Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKAY, a vocalist for The Grateful Dead during one of their most fruitful periods in the 1970s, died at the age of 78 from cancer. Her vocals added warmth and harmony to songs like “Scarlet Begonias,” “Eyes of the World,” and “Playing in the Band,” but she was also known for her sometimes wobbly live moments — the result of the Dead’s unpredictable stage mix, massive volume, and her position at the edge of that chaos. Fans love to joke about her “screams” in “Playing in the Band,” but her best performances (check Sunshine Daydream from 1972 or Cornell ’77 for proof) show how beautifully she could blend with Jerry Garcia’s voice and lift the band’s sound into soulful territory.
Glide spoke with Donna Jean as recently as 4 years ago for an in-depth interview, which can be read here.
