Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, a former singer for the Grateful Dead<\/a>, has died at 78, Fox News Digital confirmed.<\/p>\n Godchaux-MacKay passed away on Nov. 2, surrounded by her family at Alive Hospice in Nashville<\/a> after a lengthy battle with cancer.<\/p>\n “She was a sweet and warmly beautiful spirit, and all those who knew her are united in loss. The family requests privacy at this time of grieving. In the words of Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, \u2018May the four winds blow her safely home,\u2019” her representative said in a statement to Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, former vocalist with the Grateful Dead, has died. She was 78.<\/p>\n Godchaux-MacKay was born in Florence, Alabama. Throughout her career, she was a background vocalist on two No. 1 songs \u2013 Percy Sledge\u2019s “When a Man Loves a Woman” and Elvis Presley\u2019s<\/a> “Suspicious Minds.”<\/p>\n Speaking to AL.com<\/a> in 2016, she said working with Presley was “one of the most amazing times of my life.” The musician recalled Presley being “so kind to us and encouraging and complimentary\u2026 And he looked great. I\u2019m telling you, he was the most gorgeous human being I\u2019ve ever seen.”<\/p>\n Tim Mcgraw Nearly Walked Away From His Career After Serious Health Struggles<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Read On The Fox News App<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Godchaux-MacKay left Alabama and moved to California in 1970 and introduced herself to Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia. She and her husband, keyboardist Keith Godchaux, joined the Grateful Dead in 1971. Godchaux-MacKay was a member of the band from 1971 to 1979, touring in Egypt, the U.S. and Europe.<\/p>\n The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Mickey Hart and Jerry Garcia in 1970.<\/p>\n “It was great fun. I loved singing with those guys and we had an absolute blast,” she told AL.com of working with the Grateful Dead.<\/p>\n Speaking to Rolling Stone<\/a> in 2014, Godchaux-MacKay explained that by 1979, it was time for her and Keith to depart the band and raise their son, Zion, who was born in 1974.<\/p>\n Click Here To Sign Up For The Entertainment Newsletter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n “Keith and I, we were wasted. We were exhausted. And the band was exhausted with us. The band knew we had to be out of the band, and Keith and I had been talking about \u2018How in the world do you quit the Grateful Dead?\u2019<\/p>\n Jerry Garcia, Donna Godchaux and Bob Weir perform with The Grateful Dead at Santa Barbara Stadium in June 1978.<\/p>\n “It was sad, but it was what needed to happen. It was turning into being not profitable for anybody. We needed to go, and they needed for us to go,” she said at the time.<\/p>\n Like What You\u2019re Reading? Click Here For More Entertainment News<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n After leaving the band, Donna and Keith formed their own band, Heart of Gold, in 1980. In July 1980, Keith was involved in a car accident. He died a few days later at 32.<\/p>\n In 1981, Godchaux-MacKay married musician David MacKay, and the pair moved back to Muscle Shoals, Alabama \u2013 the same city where Donna got her start in music.<\/p>\n Donna Godchaux-MacKay performed during the 2016 Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.<\/p>\n She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Grateful Dead<\/a> in 1994 and went on to start her own band, Jean Godchaux Band, in 2006.<\/p>\n She is survived by her husband, David MacKay; her son Kinsman MacKay, and his wife, Molly; her son Zion Godchaux and his son, Delta; her sister, Gogi Clark; and her brother, Ivan Thatcher.<\/p>\n Click Here To Download The Fox News App<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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