Studying Time: 2 minutes
Donna Jean Godchaux, the powerhouse vocalist who has carried out with such iconic acts because the Grateful Lifeless and Elvis Presley, has handed away.
She was 79 years outdated.
Grateful Lifeless singer Donna Jean Godchaux has handed away on the age of 79. (YouTube)
“She was a sweet and warmly beautiful spirit, and all those who knew her are united in loss,” the assertion reads (by way of Folks).
“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 Lifeless alongside together with her first husband, keyboardist Keith Godchaux, in 1972.
She remained with the band all through the ’70s and continued performing within the a long time since, forming the Donna Jean Godchaux Band in 2006.
Donna Jean Godchaux has handed away following a battle with most cancers. (YouTube)
Godchaux additionally sang backup vocals on primary hits like Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” and Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.”
She additionally recorded with legendary artists reminiscent of Cher, Neil Diamond and Dionne Warwick.
“I was singing from pretty much as soon as I could talk,” she advised 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 advised 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 stated, when requested about touring with the Grateful Lifeless. “I loved singing with those guys and we had an absolute blast.”
She added, nevertheless, that the connection between couple and band soured slightly rapidly:
“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 advised 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 automotive accident not lengthy after he and Donna shaped their very own band in 1980.
Our ideas exit to Donna Jean Godchaux’s family members throughout this tough time.
