Donna Jean Godchaux

Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux-MacKay (August 22, 1947 – November 2, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter. She was best known as a member of the rock band the Grateful Dead from 1972 to 1979. She sang with the Jerry Garcia Band and the Heart of Gold Band. She formed the Donna Jean Godchaux Band in 2006.

Donna was honored into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead in 1994. She was honored into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2016. 

Godchaux died while in hospice care from cancer in Nashville, Tennessee on November 2, 2025 at the age of 78.

References

Other websites
 Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson official website 
 Grateful Dead official website
 The Music Never Stopped: The Musical Journey of Donna Jean Godcheaux-McKay From honesttune.com.
Donna Jean Godchaux Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2017)

Category:1947 births
Category:2025 deaths
Category:American rock singers
Category:American folk singers
Category:American gospel singers
Category:American R&B singers
Category:American bandleaders
Category:Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
Category:Singers from Alabama
Category:Writers from Alabama
Category:People from Florence, Alabama
Category:Cancer deaths in Tennessee