Home / Arts and Entertainment / Grateful Dead Singer Donna Godchaux-MacKay Dies at 78 After Cancer Battle
Grateful Dead Singer Donna Godchaux-MacKay Dies at 78 After Cancer Battle
3 Nov, 2025
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."
