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Grateful Dead Singer Donna Godchaux-MacKay Dies at 78 After Cancer Battle
3 Nov
Summary
- Donna Godchaux-MacKay, a Grateful Dead singer, passed away on November 2nd, 2025
- She was 78 years old and had been struggling with cancer
- Godchaux-MacKay was a prolific session singer, contributing to hits by artists like Percy Sledge and Elvis Presley
Donna Godchaux-MacKay, a renowned singer who spent the 1970s as a member of the Grateful Dead, has passed away at the age of 78. Godchaux-MacKay died on November 2nd, 2025 at a hospice facility in Nashville after a "lengthy struggle with cancer," according to a statement shared with Rolling Stone.
Prior to joining the Grateful Dead in 1971, Godchaux-MacKay was an in-demand session singer based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. She contributed to hit songs by artists like Percy Sledge, Elvis Presley, Duane Allman, Cher, Neil Diamond, and Boz Scaggs. Godchaux-MacKay's powerful vocals were a key feature of the Grateful Dead's seminal run during the 1970s, appearing on classic albums like "Europe '72," "Wake of the Flood," and "Terrapin Station."
After leaving the Grateful Dead, Godchaux-MacKay continued to perform and record music, releasing several albums with her husband Keith and fronting her own groups, the Donna Jean and the Tricksters and the Donna Jean Godchaux Band. Her final studio album was released in 2014 with musician Jeff Mattson.
