Donna Godchaux
Encyclopedia
Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay (born August 22, 1947) is an American
singer best known for having been a member of the Grateful Dead
rock
group.
. Prior to 1970, she had worked as a session singer
in Muscle Shoals
, Alabama
, appearing on songs by Elvis Presley
and Cher
. She met future fellow Grateful Dead member Keith Godchaux
and they married in 1970.
Donna introduced Keith to Jerry Garcia
after Garcia's performance at San Francisco's Keystone Korner in October 1971. At the time, Donna Jean was not working as a musician. She joined the band shortly afterwards, remaining a member until February 1979.
Donna Jean provided back-up and lead vocals in the group's music. During their membership in the Grateful Dead, the couple also issued the mostly self-written Keith and Donna album
in 1975 with Jerry Garcia as a Keith and Donna Band member. In turn, they performed as part of the Jerry Garcia Band
.
Keith and Donna's son, Zion "Rock" Godchaux of BoomBox, was born in 1974.
After the Grateful Dead, the couple started the Heart of Gold Band
.
Donna did not perform again with any Grateful Dead band members until after the death of Jerry Garcia. Shortly after her husband's death in 1980, Donna Jean turned to religion. She married bassist
David MacKay (former Fiddleworms
member and bassist for Donna Jean Godchaux Band) and the couple moved to Florence, Alabama
to work at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios.
In 2009, Donna Jean formed a brand new band with Jeff Mattson
, The Donna Jean Godchaux Band w/Jeff Mattson, after re-entering the music scene with Jeff Mattson (of Phil Lesh and Friends
, Zen Tricksters
, and Dark Star Orchestra
), and previously with and Mookie Siegel (of David Nelson Band, Phil Lesh and Friends
, and Ratdog
) to form Kettle Joe's Psychedelic Swamp Revue, later known as Donna Jean & the Tricksters, several years earlier.
She occasionally makes guest appearances with Bob Weir
& Ratdog, Zero & Steve Kimock
, New Riders of the Purple Sage
, and Dark Star Orchestra
.
Donna Jean was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead. She continues to reside in Florence, Alabama, and remains an active member of the Muscle Shoals
music scene when not touring with the Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer best known for having been a member of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group.
Biography
Donna Jean was born in Florence, AlabamaFlorence, Alabama
Florence is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state.According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721....
. Prior to 1970, she had worked as a session singer
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
in Muscle Shoals
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, appearing on songs by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
. She met future fellow Grateful Dead member Keith Godchaux
Keith Godchaux
Keith Richard Godchaux was a musician best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead.-Biography:Keith Godchaux was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Concord, California...
and they married in 1970.
Donna introduced Keith to Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
after Garcia's performance at San Francisco's Keystone Korner in October 1971. At the time, Donna Jean was not working as a musician. She joined the band shortly afterwards, remaining a member until February 1979.
Donna Jean provided back-up and lead vocals in the group's music. During their membership in the Grateful Dead, the couple also issued the mostly self-written Keith and Donna album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
in 1975 with Jerry Garcia as a Keith and Donna Band member. In turn, they performed as part of the Jerry Garcia Band
Jerry Garcia Band
The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side-projects until his death in 1995...
.
Keith and Donna's son, Zion "Rock" Godchaux of BoomBox, was born in 1974.
After the Grateful Dead, the couple started the Heart of Gold Band
Heart of Gold Band
The Heart of Gold Band is an American rock band formed by Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux in 1980 following their departure from the Grateful Dead. The band took its name from a line in the Dead song "Scarlet Begonias."-Original Run:...
.
Donna did not perform again with any Grateful Dead band members until after the death of Jerry Garcia. Shortly after her husband's death in 1980, Donna Jean turned to religion. She married bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
David MacKay (former Fiddleworms
Fiddleworms
The Fiddleworms is an American rock music group from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The band was originally formed in 1994 by Russell Mefford, Chris Quillen, Scott Kennedy, and Matt Ross...
member and bassist for Donna Jean Godchaux Band) and the couple moved to Florence, Alabama
Florence, Alabama
Florence is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state.According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721....
to work at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios.
In 2009, Donna Jean formed a brand new band with Jeff Mattson
Jeff Mattson
Jeff Mattson born July 3, 1958 is an American musician. A founding member of the jam band, the Zen Tricksters, Jeff is the guitarist in the Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson, which features the Grateful Dead’s Donna Jean Godchaux...
