Reading Time: 2 minutes
We have sad news to report from the world of music today:
Donna Jean Godchaux, the powerhouse vocalist who has performed with such iconic acts as the Grateful Dead and Elvis Presley, has passed away.
She was 79 years old.
News of Godchaux’s death comes courtesy of a statement from her family, who explain that she passed away at a Nashville hospice facility “after a lengthy struggle with cancer.”
“She was a sweet and warmly beautiful spirit, and all those who knew her are united in loss,” the statement reads (via People).
“The family requests privacy at this time of grieving. In the words of Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, ‘May the four winds blow her safely home.’”
Born in Alabama in 1947, Godchaux joined the Dead along with her first husband, keyboardist Keith Godchaux, in 1972.
She remained with the band throughout the ’70s and continued performing in the decades since, forming the Donna Jean Godchaux Band in 2006.
Godchaux also sang backup vocals on number one hits like Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” and Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.”
She also recorded with legendary artists such as Cher, Neil Diamond and Dionne Warwick.
“I was singing from pretty much as soon as I could talk,” she told AL.com in 2016.
“I remember very distinctly when I was 6 years old, I knew I was going to be a singer and I would sit out on my back porch and sing to the top of my lungs every day.”
She told the outlet that singing with Elvis was “one of the most amazing times of my life,” and recalled the King being “so kind to us and encouraging and complimentary… And he looked great. I’m telling you, he was the most gorgeous human being I’ve ever seen.”
“It was great fun,” she said, when asked about touring with the Grateful Dead. “I loved singing with those guys and we had an absolute blast.”
She added, however, that the relationship between couple and band soured rather quickly:
“The band knew we had to be out of the band, and Keith and I had been talking about ‘How in the world do you quit the Grateful Dead?’” she told AL.com.
“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.”
Keith was killed in a car accident not long after he and Donna formed their own band in 1980.
Our thoughts go out to Donna Jean Godchaux’s loved ones during this difficult time.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thehollywoodgossip.com
