The singer became famous internationally in the 1970s when she joined the cult rock group Grateful Dead. Together with the band, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Donna Jean Godchaux performed with true icons
Donna Jean Godchaux (née Thatcher) was born in 1947 in Florence, Alabama. Already at the age of 19, she worked as a session vocalist. She lent her voice to many rhythm and blues hits. Her portfolio includes, among others:“Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley, “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge or songs from Neil Diamond and Cher.
In the early 1970s, together with her then-husband and pianist, Keith Godchaux joined the Grateful Dead. She went on several tours with the band and worked on albums “Terrapin Station,” “Shakedown Street” and “From the Mars Hotel”.
The couple left the Grateful Dead in 1979 with the hope of founding their own band. The plans were interrupted by Keith’s sudden death in a car accident in 1980. Just a year later, Donna married the bassist David MacKay and continued her solo activities over the next decades.