, The Donna Jean Godchaux Band w/Jeff Mattson, after re-entering the music scene with Jeff Mattson (of Phil Lesh and Friends
Phil Lesh and Friends
Phil Lesh and Friends is an American rock band formed and led by Phil Lesh, former bassist of the Grateful Dead.Phil & Friends is not a traditional group in that several different lineups of musicians have played under the name, including groups featuring members of Phish, Little Feat, and the Zen...
, Zen Tricksters
Zen Tricksters
The Zen Tricksters are an American Grateful Dead cover band.For almost thirty years, the Zen Tricksters have been playing Grateful Dead covers and jam band music, as well as derivative original songs.. The band started out as the Volunteers, playing small venues around New York's Long Island...
, and Dark Star Orchestra
Dark Star Orchestra
-References:* at the Internet Archive* - John Kadlecik's official website & personal pages**-External links:* , official website of Dark Star Orchestra* , official website of Dino English...
), and previously with and Mookie Siegel (of David Nelson Band, Phil Lesh and Friends
Phil Lesh and Friends
Phil Lesh and Friends is an American rock band formed and led by Phil Lesh, former bassist of the Grateful Dead.Phil & Friends is not a traditional group in that several different lineups of musicians have played under the name, including groups featuring members of Phish, Little Feat, and the Zen...
, and Ratdog
Ratdog
RatDog , is an American rock band. The group began as a side project for Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist Bob Weir and bassist Rob Wasserman. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in December 1995, following the death of Jerry Garcia on August 9, 1995, RatDog became Bob Weir's primary band...
) to form Kettle Joe's Psychedelic Swamp Revue, later known as Donna Jean & the Tricksters, several years earlier.
She occasionally makes guest appearances with Bob Weir
Bob Weir
Bob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
& Ratdog, Zero & Steve Kimock
Steve Kimock
-External links:** at the Internet Archive's live music archive* at the Internet Archive's live music archive* at Internet Archive's live music archive*, San Francisco, April 3, 1999*, Unofficial Fan Forum...
, New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco, California in 1969, and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. Their best known song is "Panama Red"...
, and Dark Star Orchestra
Dark Star Orchestra
-References:* at the Internet Archive* - John Kadlecik's official website & personal pages**-External links:* , official website of Dark Star Orchestra* , official website of Dino English...
.
Donna Jean was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead. She continues to reside in Florence, Alabama, and remains an active member of the Muscle Shoals
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...
music scene when not touring with the Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson.
As group leader or co-leader
- Keith & Donna – Keith and Donna Godchaux – 1975
- Playing in the Heart of Gold Band – The Ghosts – 1984
- The Heart of Gold Band – The Heart of Gold BandHeart of Gold BandThe Heart of Gold Band is an American rock band formed by Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux in 1980 following their departure from the Grateful Dead. The band took its name from a line in the Dead song "Scarlet Begonias."-Original Run:...
– 1986 - Donna Jean – The Donna Jean Band – 1998
- At the Table – The Heart of Gold Band – 2004
- Donna Jean and the TrickstersDonna Jean and the Tricksters (album)Donna Jean and the Tricksters is the debut album by an American rock music group that has been known by three different names. Originally, their name was Donna Jean and the Tricksters, but was changed and has been billed as the Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson, and Donna Jean Godchaux Band...
– Donna Jean and the Tricksters – 2008
With the Grateful Dead
Donna Godchaux was a member of the Grateful Dead from 1972 to 1979 and appears on many of the band's albums.With other artists
Donna Godchaux (née Donna Thatcher) has contributed background or lead vocals on many albums by different artists.- From Elvis in MemphisFrom Elvis in MemphisFrom Elvis in Memphis is the thirty-fifth album by American rock and roll icon Elvis Presley, released on RCA Records LSP 4155, in June 1969. Recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, between January 13–16 and 20–23, and February 17–22, 1969...
– Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
– 1969 - From Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to MemphisFrom Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to MemphisFrom Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to Memphis is the thirty-sixth album by Elvis Presley, released in October 1969 on RCA Records, catalogue LSP 6020. Recording sessions took place at American Sound Studio in Memphis, on January 13–15 and 21-22, and February 17–18, 1969, and at the International...
– Elvis Presley – 1969 - 3614 Jackson Highway3614 Jackson Highway-Credits:Personnel*Cher – lead vocalsProduction*Jerry Wexler – record producer*Tom Dowd – record producer*Arif Mardin – record producer*Stan Vincent – record producer*Greg Poree – arrangement assistance...
– CherCherCher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
– 1969 - Boz ScaggsBoz Scaggs (album)Boz Scaggs is the second album by Boz Scaggs. After two years with the Steve Miller Band, Scaggs once again set out on his own, recording at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama...
– Boz ScaggsBoz ScaggsWilliam Royce "Boz" Scaggs is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He gained fame in the 1970s with several Top 20 hit singles in the United States, along with the #2 album, Silk Degrees. Scaggs continues to write, record music and tour.-Early life and career:Scaggs was born in Canton,...
– 1969 - Ton-Ton Macoute! – Johnny JenkinsJohnny JenkinsJohnny Edward Jenkins was an American left-handed blues guitarist, who helped launch the career of Otis Redding...
– 1970 - AceAce (Bob Weir album)Ace was the first solo album by Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, released in 1972.Its origins come from an offer by the Dead's Warner Bros. Records label to have band members cut their own solo records, and came out at the same time as Jerry Garcia's Garcia and Mickey Hart's Rolling Thunder...
– Bob WeirBob WeirBob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
– 1972 - Demon in DisguiseDemon in DisguiseDemon in Disguise is an album by David Bromberg. His second album, it was released by Columbia Records in 1972. It was released as a CD by Wounded Bird Records in 2005....
– David BrombergDavid BrombergDavid Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
– 1972 - Gypsy CowboyGypsy CowboyGypsy Cowboy is the third album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded and released in 1972.The album includes six original songs by John Dawson and three by Dave Torbert, plus cover versions of "She's No Angel" and "Long Black Veil"...
– New Riders of the Purple SageNew Riders of the Purple SageNew Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco, California in 1969, and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. Their best known song is "Panama Red"...
– 1972 - The Adventures of Panama RedThe Adventures of Panama RedThe Adventures of Panama Red is the fourth country rock album by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, released in 1973. It is widely regarded as one of the group's best efforts, and reached number 55 on the Billboard charts....
– New Riders of the Purple Sage – 1973 - Tales of the Great Rum Runners – Robert HunterRobert Hunter (lyricist)Robert C. Hunter is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his association with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.-Biography:He was born Robert Burns in San Luis Obispo, California...
– 1974 - Tiger Rose – Robert Hunter – 1975
- ReflectionsReflections (Jerry Garcia Album)Reflections is Jerry Garcia's third solo album, released in 1976. It includes five songs that were performed by the Grateful Dead. All of the then-members of the Grateful Dead contribute to the music on this album.-Track listing:...
– Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
– 1976 - Cats Under the StarsCats Under the StarsCats Under the Stars, released in 1978, is the first and only studio release under the name Jerry Garcia Band and Garcia's first album on the Arista label.Garcia, in the years before his death in 1995, considered this album to be his favorite....
– Jerry Garcia BandJerry Garcia BandThe Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side-projects until his death in 1995...
– 1977 - Here Goes Nothing – Zero – 1987
- Laughing Water – Jazz Is DeadJazz Is DeadJazz is Dead is an instrumental Grateful Dead cover band that interprets classic Dead songs with jazz influences. Although the group's composition has changed over time, with T Lavitz being the only constant member, the group is notable in featuring veterans of jazz and jazz fusion ensembles[]...
– 1999 - Don't Let GoDon't Let Go (album)Don't Let Go is the third live album by the Jerry Garcia Band. It was recorded on May 21, 1976 at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, with a bonus track recorded on September 11 in 1976 at the Keystone in Berkeley....
– Jerry Garcia Band – 2001 - Worcester, MA, 4/4/73Worcester, MA, 4/4/73Worcester, MA, 4/4/73 is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts on April 4, 1973. It was released on May 20, 2003...
– New Riders of the Purple Sage – 2003 - Theatre 1839, July 29 & 30, 1977Theatre 1839, July 29 & 30, 1977Theatre 1839, July 29 & 30, 1977 is the first release in the Pure Jerry series of live recordings by Jerry Garcia and his various solo bands. As the title suggests, it was recorded on July 29 and July 30, 1977, at the Theatre 1839 in San Francisco...
– Jerry Garcia Band – 2004 - Warner Theatre, March 18, 1978 – Jerry Garcia Band – 2005
- For Rex: The Black Tie Dye Ball – The Zen TrickstersZen TrickstersThe Zen Tricksters are an American Grateful Dead cover band.For almost thirty years, the Zen Tricksters have been playing Grateful Dead covers and jam band music, as well as derivative original songs.. The band started out as the Volunteers, playing small venues around New York's Long Island...
and various artists – 2006 - Bay Area, 1978 – Jerry Garcia Band – 2009